Hot Chocolate Cupcakes With Hot Chocolate Frosting: Rich, Moist & Made for Chocolate Lovers
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Hot chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream are deeply rich, impossibly moist, and built for anyone who thinks a mug of hot chocolate should come in cake form.
What Are Hot Chocolate Cupcakes?
These delicious hot chocolate cupcakes are tiny chocolate cakes that taste like your favorite hot cocoa drink! They’re made of rich chocolate cakes that are super yummy, moist, and soft, just like the warm chocolate drink.
There’s a difference between a chocolate cupcake and a hot chocolate cupcake. Regular chocolate cupcakes are good. These are something else entirely. The batter is built around the same flavors you’d find in a proper mug of hot chocolate — deep cocoa, a hint of warmth, and that rounded, almost creamy finish that makes you go back for another sip. Or in this case, another bite.
The crumb is dense without being heavy, stays moist for days, and the chocolate buttercream on top is smooth, rich, and pipes beautifully without turning gritty or stiff. If you’re baking for someone who describes themselves as a serious chocolate lover, this is the one to make.
What sets these cupcakes apart from other chocolatey cupcakes is the incorporation of hot chocolate powder instead of baking cocoa powder. So you’ll find the cocoa taste isn’t as intense, yet it still gives the same warmth and indulgence as a cup of hot cocoa.
Why You’ll Like This Hot Cocoa Cupcake Recipe
- The cocoa flavor is more delicate than that of a standard chocolate cupcake. Using hot liquid to bloom the cocoa powder draws out a milder yet rounded chocolate taste — the same principle behind a good mug of hot chocolate, applied to a bake.
- The crumb stays moist for days. The batter uses ingredients that retain moisture long after baking, so these don’t dry out overnight. Day two tastes just as good as day one.
- The buttercream is silky, not stiff. Getting the fat-to-sugar ratio right means this frosting pipes cleanly and melts on the tongue rather than sitting in a thick, sugary lump on top.
- No specialist equipment needed. One bowl, a hand whisk, and a standard muffin tin. The method is straightforward enough for a beginner, but the result doesn’t look or taste like it was made by a beginner.
- They hold their shape well. These cupcakes dome nicely without cracking or sinking in the middle — important when you’re adding a generous layer of buttercream on top.
- Scales up without issue. The batter doubles easily, making this a reliable choice for birthdays, bake sales, or any occasion where you need more than a dozen.
- Works as a base for variations. Add a pinch of chili for heat, a teaspoon of espresso powder to deepen the cocoa further, or a marshmallow tucked into the center before baking. The base recipe is solid enough to experiment with.
- Genuinely impressive without being complicated. These look and taste like they came from a bakery. The process, though, is straightforward — which is exactly the kind of bake worth having in your regular rotation.
Ingredients You Need
For the Cupcakes
- Hot chocolate powder/hot cocoa/drinking cocoa powder: A ready-made mixture of cocoa powder, sugar, and flavorings for making a hot chocolate drink.
- Margarine or baking spread: This butter substitute, made from vegetable oils, is used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It adds fat to the recipe to make a moister, lighter cupcake than butter does.
- Castor sugar: Ground granulated sugar to the finely ground state. It produces a less grainy cake.
- All-purpose flour/plain flour contains about 75 percent of the wheat grain, with most of the bran/wheat germ removed, and is normally artificially whitened.
- Eggs: I prefer free-range. However, you can use what you like. These are key ingredients that bind the cake together.
- Baking powder: A raising agent used in cake-making. It contains a mixture of bicarbonate of soda (an alkali) and cream of tartar (an acid), plus a filler such as cornflour or rice flour. Activated when liquid is added, producing bubbles of carbon dioxide, causing the mixture to expand.
For the Hot Chocolate Frosting
- Hot chocolate powder: A ready-made mixture of cocoa powder, sugar, and flavorings for making a hot chocolate drink.
- Butter, softened: Butter provides fat and emulsifies the mixture, producing a melt-in-mouth frosting.
- Icing sugar (powdered sugar): Ground white granulated sugar into a fine white powder to produce a smooth, velvety buttercream.
- Milk: I prefer using full-fat cow’s milk.
How to Make Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
For the Cupcakes
- It’s very easy to recreate this chocolate cupcake recipe. First, preheat the oven to 180℃/ 356℉ or gas mark 4, and prepare the cupcake tin with muffin cases or cupcake liners.
- To make the cupcakes, you place all the dry ingredients, i.e., flour, sugar, baking powder, and hot cocoa mix, into a stand mixer bowl or just a large bowl. Then, add the wet ingredients, margarine, and eggs. Mix them until you get a smooth batter. You can use a stand, handheld, or handheld whisk. Just remember that it will take longer to whisk the ingredients together if you use the latter.
