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Bon Appétit

Devil’s Food Cupcakes

4.2

(15)

Image may contain Cupcake Creme Cream Food Dessert Cake Bread Fungus and Muffin
Alex Lau

Non-Dutch-process cocoa powder is sometimes labeled “natural,” and since all of the chocolate flavor depends on what kind you use, quality matters for these devil's food cupcakes. Get the recipe for vanilla cream cheese frosting here.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 24 Servings

Ingredients

1

cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)

4

large eggs

2

teaspoons vanilla extract

2

cups cake flour

1

cup granulated sugar

1

cup (packed) light brown sugar

2

teaspoons baking powder

1½

teaspoons kosher salt

1¼

teaspoons baking soda

¾

cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted, cooled

¾

cup buttermilk, room temperature

2

tablespoons vegetable oil

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Arrange racks in lower and upper thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Line two standard 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.

    Step 2

    Whisk cocoa powder and ¾ cup hot water (or brewed coffee) in a small bowl until smooth; whisk in eggs and vanilla.

    Step 3

    Whisk flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add butter, buttermilk, and oil and beat on medium-low speed, scraping down sides of bowl, until flour is evenly distributed and mixture is smooth. Add cocoa powder mixture and beat just until smooth.

    Step 4

    Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling two-thirds full (a level ⅓ cup batter per cupcake). Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cupcakes have domed and spring back when touched in the center, 20–25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

    Step 5

    Do Ahead: Cupcakes can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

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Reviews (15)

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  • The cupcakes are crazy good. Perfect crumb, light and fluffy - and a deep chocolate flavor!

    • Anonymous

    • Austria, Europe

    • 3/9/2024

  • Hands down the best cup cakes EVER!!!!

    • Anonymous

    • Usa

    • 11/15/2022

  • Good flavour but too soft to be a cupcake. Put batter into mini cups as I run out of regular muffin cups. Baked for 13 minutes. Turned out a bit denser than the bigger ones, but were great mini chocolate cakes! Keeping recipe to bake them as mini cakes next time.

    • Anonymous

    • Montreal, Canada

    • 1/16/2022

  • So awesome! Moist and fluffy cupcake, not overpowering. Love it.

    • Anonymous

    • Singapore

    • 4/12/2020

  • I didn't have enough cocoa powder, so I substituted 1/2 cup of it with unsweetened chocolate chips. Then I took out 1/2 stick of butter and a bit of sugar. Omgosh it turned out so soft, moist, and crumbly! It was absolutely delicious!

    • Anonymous

    • South Korea

    • 4/8/2020

  • The texture of these cupcakes is great, with a perfect, even crumb. Lovely chocolate flavour. Ended up with more than 24 cupcakes in the end, not quite sure why. Not complaining though, they were delicious!

    • Edmonton, AB

    • 12/20/2019

  • I followed this recipe to the letter and came out with an exceptional batch of cupcakes! The buttermilk really brightens up the batter and helps bring the chocolate to the forefront. Paired with the suggested cream cheese frosting, I could eat these all day

    • Anonymous

    • 8/26/2019