Mini Chocolate Cupcakes
on Apr 21, 2018, Updated Feb 26, 2021
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These mini chocolate cupcakes are moist, deliciously fudgy and topped with a swirl of chocolate frosting. Learn all the secrets to making perfect miniature cupcakes.
Mini chocolate cupcakes just might be the most adorable, delicious, bites of happiness. They have a chocolate flavor that’s fudgy and chocolate-y without being too rich. A deliciously moist, soft cupcake crumb. And a dollop of swirly, creamy, chocolate buttercream.
Seriously adorable. Not to mention addictive.
To be honest – making mini chocolate cupcakes can actually be a little tricky. Not all recipes can be turned into perfect mini cupcakes. So I’m sharing with you my favorite recipe, along with all my tricks. 
How to Make Mini Chocolate Cupcakes
Ok – let’s get onto the cupcake making.
- First whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. This step helps everything mix together evenly.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Then whisk in the milk and sour cream.
- Last but not least – whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and our cupcake batter is done.
Seriously easy, seriously perfect. The cupcakes are super moist with a tender crumb thanks to the oil, 2 eggs, milk and sour cream.
It’s super important to line your mini muffin pan with baking cups/mini muffin papers as opposed to mini candy cup papers (the ones that are more like tinfoil). If you use candy cup papers – the cupcakes get really stuck to them and can overflow because they’re a little different in size.
Then make sure to only fill your cupcake liners about 1/2 – 2/3 full. If they’re filled up any higher they can overflow and sink in the middle. I like to use a small cookie scoop for this, which makes the process super easy and mess free.
The mini chocolate cupcakes will bake for about 10-13 minutes, and then it’s time to get on with the chocolate frosting.
Chocolate Frosting for the Mini Cupcakes
There’s really nothing too complicated here:
- Butter
- A little salt and vanilla extract
- Cocoa powder
- Powdered sugar
- Heavy cream or milk
It’s creamy, it’s fluffy, it’s perfectly chocolate-y, and oh yeah – it tastes amazing. First beat the butter until fluffy, then beat in the salt, vanilla extract and cocoa powder. Start to whip in the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time, alternating with 1 tablespoon of whipping cream until you get your desired sweetness level and consistency.
Then it’s time to frost and enjoy. 
These mini chocolate cupcakes are the perfect treat for parties, potlucks or whenever you’re craving a bite of deliciousness. I recommend making a batch of these beauties along with my mini vanilla cupcakes, then alternating with popping one of each into your mouth 🙂
Mini Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
Mini Chocolate Cupcakes
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup oil, , canola or vegetable
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup milk
Chocolate Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, , softened
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder, , sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3- 3.5 cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbsp heavy cream or milk
Instructions
Mini Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line mini muffin pans with mini muffin papers.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.
- Whisk in the sour cream and milk
- Carefully whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared mini muffin pan filling each about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Be careful not to fill more than 2/3rds.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-13 minutes or until the tops are no longer shiny and slightly firm to the touch.
Chocolate Frosting
- In a large bowl beat the butter until no lumps remain.
- Mix in the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and salt.
- Mix in the powder sugar about 3/4-1 cup at a time, alternating with 1 tablespoon of cream/milk until the desired consistency and sweetness level is reached.
- Frost the cupcakes with a knife or piping tip and bag (I used a 1M tip).
Notes
So I tried making these for St. Patrick’s day and was pretty sure that I filled them 2/3 if the way, but they really muffin topped. I have made many cupcakes but these were my first mini cupcakes and I did have one less cupcakes than the recipe said, so it was probably just that I didn’t judge very well how full to fill liners that I wasn’t used to. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed with some icing though, and they tasted amazing! Great recipe, poor judgment by me.
Tasty, moist, and delicious! I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and topped it with a milk chocolate ganache. And sprinkles!
Easy to make and adorable little cakes. Thank you so much for the keeper recipe!
Delicious cupcakes, very light and soft. Used greek youghurt instead of sour cream , they were quick to make and baked in 10 min. Thank you for great tecipe, will keep for future
I had a question about the sour cream. Can I just remove it from the recipe? Will it make much of a difference?
If you leave out the sour cream, the cupcakes will be far too dry. You could substitute it with plain Greek yogurt or buttermilk
I think you forgot to include the cocoa powder.
Yikes! Thanks for the catch – updating the recipe now 🙂
Do we have to use the cupcake liners?
Yes – for this cupcake recipe you will have to. The batter is too thin and will otherwise stick to the pan.
This recipe looks amazing – I’m making them next week for my birthday, very excited! Can I prepare the batter one day in advance? Also, can I half the recipe to make 20 cupcakes?
You could definitely half the recipe. I wouldn’t make the batter in advance, but you could make the cupcakes the day before and store in an airtight container. If you wanted to make them the day of, you could whisk together the dry ingredients the day before and cover the bowl with clingfilm (which would save a little time) – but I definitely wouldn’t recommend making the batter the day before.
The cupcakes turned out really moist! I didn’t get a chance to make the icing recipe this time. Didn’t have sour cream so used Greek yogurt instead. Also reduced the sugar which worked for us as we prefer lower sweetness.
What can I substitute for the heavy cream?
Milk or another variety of cream – such as half and half or coffee cream.
These mini cupcakes look so adorable! thanks for all the great insider tips on making these beauties, my kids are gonna love these!