Chocolatey, Bite-Sized Bliss
It’s not often that I share a mini dessert (you know I like my sweets as big as they can be), but these mini cupcakes are the exception. With their fluffy, moist, and rich dark chocolate bases and their equally indulgent caramel frosting, a bite is really all you need. Sure, maybe I still eat three (or five) in one sitting, but that’s neither here nor there! 🤪 These cupcakes truly melt in your mouth and are my favorite match for my caramel frosting–though of course you could use a different type (like peanut butter frosting!). Since the frosting is so sweet and rich, it really goes well with the subtly bitter dark chocolate in the cake. Add a bit of sea salt on top (don’t forget it!) and you have an incredible flavor pairing!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
Takes less than 40 minutes to make.Makes a lot of cupcakes–great for parties!The cupcake batter can easily be made by hand (no mixer!).Pairs beautifully with my pipeable (!!) caramel frosting.
What You Need
You can make these adorable mini cupcakes with just a few ingredients:
Dark cocoa powder. You could substitute Dutch process cocoa powder, but the cupcakes won’t be true “dark” chocolate or as dark in color. They’ll still taste amazing, though! Corn starch. I love using cornstarch to make my cakes and cupcakes tender, but still sturdy enough to withstand a heavy application of frosting.Egg + Egg yolk. The extra yolk adds tenderness as well so these cupcakes truly melt in your mouth. Hot coffee. Hot coffee is a key ingredient in many of my chocolate cake recipes. It won’t make your cupcakes taste like coffee, but it will bring out the chocolate flavor. If you don’t have coffee, hot water will work too–just make sure whatever you use is hot!
SAM’S TIP: This recipe makes a lot of mini cupcakes (over 70!), but since they’re so small and poppable everyone is going to want at least one. You could try halving the recipe, but it could get tricky with some of the measurements. Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Mini Cupcakes
SAM’S TIP: Your batter will be pretty dry and crumbly before adding your liquids, and after adding all the liquids, it will be very thin. Both are normal! Don’t forget that sea salt topping! Enjoy! Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Related Recipes