- Then scoop and spoon the cupcake batter into each case, ensuring each has approximately the same amount. Place the tray in the oven and bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes, until the tops are firm but springy to the touch. You should check if the cupcakes are cooked in the middle by inserting a toothpick into the center of a cupcake. If the toothpick comes out clean, they are ready.
- Take the cupcakes from the tin and put them on a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature before adding the buttercream frosting.
For the Frosting
- Place the butter in a mixing bowl and add the powdered sugar and milk to make the frosting. Whisk together at medium speed until fully combined.
- Next, add the hot chocolate to the butter mixture and mix again until you get a smooth, light, and fluffy frosting. It may take you approximately 5 minutes to do so. However, if you want your buttercream smoother and fluffier, mix it longer.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes with this chocolate-flavor frosting. Top the frosted cupcakes with marshmallows, chocolate pieces, shavings, or even a candy cane for a festive mood. Anything you prefer.
Top Tips for Making Scrumptious Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
- Quality Ingredients. Make sure every item you use is fresh and of good quality.
- Correct Measurement. Accurate measuring is crucial. Use a kitchen scale, measuring cups, and spoons for precision.
- Room Temperature. Allow ingredients such as eggs, margarine/baking spread, and milk to come to room temperature.
- Do Not Overmix. Overmixing cake batter can cause a dense texture in the cake. Keep an eye on your batter as you mix it.
- Baking Time. Overbaking can result in dry cupcakes. So, be mindful of the baking time.
- Cooling Process. Let the cupcakes cool completely before you frost them. Otherwise, the frosting will melt.
- Creative Toppings. Feel free to have fun with toppings! Especially if you want to serve your cupcakes for parties or festivities.
Substitutes and Variations
- Every hot chocolate powder has a different proportion of cocoa and sugar. I often use ordinary hot-drinking cocoa powder, though sometimes I use the one with malt, too.
- Try this recipe with a different flavor of hot cocoa mix, such as caramel-flavored.
- You can also add half a teaspoon of coffee to the cake mixture and the frosting to create a subtle mocha flavor in the cupcakes and frosting.
How to Store
- Store the cupcakes in an airtight container at a cool room temperature. They keep well there for about 2-3 days.
- However, I recommend storing the cupcake container in the refrigerator if the temperature is warm.
FAQs
Can I add almond flavor essence to the mixture?
Although I haven’t tried this combination, almond or hazelnut essence in the batter mixture or buttercream may be worth it to give an extra nutty flavor.
Can I omit the hot chocolate from the buttercream/ frosting?
You don’t need to use hot chocolate for the frosting mixture if you prefer. Replace it with extra icing sugar to get white frosting. Add half a teaspoon of vanilla essence or extract for a vanilla-flavored buttercream.
If you don’t want to frost the cupcakes with buttercream for whatever reason, you can enjoy them as they are or cover them with whipped heavy cream.
Hot chocolate cupcakes and hot chocolate frosting recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer or handheld mixer.
- Spatula
- Cupcake tin
- Muffin cases
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- ½ cup hot chocolate powder/ drinking cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup margarine or baking spread
- ½ cup caster sugar
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour/ plain flour
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
For the buttercream
- 3 tablespoons hot chocolate powder
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- 1½ cup icing sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the cupcakes
- Place the flour, sugar, hot chocolate powder, margarine, and eggs in a mixing bowl.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the ingredients until you get a smooth batter.
- Preheat the oven to 180℃/ 356℉ or gas mark 4, and prepare the cupcake tin with muffin cases.
- Scoop and spoon the batter into each case. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the top of the cupcake is firm but springy to the touch.
- Take the cupcakes out of the tin and put them onto a cooling wire rack. Let them completely cool before putting the buttercream on them.
For the buttercream
- Place the butter, icing sugar, and milk in a mixing bowl. Beat them until they all are mixed.
- Add the hot chocolate powder to the butter mixture until you get a light and fluffy buttercream. It takes approximately 5 minutes to do so. However, if you want your buttercream to be smoother and fluffier, mix it longer.
Notes
- Every hot chocolate powder has a different proportion of cocoa and sugar. I often use the ordinary hot drinking cocoa powder, though sometimes I use the one with the malt, too.
- Making the buttercream can be painful, as the icing powder will go everywhere. Unless you use a stand mixer with a cover, if you use a handheld mixer, cover the bowl towards the mixer with cling film. Or, try mixing butter and icing sugar with a wooden spoon before using the handheld mixer.
Nutrition
Devy founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appétit, and more.
