Super Moist Cocoa Cupcakes - super quick, super fluffy, healthy (with whole wheat flour), with no butter, totally vegan (egg free) and so easy to make, this is one of my most treasured chocolate cupcake recipes.
I have been making these decadent and easy cupcakes for decades for my children and once you take a bite of it, this easy one-bowl recipe is going to be your favorite too!
Enjoy it (with or without icing or studded with chocolate chips) as a mid morning treat, in kids' lunch boxes and they would be perfect for kid’s parties or family gatherings too.
With so many chocolate based recipes which I have shared with you, I wonder how I missed this amazing one for quick cocoa cupcakes!
Ever since I can remember, I have been making these fluffy, super moist vegan chocolate cupcakes with cocoa powder and oil (and totally eggless) to my two boys’ delight; but now that they have all grown up and have flown the coop; I don’t make them that often; until now, just for all of you friends!
Whenever the urge to eat something chocolaty hits me, I either rummage my freezer for some chocolate ice cream or a bar of chocolate.
But sometimes, who can resist a moist chocolate cake like my eggless chocolate beetroot cake, the most fudgiest brownie, or even a simple cupcake like this one?
This super easy recipe for cocoa cupcakes needs no fancy equipment; just a bowl and spatula.
Just mix whole wheat flour or even multigrain flour (healthy is the new trend now and good for you too!) with sugar/brown sugar/jaggery powder, baking soda and cocoa powder.
Coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate in any dish, so I have added some instant coffee powder; you can choose not to add it.
Tip in water, oil (yes, only oil, and no butter!), vanilla essence and some white vinegar. Give it a good stir and cake batter is ready.
Pour into a lined cupcake pan and bake; that is it!
Moist, fluffy and light chocolate cupcakes, with a whiff of coffee which enhances the flavor of chocolate, are all yours to dig into!
These soft and fluffy cupcakes are so good, you can enjoy them plain, but if you feel the urge to raise the chocolate quotient a few notches up, you must frost them with my easy chocolate icing.
For a quick bite, I normally keep them plain, but this time, I had a tub of chocolate frosting in my freezer, leftover from making the chocolate ice cream cake I had made for my Mom’s birthday, so some of the cupcakes got a coating of chocolaty swirls; yumm!!
Now, isn’t this a super easy recipe for quick chocolate cupcakes? They are so easy to make, even your kids can make them; of course with a little assistance from you.
If you love chocolate and are looking for a quick, super moist, easy, vegan cupcake with whole wheat flour and no butter, which can be made in under 30 minutes, this is your recipe.
Enjoy it plain or frost with my homemade easy chocolate frosting (again with cocoa powder) for a decadent treat.
Or if you are not a fan of refined sugar and prefer something slightly healthier like jaggery powder, then these multigrain flour chocolate cupcakes with added jaggery, are for you!
Updated August 2019:
Made another batch of these black beauties on demand from my family but with more chocolate - lots of chocolate chips in the cupcake and on top too!
Now, hop on over to this easy, one-bowl recipe for soft, fluffy, moist chocolate cupcakes with cocoa powder and whole wheat flour!!
Super moist Cocoa Cupcakes - super quick, super fluffy, healthy (with whole wheat flour), with no butter, totally vegan (egg free) and so easy to make
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup sugar, white or brown
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla essence/extract
- ½ cup softened unsalted butter
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- Pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla essence/extract
- Few teaspoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Centigrade.
- Line a muffin pan or cupcake pan with liners, paper or foil cupcakes liners. Keep aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, coffee powder and salt.
- Mix well with a whisk or sift well.
- To this dry mixture, add 1 cup water, oil, vinegar and vanilla essence.
- Mix well with a large spoon or spatula until just mixed.
- Spoon mixture into liners until each case is filled 2/3rd full.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove pan from oven. Let stand for about 2 minutes, and then remove cupcakes; place on wire racks to cool completely.
- Once the cupcakes are cool, frost with chocolate icing or enjoy them plain.
- In a small bowl, sift icing sugar, cocoa powder and salt; mix well. Keep aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat ½ cup of softened butter until soft and creamy. Stir in vanilla essence and beat again.
- To this, add icing sugar mixture in batches on low speed until it is well combined with the butter-vanilla mixture; scraping down the sides as required.
- Add milk a teaspoon at a time until you get the consistency you want. I used about 2 teaspoons of milk to get a frosting soft enough to flow through the cake decorating nozzle, but stiff enough to form rosettes or swirls.
