I am a big fan of dark chocolate. I actually prefer 60% cacao or even 72% or even 80% to milk chocolate! I love the rich cocoa flavor without it being overly sweet. Do any of you feel the same way?
If you like dark chocolate, or even if you just plain like chocolate, I think you’ll love these very chocolaty cupcakes! They’re made with more unsweetened cocoa powder than you would normally use in a chocolate cupcake recipe, which gives them a rich dark chocolate flavor. That, and the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips mixed in the batter…yum!
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
DARK CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES by NancyC 
Makes 24 cupcakes
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups milk (or for richer cupcakes, use Half & Half/light cream)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
- 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
- 1 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup milk or Half & Half (light cream)
- Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Baking Chips for garnish
Preheat oven to 350˚F. In large bowl, mix flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, and baking soda together.
In medium bowl, cream sugar and softened butter together; add milk (or Half & Half), eggs, and vanilla; blend well. Add this mixture to dry ingredients in large bowl and mix well. Stir the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips into the batter.
Fill two cupcake pans with liners, and spoon batter into liners, about 2/3 full (be sure to use liners because you’ll have problems with these sticking to the pan if you don’t). Bake 16 to 20 minutes, or until toothpick in center comes out clean (actually, the toothpick won’t come out completely clean because of the melted chocolate chips in the batter, but you should be able to tell if the batter is finished baking). Let cupcakes cool 5 to 10 minutes before removing from pan, and cool them completely before frosting them. NOTE: these cupcakes will either have level tops, or they may sink in a little in the center, but that’s OK–they do that because they’re rich and dense. The scoop of frosting you will be putting on them will disguise the flat or indented cupcake tops.
Now for the frosting…blend the softened butter and unsweetened cocoa powder. Stir in half of the milk (or Half & Half), and 3 cups of the confectioners’ sugar; blend until creamy. Add the remaining milk (or Half & Half) and confectioners’ sugar, and mix again until smooth and creamy.
When cupcakes are completely cool, use any kind of round scoop you have that’s about a Tablespoon in size, and put a scoop of frosting in the center of each cupcake. If you don’t like a lot of frosting, just put a level scoop on. If you love frosting like I do, put a heaping scoop on! You’ll have plenty of frosting to work with, so you don’t have to skimp. After you put a scoop of frosting on all the cupcakes, dust them lightly with confectioners’ sugar, and then add the finishing touch–a Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chip on the top center of each frosting scoop.
Recipe from NancyC | nancy-c.com
If you end up having left over frosting, refrigerate what’s left and use later on something else. You can thin it out with some milk and use it as a glaze over a bundt cake. If you’re a light froster and have a lot left over, you can probably halve the frosting recipe the next time you make it. I always like to go heavier on the frosting, so I usually don’t have much left when I’m done! 🙂
Sharing at Weekend Potluck, Thursday Favorite Things, Full Plate Thursday, Wonderful Wednesday, Inspire Me Monday, Hearth & Soul.
NancyC 
These have my stamp of approval! (I was a taste-tester!) They are rich and yummy!
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mmmm they’re oooh so tasty too!!!
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Oh, these look divine! I have a passionate love for brownies and these look like a brownie-ish cupcake to me. So rich! Thanks for sharing!
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You are making me crave some chocolate!
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Those cupcakes look wonderful! Thanks for linking to TMTT and sharing such a tempting recipe.
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as one privileged enough to try one, they taste as good as they look!!!
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these look incredible!! I can’t wait to try these!
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Another fabulous recipe! I can feel myself gaining weight already!
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These look incredible. I love dark chocolate and I so wish I could have one of these right now. I just finished dinner and these look like the perfect dessert. Thanks for sharing such a tasty recipe and have a great day.
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you had me at dark chocolate.
Pretty please link up to my winter blues link party “Indulge Your Sweet Tooth”
http://momnivoresdilemma.blogspot.com/2011/02/beat-winter-blues-indulge-your-sweet.html
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I will-thanks for letting me know! 🙂
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These look (and sound) heavenly! Thanks for linking them up at Momnivore’s Dilemma!
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I love dark chocolate… these look scrumptious!
Please share this over here: http://www.bubblynaturecreations.com/2011/02/project-party-weekend-flavored-lip.html
We would love to have you join us!
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These sound like the perfect treat! I might just bake up a batch tomorrow 🙂
I’m having a linky party – hope to see you and your fabulous cupcake recipe soon!
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Oh Nancy, I am drooling! I love dark chocolate. the problem is that I’m the only one in my family who likes it. If I make these, I’d have to eat all of them! I’m saving the recipe though. I may just make them for me some time! Thank you for joining Favorite Things. laurie
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I prefer dark chocolate too; and these cupcakes sound delicious. Pinned.
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Yes, dark chocolate is the best! 🙂
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