Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

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These hot chocolate cupcakes are so festive and delicious. These rich and moist chocolate cupcake are filled with a delicious hot fudge sauce and topped with a silky vanilla buttercream. They are decorated with cute mini marshmallows and a candy can sticks.

Hot chocolate is a favorite treat for Christmas so why not turn it into delicious hot chocolate cupcakes. These cupcakes are so easy and delicious and they look super fancy but they don't take long to put together.

They have a super moist chocolate cupcake, that are filled with a luscious hot fudge sauce and are topped with a vanilla buttercream. They are decorated with mini marshmallows and a candy can.

For more cupcake recipes, try Nutella Cupcakes, Cinnamon Cupcakes and Coffee Cupcakes.

Jump to:

• WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
• INGREDIENT NOTES
• STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS - CUPCAKES
• STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS - HOT FUDGE SAUCE
• STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS - BUTTERCREAM AND ASSEMBLING
• EXPERT BAKING TIPS
• FAQ
• STORAGE
• Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Chocolate cupcake: The most soft and moist chocolate cupcakes. They are so easy to make and you only need a hand whisk to mix the batter together with.

Hot Fudge Sauce: This hot fudge sauce is super simple to make and taste amazing. The fudge is filled in the middle of the cupcakes and drizzled on top.

Vanilla buttercream: This vanilla buttercream is silky smooth and so delicious. It's piped on the cupcakes to resemble whipped cream, like you have on cup of hot chocolate.

Showstopper: These hot chocolate cupcakes are showstopper cupcakes with their cute decoration. They are decorated with mini marshmallows and candy can.

INGREDIENT NOTES

These are some of the key ingredients for this recipe. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.

• Eggs: Take them out of the fridge 1-2 hours before baking (depending how warm your kitchen is).
• Boiled water: Heat up a kettle of water before you start. Add the boiled water to a measuring cup and while you prepare the rest of the ingredients, let it cool down a bit, so it's not piping hot.
• Cocoa powder: I use high quality dutch processed cocoa powder for the best flavor, my favorite is from Valrhona.
• Instant espresso powder: I use 100% arabica coffee instant espresso powder as it dissolves quickly and has a great flavor.
• Semi-sweet chocolate: I recommend using semi-sweet chocolate for the hot fudge sauce.
• Butter: Let the butter come to room temperature before using it in the buttercream.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS - CUPCAKES

Here is how to make and bake these hot chocolate cupcakes. This recipe needs a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer. You will need a 12-cup cupcake pan and cupcake liners.

The full recipe is down below in the recipe card.

Before starting preheat the oven to 175ºC/ 350ºF conventional oven. Line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners.

STEP 1: Start by boiling some water and weigh out the water so it can cool down a bit while preparing the other ingredients.

STEP 2: In a bowl, sift all of the dry ingredients together. Give it a stir so everything is combined.

STEP 3: In another mixing bowl add all of the wet ingredients, including the water, and with a hand whisk, whisk them together until combined. Be sure to not mix the ingredients too vigorously so the eggs don’t get over mixed.

STEP 4: Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry while gently stirring it all together. Make sure there are no lumps left in the batter.

STEP 5: Divide the cake batter into the 12 cupcake liners and bake them for 17-20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the hot pan. After 5 minutes, gently remove the cupcakes from the cupcake pan and let them cool down completely.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS - HOT FUDGE SAUCE

STEP 1. While the cupcakes bake, heat up the agave syrup, granulated sugar and milk, in a small saucepan, until the granulated sugar has melted and the milk is starting to bubble. 

STEP 2. Pour the heated milk and sugar over a bowl with the semi-sweet chocolate and cacao powder. Stir it together until the dark chocolate has melted and is gathered. 

STEP 3. Add the butter, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and stir it in until the butter has melted into and combined with the hot fudge sauce. Cover it with cling film so it touches the surface of the sauce and let it cool down on the counter top.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS - BUTTERCREAM AND ASSEMBLING

STEP 1: Mix the butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer for 4 minutes on medium/high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for an additional 2 minutes.

STEP 2: Sift the powdered sugar. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extra and milk in 3 parts. Whip until each addition is fully incorporated.

STEP 3: Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give the buttercream a final mix for 2 minutes. Add the buttercream to a piping bag with a star piping tip e.g. a Wilton 1M.

STEP 4: Using an end of a piping tip or similar, dig out the core of cupcakes, to make an indent for the hot fudge sauce. Add the hot fudge sauce in the middle of the cupcakes. Leave a little bit of the hot fudge sauce for the decorations.

STEP 5: Thereafter pipe the buttercream of the cupcake. For the decoration, if the fudge sauce has cooled down so it’s a bit thicker, heat it up in the microwave for 5-10 seconds, which will make it more fluid. Add it into a piping bag and cut a small hole. Drizzle the fudge sauce over the cupcakes. Decorated as well with mini marshmallows and candy cans.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS

• Use a kitchen scale: My default setting for my recipes is grams. It is the most precise way of measuring out your ingredients, I therefore highly recommend using a kitchen scale.
  
• Don't over mix your batter: I always use a spatula after everything has mixed together, to give it one final gentle fold together. This makes sure everything in the bottom of the mixing bowl has been mixed into the batter.
  
• Light vs. dark baking pans: For the best result, use an aluminum baking pan, greased with butter and lined with baking paper in the bottom. Aluminum pans are light in color and therefore attract less heat. That means it bakes more gently which results in a softer cake. If you use a black baking pan it'll attract a lot more heat. That will then give a darker crust, which can result in a dryer cake.

FAQ

STORAGE

Store the hot chocolate cupcakes in an airtight container, at room temperature. For the best result enjoy them within a 2-3 days.

Other Cupcake Recipes To Try

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