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Hot chocolate cupcakes taste just like the wintery drink. Made with cocoa and topped with mini marshmallows, these homemade cupcakes are the perfect winter dessert!
It’s baking season and I’ve been brainstorming some wintery desserts. Haley here from If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen and today I’m sharing my recipe for hot chocolate cupcakes.
To make hot chocolate cupcakes
In my opinion, nothing beats a mug of hot chocolate on a cold wintry day. Just picture the snow falling down and you’re all curled up inside with a hot beverage.
Now imagine that chocolatey drink in the form of a cupcake. Yes, this cupcake tastes just like hot chocolate. Not only does the recipe use hot cocoa mix in the frosting, but it also calls for marshmallows on top! These chocolate cupcakes are moist and full of chocolatey flavor. I did a few rounds of recipe testing (and tasting) to make sure they were absolutely perfect.
How cute do they look?
A few notes on the recipe… it yields 14 cupcakes. And when I say 14, I mean 14. I tried divvying up the batter into one cupcake tin (12 cupcakes), but when they rose, they were too full and got stuck to the pan.
So take the time to fill the extra 2 cupcake liners. It will result in the perfect amount of batter for each cupcake.
As for the frosting, it is unbelievably delicious, but it is also slightly thinner than you’re typical buttercream. Don’t worry! It still sits on top of the cupcake perfectly. I suggest storing the cupcakes in the refrigerator since the frosting uses heavy cream.
Now that I’ve thoroughly given you the rundown on these hot chocolate cupcakes, you have to give this hot chocolate cupcakes recipe a try!
Other homemade cupcake recipes to try:
- Cannoli Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting
- The Best Vanilla Cupcakes
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the chocolate cupcakes:
- 1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, , room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup dry hot chocolate mix , (no marshmallows)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter,, room temperature
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Instructions
To make the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Place paper liners in a cupcake tin (this recipe makes 14 cupcakes). Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat together the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla extract until combined. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the batter. Start with one third of the dry ingredients, stir a few strokes. Add half the buttermilk, stir. Repeat. Add remaining flour mixture and stir just until combined. Be careful not to over mix. The batter will be somewhat thin.
- Pour batter into the prepared cupcake tin. Fill each paper liner halfway full (avoid overfilling and use 14 liners). Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting
To make the frosting:
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the hot cocoa mix and heavy cream. Heat for 5 minutes, stirring often, until warm. Remove from heat and cool for 20 minutes (or until at room temperature).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until combined, about 1 minute. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in hot cocoa mixture. Once combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat for 1 minute. If you’d like a thicker frosting, add more confectioners’ sugar.
- Transfer frosting to a pastry bag fitted with desired tip (I used a large round Wilton 1 A). Pipe frosting on to cupcakes and garnish with mini marshmallows.
Notes
- Store cupcakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More recipes from If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen…
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When I read about this I want to try this can I use chocolate mix in the cupcakes? To make taste like hot chocolate . With the unsweetened cocoa?
Hi, Kimberly! Most of the hot cocoa flavor comes from the frosting which has hot cocoa mix. You can replace some of the unsweetened cocoa with the hot chocolate mix in the cupcake batter, but I can’t guarantee results because different brands use different ingredients in their hot chocolate mix and it might not bake the same as regular unsweetened cocoa. If you try it, let me know how it turns out. Enjoy!
Wow! This recipe worked so well for me! It was also very fun to make! On the last few cupcakes I was running low on icing, but I improvised! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
So glad you loved it. Thanks for your feedback!
Wow! These were very fun to make! They turned out absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
these were HORRIBLE!!! mine turned out like gelatin. and I followed the recipe as told. and its not cook time either, I ended up cooking them 6 minutes longer and there was no difference in texture.
I am SO sorry to hear that these didn’t work out for you. They should not be a gelatin texture and none of the ingredients would make them be like that. Did they not bake in the middle? I’d love to help troubleshoot.
I am so excited to try this! Could I possibly just use a chocolate cake mix? Or will that take away from the hot chocolate flavor?
Yes, you can use a boxed chocolate cake mix as the hot chocolate flavor is mostly in the frosting. Enjoy!
Cupcakes are my favorite dessert to make but I have never made them with oil only butter. This recipe sounded yummy to try and the flavors don’t disappoint. It tastes just like hot chocolate! Only issue I have is the texture. They got really flat, some going a little over the liners and caved in in the center. I made sure I didn’t fill more than halfway, filling 14 liners and followed the recipe exactly so I’m not sure what I did wrong. I was able to put icing in the middle to cover the indents so they didn’t look too bad. I might try again in the future but for now I’ll stick with butter based recipes. Any tips?
Cupcakes may sink for a few reasons, (1) overbeating the batter, (2) opening the door before they are done baking and (3) incorrect oven temperature. The next time you make them, I would mix just until incorporated and double check your oven temperature with a thermometer. Those are the two most likely reasons why the batter sank in the middle. I’m glad you loved the flavor and hope that the texture is perfect for you next time. Thanks for your feedback!
Amazing recipe and definitely tastes like hot chocolate! This was the first time I’ve ever used oil rather than butter and I must say, I think I prefer it… But just a word of warning, seriously do not fill the liners more than half way otherwise the batter does spill out and it gets messy! It’s a very versatile cupcake but definitely my favourite around Christmas time! 100% worth a try!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Jamie! I’m so glad you love these cupcakes.
I agree! Hot chocolate is a must this time of year! Love the idea of flavor cupcakes like this! So good!
These are the perfect mix of cupcakes and all the flavors you love from hot cocoa!
How can I make for 3 serving ?? I need to do it? How? ??
Hi, Atasha! Unfortunately, this isn’t a small batch recipe and I haven’t tested a smaller batch of the cupcakes yet. However, you can definitely freeze the cupcakes and then thaw and frost as needed. You can cut the frosting down and use 1/3 of the measurements.