Moist One Bowl Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

If there's anything greater than Triple Chocolate Cupcakes, it's triple chocolate cupcakes made in one bowl! These cupcakes are so moist, rich and chocolaty, plus they are so EASY to make!

If that's what you're looking for, then Hello baby! You've come to the right place.

When it comes to desserts, I always gravitate toward chocolate. Maybe you know that already. Maybe the 212 chocolate-labelled posts on this blog gave that away.

Cake is great. I like cake, but sometimes when I want something quick to bake on a weeknight or I don't feel like heavy clean-up then I tend to stray away from it.

These cupcakes though, they are the exception.

The batter for this light, moist cake comes together in just one bowl with a whisk. You don't even need to pull out your mixer if you don't feel like it.

And believe it or not, they taste better as they age. Seriously. Who knew?

For a quick fix, these are the best moist chocolate cupcake recipe.

WHAT MAKES TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES MOIST?

Dissolved sugar and lots of cocoa. Blending sugar into the flour means that sugar will compete for water so that there is less water available to the flour to absorb and form gluten. All the cocoa (which contains no gluten) also prevents excess gluten development because it dilutes the flour and gets in the way of the flour particles making it a bit more tricky for them to suck up water so quickly. All the liquid in this recipe means that the sugar will dissolve readily. Dissolved sugar will form a syrup that holds in moisture and stays dissolved for a moist texture.

Buttermilk. The creamy viscous texture of buttermilk adds thickness to the batter which translates to better volume and moisture retention when the cakes are baking. There is a lot of information around the internet that describes how the acidity of buttermilk helps to break down gluten and makes the cake more tender, but really you would need so much acid to do this that the cake would taste terrible. Slightly acidic conditions actually promote gluten development, so if anything it could do the opposite!

WHAT KEEPS TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES SOFT?

Vegetable oil. It is liquid at room temperature which means that these cupcakes will feel squishier and bouncy rather than crumbly.

BUTTER VS. OIL IN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES?

BOTH! These Triple Chocolate Cupcakes benefit from both butter AND oil.

Using all vegetable oil makes a very soft and moist yet flat-tasting cake despite all that cocoa. Don't waist your cocoa on that. Butter is hard when cold and still a bit firm at a cool room temperature so it will lend a firmer texture to cupcakes especially ones that are kept while refrigerated, but it elevates the taste of chocolate in a way that oil could never do. Oil, however, is liquid at room temperature so cupcakes made with all oil will be soft even straight from the fridge. I choose a blend for the best of both worlds.

Let's talk frosting:

I almost always prefer Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It is so silky and light, and it pipes like a dream. But, for a quick and easy topping American buttercream is the way to go. There's no measuring temperature of boiling syrup and no 10 minutes of necessary whipping. It is just a bit less fussy. However, I find most American buttercream recipes use way too much powdered sugar that they taste cloying and gritty. Let's not do that this time!

HOW TO MAKE SMOOTH BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Use 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate in addition to all that cocoa. The lecithin (an emulsifier) in the chocolate will help to stabilize the frosting and hold the water phase together with the fat.

What liquid should you use to make frosting?

I always use 35% whipping cream to thin out my frosting. Firstly, we need liquid to help dissolve the sugar so that it doesn't feel gritty. Milk will do this but it also has a very high water content so it will not be compatible with all that butter. Cream not only has 35% fat but it also contains some stabilizing agents that will help to emulsify the frosting.

Now enter chocolate heaven...