Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Cocoa Buttercream
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Hot Chocolate Cupcakes are a perfect blend of rich chocolate cake and hot cocoa flavored frosting, capturing the essence of your favorite warming beverage in a sweet cupcake form.
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It doesn’t get particularly cold here in south Georgia but that doesn’t stop my three sons from going into full hot cocoa mode in the wintertime. I can’t blame them, what’s not to love about a steaming mug of rich, chocolate-y hot cocoa? Luckily for all of us I’ve managed to get that same comforting flavor packed into a tasty cupcake!
Love hot chocolate? Try our Nutella hot chocolate or peanut butter hot chocolate variations!
Why I love this recipe
These moist fluffy cupcakes are packed with rich chocolate and topped with a cocoa flavored buttercream frosting and tasty mini marshmallows. They taste like they are straight from the bakery but are easily made at home.
Ingredients
- butter
- sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- milk
- flour
- cocoa powder
- hot cocoa mix
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- heavy whipping cream
- powdered sugar
Step by step
- Preheat the oven and prep a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy using a stand mixer (affiliate link) or hand mixer in a large bowl.
- Add egg, egg yolk, and milk. Mix until smooth.
- Add the flour cocoa mix, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until blended.
- Pour the cupcake batter into the muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Add cocoa mix and heavy cream to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until the hot chocolate mix dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool at least 5 minutes.
- In a separate bowl cream the butter until it starts to get pale in color. Add salt, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cocoa/heavy cream mixture and blend until smooth. Add the cocoa powder and again blend until smooth.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely to room temperature before piping the frosting onto the top of the cupcakes, then top with sifted powdered sugar and mini marshmallows.
Tips for best results
- You can frost the cupcakes with a butter knife if you do not have piping tools
- if you want to skip making the frosting altogether, you could top these delicious hot chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow fluff
- if you double the recipe you can use the unused egg whites to make these easy chocolate macaroons
Storage
Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Freeze unfrosted cupcakes in a freezer bag up to 3 months. I do not recommend freezing these hot cocoa cupcakes after frosting.
If you try this recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Cocoa Buttercream
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
Hot Chocolate Cupcakes are a perfect blend of rich chocolate cake and hot cocoa flavored frosting, capturing the essence of your favorite warming beverage in a sweet cupcake form.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons hot cocoa mix (Swiss Miss)
- 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Hot Cocoa Frosting
- 1/2 cup hot cocoa mix (Swiss Miss)
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add the butter and sugar. Blend with a hand mixer until combined.
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Blend again until combined.
- Add sour cream and whole milk. Mix until smooth.
- Add the flour, hot cocoa mix, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Blend once more to incorporate the dry ingredients.
- Pour the batter into the cupcake pan, filling each hole about ⅔ of the way full.
- Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cook on a wire rack.
- While the cupcakes bake, make the frosting. In a saucepan add the heavy cream and hot cocoa mix. Stir together over medium heat until the hot cocoa mix dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool at least 5 minutes.
- In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter until it begins to pale.
- Pour the salt, powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream mixture into the bowl. Blend until everything is combined and smooth.
- Lastly, add the cocoa powder, and blend again for a minute or so until you have a smooth, whipped, hot cocoa frosting.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool for at least 30 minutes before decorating, so the frosting doesn’t melt. Place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a star metal tip. Pipe the frosting onto each cupcake, with a swirling motion. Sift powdered sugar on top of each cupcake for garnish and add 3 marshmallows to the top.
Notes
Higher-fat milk is best but you can use 2% or skim if necessary.
You can frost the cupcakes with a butter knife if you do not have piping tools.
If you want to skip making the frosting altogether, top with marshmallow fluff.
Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Freeze unfrosted cupcakes in a freezer bag up to 3 months. I do not recommend freezing these hot cocoa cupcakes after frosting.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 349
- Sugar: 31.4 g
- Sodium: 201.6 mg
- Fat: 18.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.3 g
- Fiber: 1.1 g
- Protein: 3.2 g
- Cholesterol: 76.2 mg
My daughter loves these so making them for her birthday. Glad I read the comment about the typo (12 vs 1/2).
Also, “yield” means, how many does this make?? 12? 24? Guess I’ll find out…
Sorry about that, I have fixed those mistakes in the recipe card. It makes 12 cupcakes.
I wanted to make this cupcake recipe but was puzzled by an ingredient. The recipe calls for 12 teaspoons of baking powder. Is it a mistake?
I spotted this recipe on Flipboard & I wasn’t able to respond to your query; I wanted a copy of the recipe & noticed the same typo. I believe the correct amt is 1/2 teaspoon & you can compare to other cake recipes with similar serving size.
Thanks so much. I thought the same thing!