Name: Easy Chocolate Cupcakes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 100g / 1/2 cup self-raising flour; 40g / 2 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder; 1 tsp baking powder; 150g / 2/3 cup butter; 150g / 3/4 cup soft light brown sugar; 3 tbsp milk; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 3 large eggs

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This easy chocolate cupcakes recipe is perfect for kids learning to bake on their own. They are delicious too!

This is my daughter's favorite basic chocolate cupcake recipe and was the first baking recipe she mastered alone.

It's a pretty forgiving recipe and they have always turned out well when she has made them.

So if you are looking for a really easy recipe for chocolate cupcakes, then this is it. Enjoy!

How to make chocolate cupcakes

As with any basic cupcake recipe, to make these you start by creaming together the butter and sugar. Then add in the milk and vanilla. Then mix in the eggs one at a time, before folding in the flour to complete the cake batter.

The batter is then scooped into cupcake cases and baked in the oven. So simple!

My daughter likes to use a handheld electric whisk to make these kids chocolate cupcakes. You could also use a stand mixer if you have one.

You may also like: Apple and Blueberry Muffins.

Top tips for making chocolate cupcakes

Here are a few tips that will help this simple chocolate cupcake recipe a success, and will also teach your kids some great baking tips they can use in other recipes too.

Be sure to pre-heat the oven and get your cupcake tin ready before you start, so that your cake batter isn't sitting around waiting once it's ready to be baked.
Make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature before you start.
Crack the eggs into a cup or small bowl before adding to the cake mixture. This means that if you break any shell into the egg, or you are unlucky enough to have a bad egg, you won't have ruined your cake mixture.

Breaking eggs for making chocolate cupcakes

Add a spoonful of the flour with each egg when you mix it in. This helps prevent the mixture from curdling.
Mix and sieve the dry ingredients together before you start and set them aside so that they are ready to mix in as soon as you need them. This means your cake mixture isn't sitting around waiting for you to measure these ingredients.
When folding in flour, you should use a metal spoon or rubber spatula and move it in a figure-of-eight motion to mix in the ingredients. This ensures the mixture gets air in it, to help the cake nice and light and give you more chance of having nice moist chocolate cupcakes.
Using an ice cream scoop to measure the cake mixture into the cupcake cases makes it easier and makes your measurements more even.
Leave them in the muffin tin for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.

Frosting for Chocolate Cupcakes

My daughter loves to ice these homemade chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting and decorate with them sprinkles.

This is the frosting we use to make chocolate iced cupcakes.

1 cup butter, softened
4 cups icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
food coloring (optional)

To make it, use an electric whisk or stand mixer. First beat the butter til soft and smooth, then slowly add in 3 cups of the sugar and mix until smooth. Then add in the vanilla and milk and then finally add in the remaining sugar until you have the consistency you want.

If the icing is too runny, add more sugar. If it is too stiff, add more milk.

To decorate these chocolate cupcakes, you can choose to simply spoon the icing on top and smooth it down with a spoon, or use a piping bag to create more pretty chocolate cupcakes.

My daughter loves doing this and has really started to perfect the technique! If you are piping the buttercream, then make sure it isn't too stiff or it will be hard to squeeze out of the bag.

We use the Wilton open star tip 1M - it's the easiest and best icing tip to use for decorating cupcakes. Remember to squeeze from the top of the bag and work slowly while you are learning.

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Yield: 12