Made from simple everyday ingredients, these chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting will be your new favorite. For best results, use natural cocoa powder and buttermilk. Love chocolate buttercream? You can definitely make the switch! Or you can even swirl chocolate and vanilla frostings together, as you can see below.

Have you tried my super moist chocolate cupcakes before? This is the same exact chocolate cupcake recipe, a “foundation” recipe where I like to apply all different frosting flavors. Like my basic vanilla cupcakes recipe, these chocolate cupcakes hold a sacred spot in my baking repertoire. There’s no reason to find a better version– this is THE chocolate cupcake recipe I use time and time again.

Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting are a birthday party classic, so I want to make sure you have a recipe for just that.

These Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting Are:

Super moist and flavorful

Soft with a spongey texture (not dense like brownies)

Easy to prepare

Perfect for celebrations and birthday parties

Overview: How to Make Them!

Combine the dry ingredients: You need all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cocoa powder takes the place of some flour, so that’s why there is so little flour in this recipe. Make sure you’re using natural unsweetened cocoa powder, not dutched cocoa. Why? Here’s the difference between dutch-process and natural cocoa powder. And if you really want to learn today, here is why I use both baking soda and baking powder in these chocolate cupcakes. Whisk the wet ingredients: Whisk eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract together. Combine: Combine the dry and wet ingredients, add buttermilk, then whisk until smooth. The cupcake batter isn’t as thick as you’d expect. We don’t want a super thick batter because that would yield a cupcake similar to brownies. We don’t want dense! We want spongey, cakey, and rich. Fill muffin pan: Fill your cupcake liners only halfway full. Bake: The cupcakes take about 20 minutes in the oven. Frost: After they cool, frost the cupcakes with vanilla buttercream or your choice of frosting! I have dozens of frosting recipes.

Here are a few step-by-step pictures. These are taken from my chocolate cupcakes recipe, but the batter and instructions are exactly the same. Remember, expect a very thin batter.

This Will Make or Break Your Recipe

Fill the cupcake liners only halfway full. Not 2/3, not 3/4, not all the way to the top. You will question yourself as you pour in the batter. Really? This is ALL that I’m using for each cupcake? The answer is yes! Here’s what happens when you fill the cupcake liners too full:

cupcakes will overflow

they’ll have crisp mushroom tops

sink in the center

Got that? Only halfway full.

Vanilla Frosting OR Swirled Frosting

Vanilla buttercream is my first choice– I love sweet, creamy vanilla with chocolate cupcakes and sprinkles. Kids love these as birthday treats, too. If you want to take it a step further, try swirled frosting instead! You can find instructions for the swirled frosting in my marble cupcakes recipe. Basically, you’ll make two bowls of frosting, spoon them side-by-side in your piping bag, then pipe. It’s very easy!

I used Wilton 1M piping tip in these pictured cupcakes.

Baker’s Tip: Place your piping bag in a tall cup. This makes transferring frosting to the piping bag MUCH easier, neater, and quicker.