- If you want to ice the cupcake, fill the chocolate icing in a piping bag with a star nozzle and gently make fudgy, chocolate swirls of icing on top of the cocoa cupcakes; store leftover icing in an airtight container in the freezer up to 3 months.
Notes
These moist cocoa cupcakes are super quick to make and have a light and fluffy texture.
If you feel the batter is too thick (using whole wheat flour or even using multigrain flour does that), feel free to stir in a couple of splashes of water to make a flowy yet thick batter. It could be 2 to 4 tablespoons if needed.
I have even reduced the whole wheat flour to 1 1/2 cups and the cupcake still comes out amazing!
You can double the recipe to make 24 cupcakes or halve them to make only 6.
Love more chocolate? Stir in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in the dry mixture before stirring in the wet ingredients.
Top with more chocolate chips if needed just before baking.
This is a great go-to chocolate cupcake recipe you will use over and over again.
Use the best quality cocoa powder to get the best flavor.
You can omit the coffee powder if you want; I love the flavor of coffee, so I add this to most of my chocolate cakes.
Enjoy and Happy Cooking/Eating!
How to make Super Moist Cocoa Cupcakes:
1 cup = 250 ml and I have used standard measuring spoons available for baking.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Centigrade.
- Line a muffin pan or cupcake pan with liners, paper or foil cupcakes liners. Keep aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, coffee powder and salt.
- Mix well with a whisk or sift well.
- To this dry mixture, add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla essence.
- Mix well with a large spoon or spatula until just mixed.
- Spoon mixture into liners until each case is filled 2/3rd full.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove pan from oven. Let stand for about 2 minutes.
- Remove cupcakes; place on wire racks to cool completely.
- Once the cupcakes are cool, frost with chocolate icing or enjoy them plain.
To make the chocolate icing:
- In a small bowl, sift icing sugar, cocoa powder and salt; mix well. Keep aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat ½ cup of softened butter until soft and creamy. Stir in vanilla essence and beat again.
- To this, add icing sugar mixture in batches on low speed until it is well combined with the butter-vanilla mixture; scraping down the sides as required.
- Add milk a teaspoon at a time until you get the consistency you want. I used about 2 teaspoons of milk to get a frosting soft enough to flow through the cake decorating nozzle, but stiff enough to form rosettes or swirls.
- If you want to ice the cupcake, fill the chocolate icing in a piping bag with a star nozzle and gently make fudgy, chocolate swirls of icing on top of the cocoa cupcakes; store leftover icing in an airtight container in the freezer up to 3 months.
- Enjoy!!!
Sharing this with #RecipeoftheWeek.
If you like my posts and recipes, do not forget to Pin, Share, comment in the box below or like my Facebook page ?
My cupcakes turned out toooo toooo good and yummy that my kids were so excited and enjoyed so much!!!!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe!!
Thank you so much dear Raagalakshmi 🙂
I am so happy your kids loved it! Actually, this is my go-to recipe for any chocolate cake for my kids too, although they are all grown up now and still demand this cake 🙂
It is comments, feedback and appreciation like yours that make my day 🙂
Thank you again and keep enjoying baking and eating this easy chocolate cupcakes!
Pls let me know the cup size.
Hi Rohini 🙂
1 cup = 250 ml
Hope this helps 🙂
Hi. Is this measurement applicable to dry ingredients? Is 1cup = 250gms ?
Hi Rohini,
Yes, all measurements are in cups and teaspoons/tablespoons and 1 cup = 250 ml.
Hope you try this 🙂 One of my tried and tested recipes which I have been making for decades and our favorite cupcake recipe.
Hi. Can i replace vinegar wth sum other ingredient. If ys den WIC 1?
Hi Vandana! You could replace with lemon juice but I have not tried with that yet 🙂 Please let me know how they turned out if you do use it!
These really turned out to be super moist and yum. Thanks for sharing. Can I bake a cake out of this recipe? Could you tell me the pan size and time for baking in case I can.
Thanks so much Garima for the try and feedback 🙂 I am so glad you loved it!! If you want to bake it in a pan, just pour the batter into either an 8-inch or 9-inch pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes at the same temperature until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Again, thanks so much 🙂 🙂
Thanks for your reply.
I bake often without eggs and use vinegar. The cupcakes do turn out really good. Lovely looking cupcakes.
Thanks dear 🙂 🙂 Yes, so exciting that even without eggs, cakes can come out so scrumptious! Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂
Tried them out today. Were super moist and delicious.
Thank you so much Mrunalini! Glad you loved it 🙂 I appreciate the lovely feedback....