I figured I should start transferring my recipes from my old blog over here to their new home and what better way to start that off with my favorite, my own best ever chocolate cupcakes recipe. This was a couple years in the making, always trying and adapting recipes searching for that perfect recipe. Dense, but not muffin like, tender crumb not dry at all. You know. The ONE. So after a few many trial and errors I came up with this. Many friends have used it and loved it. I am sure you will too.

Best Chocolate Cupcakes Ever

recipe by Pineapple and Coconut

Makes 28 cupcakes (or more or less depending on how full you fill the cupcake tins)

Dry Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( Dutch process like Droste or another GOOD brand)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk – room temp
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate melted and cooled (cooled for about 15 min make sure its still melted though don’t want it to harden back up)
½ cup plus 1 tbsp water, heated to boiling ( have a kettle of water on the stove boiling ready to go)
3/4 cup vegetable oil – I use organic safflower
2 large eggs room temp
2 tablespoons vinegar (not wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon vanilla<

Instructions:
This can be done with a stand mixer or by hand with a hand mixer or whisk but it is more of a 2 bowl method than one if going the hand mixing route

1. Preheat oven to 350F with rack in the center.
2. Place paper baking cups in regular sized muffin tins, spray edges around cups lightly with cooking spray. If you have a small 6 cup muffin tin and you only get 27 or 28 cupcakes fill the rest of the wells halfway with water and no baking cup
3. Whisk together the dry ingredients (sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt) in a large bowl.
4. In a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer whisk eggs till slightly thickened and a pale color. 2-3 min
5. Add in the milk, vanilla, oil and vinegar and whisk/beat well
6 Add in the melted and cooled chocolate and whisk/beat until combined well
7. Either add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients OR the wet into the flour and mix just to combine. Add in the boiling water and mix again just to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated
8. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups
9. Bake 15-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and free of crumbs or the cupcake tops bounce back when lightly pressed. Mine baked for 18 minutes.
10 Let cool for 5 min in pans and then remove carefully to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting

My notes:
Yes there is ONLY baking soda in these but it works. Do not try to add baking powder. I know you will look at this and think, “ don’t baked goods need baking powder or both powder and soda?” well yes, sometimes. It’s the vinegar that reacts with the soda, which helps with the proper leavening of the cake. These totally ROCK. Even 4 days after having been in my fridge, which normally dries them out, but they were still perfect. I have made them many times now once I got 26 or 27 cupcakes and another time 28. Just depends on how full you fill the cups. I use a #16 ice cream/batter scoop to fill mine. One full scoop works and if I have batter leftover and some look to be less filled with batter than I try to even out with a spoon and add in more batter that way. I also like SLAM the cupcake pans down on my counter a few times ( just lift evenly and let drop) to help get some of the air bubbles out. I am not sure where I read this technique but it works and well its kind of fun to make the noise. Unless you bake while your baby/kids/husband/significant other is sleeping. They might not like it.

Good luck and trust me you will LOVE this recipe. I do!!
ALSO. I have recently been toying with adapting my recipes to gluten free versions and I have ALMOST perfected this one. I will post soon!