Devil's Food Cupcakes
By America's Test KitchenPublished on September 27, 2011
Yield
Makes 24
Ingredients
⅔ cup boiling water ⅔ cup (2 ounces/57 grams) natural cocoa powder 4 ounces (113 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or instant coffee4 large eggs ⅔ cup sour cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 ½ cups (7½ ounces/213 grams) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon table salt ¾ cup (5¼ ounces/149 grams) granulated sugar ¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces/149 grams) light brown sugar 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool
Before You Begin
If you don’t have bar or block chocolate on hand, use semisweet chips in the cake and frosting. If you like, you can cut this recipe in half to prepare 12 cupcakes.
Instructions
- Adjust rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Whisk boiling water, cocoa, chocolate, and espresso powder together in small bowl. Whisk eggs, sour cream, and vanilla together in medium bowl until well combined.
- With electric mixer on low speed, combine flour, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in large bowl until blended. Add butter and mix on low until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add egg mixture in 2 additions, then beat at medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until combined, about 1 minute.
- Add chocolate mixture and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 1 minute. Divide batter evenly among 24 cupcake liners. Bake until skewer or toothpick inserted in cupcake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in muffin tins for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on wire rack. Frost, using one of the related recipes.
- To Make Ahead: Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. (They also can be individually wrapped in plastic and frozen in a zipper-lock bag for up to 1 month.) The frostings can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Once frosted, the cupcakes are best eaten within a day, but leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for several days.
Yield
Makes 24Ingredients
⅔ cup boiling water
⅔ cup (2 ounces/57 grams) natural cocoa powder
4 ounces (113 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or instant coffee
4 large eggs
⅔ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (7½ ounces/213 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (5¼ ounces/149 grams) granulated sugar
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces/149 grams) light brown sugar
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
⅔ cup boiling water
⅔ cup (2 ounces/57 grams) natural cocoa powder
4 ounces (113 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or instant coffee
4 large eggs
⅔ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (7½ ounces/213 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (5¼ ounces/149 grams) granulated sugar
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces/149 grams) light brown sugar
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
⅔ cup boiling water
⅔ cup (2 ounces/57 grams) natural cocoa powder
4 ounces (113 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or instant coffee
4 large eggs
⅔ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (7½ ounces/213 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (5¼ ounces/149 grams) granulated sugar
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces/149 grams) light brown sugar
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Translating the intense flavor of devil’s food cake into a cupcake seems like it should be easy, but we found that to be far from the case. In the full-size cake, the tender, crumbly cake is bound together by a thick coating of icing; a cupcake, however, has icing only on the top, which isn’t sufficient to keep the cake from falling apart as it’s eaten. For the richest chocolate flavor and the reddish tinge that characterize devil’s food cake, we used natural—not Dutch-processed—cocoa and semisweet chocolate. A little instant espresso and a lot of vanilla help support the chocolate flavor. We stabilized the devil’s food cupcake’s crumb with an abundant amount of eggs, and sour cream helped provide a fine, delicate texture and a rich flavor.
Before You Begin
If you don’t have bar or block chocolate on hand, use semisweet chips in the cake and frosting. If you like, you can cut this recipe in half to prepare 12 cupcakes.
Instructions
- Adjust rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Whisk boiling water, cocoa, chocolate, and espresso powder together in small bowl. Whisk eggs, sour cream, and vanilla together in medium bowl until well combined.
- With electric mixer on low speed, combine flour, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in large bowl until blended. Add butter and mix on low until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add egg mixture in 2 additions, then beat at medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until combined, about 1 minute.
- Add chocolate mixture and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 1 minute. Divide batter evenly among 24 cupcake liners. Bake until skewer or toothpick inserted in cupcake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in muffin tins for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on wire rack. Frost, using one of the related recipes.
- To Make Ahead: Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. (They also can be individually wrapped in plastic and frozen in a zipper-lock bag for up to 1 month.) The frostings can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Once frosted, the cupcakes are best eaten within a day, but leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for several days.
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