How to make Hot Chocolate Cupcakes?

The cupcake is a combination of –

Chocolate Cupcakes – These tender and moist chocolate cupcakes include my homemade hot chocolate mix. Addition of hot chocolate mix and cocoa powder gives a great chocolate flavour.
Hot Chocolate Buttercream – The perfect topping to the chocolate cupcake, the hot chocolate buttercream. Yes, there is hot chocolate mix added to the buttercream too and it sure tastes divine! This cupcake is like a rich cup of hot chocolate in a cake. Yumm!!
Top with mini marshmallows and chocolate drizzle

Tips for buttercream!

The buttercream calls for unsalted butter and it is better to use that, since salted butter will make the frosting very salty. Also, use good quality butter as regular local butter contains excess water and that may lead to a runny buttercream that is difficult to pipe. (Out of experience, sadly).
The second major ingredient is Icing sugar. This is something you would not want to substitute with powdered sugar made at home, since that leads to a grainy buttercream with sugar crystals. If you would like to still make it at home, make sure to powder the sugar verryy fine and add some cornstarch to it! (1 tsp Cornstarch for 100 g of powered sugar).
Beat the butter well before adding icing sugar. The butter should be fluffy.
If the buttercream is too stiff, add a tablespoon of cream. If too runny, add icing sugar.

STORING THE CUPCAKES

These cupcakes will stay well at room temperature for 3-4 days. For hotter climates refrigerate the cupcakes and they should stay well for upto 5-7 days (if they last that long).

Like this recipe? Other homemade cupcake and muffins recipes to try –

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe by thecrumbstoriesCourse: Dessert

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Rich and moist chocolate cakes topped with creamy hot chocolate buttercream and marshmallows. A rich mug of hot chocolate in a cupcake!!

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes
130 g All-purpose flour
120 g Granulated Sugar
50 g Brown Sugar
25 g Cocoa Powder
3 tbsp Hot Chocolate Mix
¾ Tsp Baking Soda
½ Tsp Salt, skip if using salted butter
120 ml Buttermilk
85 g Unsalted Butter, melted
10 ml Oil
1 Tsp Instant Coffee + ½c Hot water or ½ cup Fresh Brewed coffee
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Hot chocolate Buttercream
200 g Unsalted Butter, softened
280 g Confectioners Sugar
3 tbsp Hot Chocolate Mix
3 tbsp Fresh / Heavy Cream
Mini Marshmallows, to top

Directions

For the chocolate cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 175C/350F.
In a bowl, add the wet ingredients except coffee and hot water. Beat till combined.
Now, in another bowl, sift all the dry ingredients.
Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Combine well.
Now mix the coffee in hot water and add it to the mixture. Give it a good mix
Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Fill the cupcake liners with the batter until 2/3 full.
Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 mins or till a toothpick comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool completely before assembling.
Hot Chocolate Buttercream
In a bowl, beat the softened room temperature butter with the help of an electric mixer for 3-4 minutes or until pale.
Sift the icing Sugar into a bowl and add it to the butter in two batches, beating well in between each.
Add in the Hot chocolate mix and mix till well incorporated.
Also, add fresh cream/ heavy cream and beat well.
Once you get the desired pipe able consistency, put the cream in a piping bag with a nozzle of your choice.
Now pipe it over the cooled cakes.
Top with mini marshmallows and chocolate drizzle.