Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

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Made with a rich chocolate sponge base and fluffy vanilla Chantilly cream, then topped with melted chocolate and a toasted marshmallow, these moist hot chocolate cupcakes are the perfect, cozy winter dessert!

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 329kcal

Author: Katalin Nagy

Equipment

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

100 g Granulated Sugar
100 g Brown sugar
80 g Vegetable Oil
120 g Whole milk room temperature
120 g Freshly brewed coffee room temperature
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 Egg room temperature
180 g All purpose flour
50 g Cocoa powder
½ teaspoon Baking powder
½ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Baking soda

Stabilzied Chantilly Whipped Cream

460 g Heavy cream 36% fat content, cold
150 g Mascarpone 41% fat content, cold
60 g Powdered sugar sifted
2 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Filling - optional

Chocolate ganache see the recipe in my ganache article

Decoration

Melted chocolate
Toasted marshmallow

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Chocolate cupcakes

Prepare your cupcake tin by lining it with muffin liners and preheat your oven to 175℃ / 350℉ (no fan).
With an electric hand mixer, whip together the wet ingredients for 1-2 minutes: room temperature egg, oil, sugar, coffee, milk, and vanilla extract.
Sift dry ingredients together; flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt then pour the wet ingredients into dry ingredients and fold just until combined.
Spoon the batter evenly into the cavities of your cupcake tin, filling each one about ¾ full.
Bake the chocolate cupcake for about 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake them, as they can dry out.
Cool the baked cupcakes on a cooling rack. They must be at room temperature before frosting.

Stabilized Chantilly Whipped Cream

Place the very cold, high-fat content heavy cream and mascarpone into a mixing bowl along with the sifted powdered sugar.
Whip it up with an electric hand mixer for a minute and then add the vanilla.
When the frosting reaches a fluffy and pipeable consistency - after about 2 to 3 minutes - stop whipping immediately. If you continue whipping, the frosting will separate, get runny.
Chantilly cream can be refrigerated for 1-2 days and should not deflate if it was whipped up correctly.

Assemble

Optional - prepare a 1:1 ratio chocolate ganache and fill each cupcake with half a tablespoon ganache before frosting. See the recipe in my ganache article.
Move the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle. Frost the cupcakes one by one and then decorate with melted chocolate but not hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows.
The cupcakes are best served fresh. Any leftovers can be stored refrigerated for 2-3 days in an airtight container.

Notes

You might be able to make more or less cupcakes with this recipe, depending on the size of the cupcake tin cavities.

Ingredient notes:

Measure your ingredients with a digital scale for accuracy.
All cupcake ingredients must be at room temperature to properly emulsify: eggs, coffee, and milk.
The heavy cream and mascarpone need to be high in fat (36%+). The low-fat version won't whip up correctly because they contains more water.

Technique notes:

Make sure you read my Expert Tips section above to maximize your success. A short recipe alone cannot cover all the necessary details and science behind baking.
A digital scale is required for a consistent, happy baking experience.
The cupcake batter will be very liquid; don't worry about it. Do not add more flour to it.
Always preheat your oven and consider using a digital oven thermometer for the best results.
Baking these cupcakes takes 22 minutes in my oven. However, you should focus on the texture, not the time. Apply the toothpick test (it should come out clean) to avoid overbaked cupcakes. Do not overbake them, as that will result in a dry texture.
Chantilly cream is very easy to overwhip. When whipping, stop as soon as the mixture has reached a fluffy consistency (this will take 2-3 minutes) and early stiff peaks. It won't get stiffer after this point. In fact, if you overbeat it, it will only get runnier, and then it will break.

Nutrition