Rich, super soft Chocolate Cupcakes topped with super creamy Mint Buttercream. If you love Mint Chocolate Ice Cream – you need to make these Mint Chocolate Cupcakes!
Today, I’m so excited to share this recipe with you. Think Andes Chocolate Mints. Think Thin Mint Cookies. Think MINT CHIP ICE CREAM. In delicious cupcake form. That’s right, we’re making Mint Chocolate Cupcakes.
Seriously. These are the softest, most delicious, most chocolate-y chocolate cupcakes. Then we’re topping it off with creamy, smooth mint buttercream frosting and sprinkling with chocolate chips. So you get all the delicious flavor of mint chip ice cream, without having to wait for ice cream weather.
You see – growing up, mint chip ice cream was my favorite. Probably because it was my older sister’s favorite and my greatest desire was to be her twin. Which she fully exploited for her personal gain. But she had excellent taste in ice cream. So all’s well.
One fateful summer afternoon she was taking me for ice cream. But tragedy struck as I dropped my ice cream money down the cracks of the ice cream parlor’s large wooden veranda. I watched in slow motion as the best day quickly turned into my worst nightmare. And from then on – the flavor just seemed cursed.
But after years of avoiding mint chip ice cream the curse has lifted and I’ve been blessed with the most delicious Mint Chocolate Cupcakes. And I’m sharing said cupcakes with you – my internet friends. They’re so, so moist & chocolate-y with the softest cupcake crumb. And the frosting – literally mint chip ice cream in frosting form. Seriously, the stars aligned for these delicious morsels.
What makes the cupcakes so soft & moist is the fact that we’re using oil, 2 eggs, sour cream & buttermilk in the batter. Whoa there. Now, I’d NEVER recommend using oil in vanilla cupcakes. But in chocolate cupcakes the rich flavor hides any taste of oil and the oil makes your cupcakes ridiculously moist. Then eggs for tenderness, sour cream to combat dry cake crumbs, and buttermilk for the softest cupcake texture. Perfection. 
The frosting is adapted from a classic vanilla buttercream – with the addition of mint extract and a few drops of green food coloring. You can adjust the level of minty-ness depending on your preference. And I must say – the combo of rich chocolate cake and creamy, mint buttercream is pure cupcake bliss.
These are actually my new favorite cupcakes. And the fact that I can have mint chocolate deliciousness without waiting for summer heat and ice cream treats – is just one more thing to love.
Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 cup all purpose flour , spooned and leveled
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder , I used dutch processed
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 and ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs , room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 tablespoons sour cream , room temperature (or plain yogurt)
- ⅔ cup buttermilk , room temperature*
For the Mint Buttercream
- 1 and ¼ cups unsalted butter , softened to room temperature
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar , sifted
- ¼ teaspoon salt , to taste
- ¼ cup whipping cream/heavy cream**
- ½ - 2 teaspoons mint extract
- green food coloring
- mini chocolate chips for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and line 2 12-cavity muffin tins with cupcake liners. The recipe will make about 18-20 cupcakes total.
- First - whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt) in a large bowl.
- In a separate large bowl beat together the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and sour cream using a stand or hand-held electric mixer until combined and no sugar lumps remain. With the mixer on low speed add in about half of the flour mixture followed by half of the buttermilk until combined. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Repeat with the second half of the flour mixture and buttermilk until smooth.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan - you should end up with 18-20 cupcakes total. Bake for 15-17 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool fully before frosting.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. Using a stand or hand-held electric mixer beat the butter on medium speed until the color has lighted and the butter is fluffy. Turn down the mixer to low and add in about ½ to 1 cup of icing sugar at a time. After almost combined, turn the mixer to high speed and beat for 5-10 seconds. Repeat with the rest of the icing sugar. Once almost all of the icing sugar has been added, beat in the whipping cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Then add in the mint extract about ½ teaspoon at a time along with the green food coloring until the desired color and level of minty-ness is reached.
- Frost the cupcakes using a piping bag or with the flat-edge of a knife. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips for decoration.
Notes
**Whipping cream can be replaced with milk. The frosting won't be as thick though. ***If you're planning to frost the cupcakes with a knife instead of piping, you won't need to make as much frosting. Instead, use 1 cup butter, 3.5-4.5 cups powdered sugar, and 2-3 tablespoons whipping cream.
Nutrition
These look so pretty. Love chocolate and mint together. Will make for St Patrick’s Day next week.
Thanks so much Dianne! I hope you love the cupcakes 🙂
How full do you fill the cupcake liners? 2/3 full or half full?
I fill mine about 2/3 full. I’ll often use a cookie scoop to do it so it makes the process a little easier 🙂
What tip do you use for the icing? They look great!
I used a 1M wilton tip!
I made these yesterday, and they were wonderful. Great cupcake recipe, nice and moist and chocolatey. Splurged on the Dutch processed cocoa and I’m glad I did. Delicious. I will be using these for my go to chocolate cupcake recipe. You can frost them with any kind of frosting although the mint frosting is awesome. I used the full amount of mint extract and it was yummy.
I make these with coconut oil as the vegetable oil and it gives them the best hint of coconut flavour. I want to make this as a cake.,. Can you advise how long to bake in an 8 inch pan?
Delicious cupcakes. I had a first time request to make mint chocolate chip cupcakes for a co-workers daughter. She loved them and I love how they turned out.
I made for graduation party, big hit.
Hi can I reduce cocoa powder ?
You would need to increase the flour to compensate – about the same amount extra of flour for the amount of cocoa you remove. I haven’t tried the recipe with every proportion of cocoa and flour, so I can’t be certain of the results.
Just made these and they turned out excellent. The cake is awesome. I will use this cake recipe for any flavour icing in the future. My icing looks super neon green, so go easy if you want a softer hue like this recipe.
What I LOVE is that it was exactly the right amount of icing for my 19 cupcakes. Which I LOVE LOVE LOVE! I hate wasting icing with leftovers.
Followed the recipe exactly aside from having to make my own fake buttermilk. Highly recommend.
Definitly 5 stars. Made cupcakes from this app before ACTUALLY BOSS.