This is a chocolate-covered blog
Yet, up until a few weeks ago, it included neither a recipe for chocolate brownies nor one for chocolate cupcakes. Some chocolate blog!
Last month, I took on the brownies: Ultimate Fudge Brownies.
(Side note: I wish I’d created those brownies a long time ago! They’re so fudgey and chocolatey that they have quickly turned into one of my absolute favorite desserts.) Today it’s time to tackle the cupcakes.
These cupcakes are so soft and fluffy! No one will ever guess they’re healthy.
They’d also be really good with some Cashew Butter Frosting.
Chocoholic Cupcakes
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup flour (I used white-whole-wheat. You can use white.)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup sugar (see note below, for sugar-free version)
- 1 and 1/2 T cornstarch
- 1 and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup vanilla nondairy yogurt (such as SoDelicious)
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 3 T canola oil (See note below, for a fat-free option)
- optional: add a few handfuls chocolate chips to the batter!
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients, then add wet. Don’t overmix. Pour into cupcake tins, and bake for 15-20 minutes.
I put in 3/4 cup sugar, because these cupcakes were being served to people who are used to standard cupcakes. However, if you prefer a less-sweet baked good, or if you want more of a chocolate muffin, feel free to cut back on the amount of sugar. If you like the taste of stevia-sweetened baked goods, you can use 5 Nunatural stevia packs, or a combination of sugar and stevia. These cupcakes might work with liquid sweetener: just cut back on the other liquid a little bit.
Notes about the oil:
You can leave out the oil completely if you want to make these cupcakes even lower in fat and calories. Add extra applesauce in the amount of the oil. However, do know that the cupcakes will taste much less light and fluffy. I opted to use some oil for a few reasons: First, I believe healthy fats are extremely important to our bodies. Also, my recipes are healthier versions of traditional recipes, not necessarily low-calorie versions. And finally… taste! Fat-free baked goods can sometimes be gummy. So to those of you who are watching your fat intakes: Leaving the oil in only adds about 3 grams of fat (healthy fat) to each cupcake.
If you want a good cupcake recipe, without added fat, here’s my favorite.
Questions of the Day:
Have you ever made cupcakes?
And do you like to decorate cupcakes?
I’ve made everything from penguins to Mermaid Cupcakes.
{ 102 comments… read them below or add one }
I love your chocolate cupcakes! Look absolutely divine! Thanks again!
The cupcakes I’ve made have always been a box mix — and that was a long long time ago. Now I just stick with cookies because they are easier (for me) to make!
Yumm chocolate cupcakes are one of my favorites!
I make them all the time for my friends, and they can’t tell that they are eating vegan cupcakes!
Love chocolate cupcakes and muffins. I’ve tried to decorate them before with icing – didn’t work too well!
I love making cupcakes but I never have the patience for them to cool before I frost haha. Decorating cupcakes can be so fun!!
Oh, PS… I’m going to be making my sisters wedding cake in May… any decorating tips for me
Oh wow, that’s a huge task! I’d be nervous that I’d mess it up lol.
Decorating tips… hmm, just have fun! I’m sure it’s going to look awesome!!
I have actually never made cupcakes! But my mom has baked them twice and I decorated them both times. I love decorating things and food is no exception
Yum! Those cupcakes look so clear and sharp. How do you get your photos so sharp?
I take all my photos in manual or aperture priotity mode. But I also sharpen them, post-processing!
I DO like to make and decorate cupcakes! ….I think that cute little liners are SO fun and then throwing some sprinkles on top makes the world a better place!
This recipe looks awesome, thanks for sharing!
The fun liners are my favorite things! I love how they make polka dot ones and hot pink ones and even snowman ones now!
I love making cupcakes, but I don’t really like eating them. They’re not my favorite dessert. So whenever I make them, I make sure there are people I can give them to! I usually make a homemade frosting to frost them with, but I’ve never made mermaid cupcakes before!
Shut the door!!! I have been looking for a healthy chocolate cupcake recipe! You READ my mind, CCK!!!! Thank you!
i’ve made more cupcakes than i care to remember! i like doing the frosting thing, but sometimes all they need is a dusting of powdered sugar! still, sometimes it’s nice to do something different – marshmallow s’more frosting, or white frosting w/ oreo dusting!
Oooh yes of course i’ve made cupcakes (was that even a question?!
)
). So i love your Single Lady recipes!
) Glad to see someone shares my lack of intense sweet tooth haha 
These ones look awesome!
I healthify them, so i can justify eating them any time of day, e.g. carrot cake cupcakes, PB banana cupcakes..) And b/c I live by myself I love making single serve ones & microwaving them cos who turns on an oven for one cupcake! (well, um, i have done that actually..
The other day I saw Cookie Monster Cookies on someone’s bog (i can show you the link if you want) and I was thinking they would be awesome to make into healthified cupcakes! somehow..i gotta work on it lol..
I usually don’t bother decorating unless they’re for a special occasion, usually just smear with some kind of nut buttahhh haha
Love your blog, thanks!
Oh I’ve seen those cookie monster cookies! And cupcakes and even cake pops! SOOO cute! I love cookie monster
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Chocolate hugs to you!!
totally just thought of the coolest idea!
make a batch of cupcakes, then decorate each one as a different sesame street character! ernie, bert, cookie monster, elmo, big bird…oh that would be so cool hehe
chocolate hugs indeed
And coconut hugs as well!
I get soo soo excited when you post amazing recipes…which is like every day!! thanks
these look of course amazing!!
Awwww thank you so much, Lauren!
These are so beautiful
I have to admit, Im much more of a cupcake-maker, than an eater. They are fun to bake, and so pretty. But to cakey for me! I would rather bit into a plain dark chocolate bar
Yeah, me too! I actually don’t like chocolate cake! I want my chocolate to taste dark and rich and creamy, not cake-y. But it’s good to have a go-to cupcake recipe anyway
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I’ve made and decorated plenty of cupcakes in the past, when I was in high school… none of them were ever healthy, since I was always serving a crowd of people that loved just about everything that was super unhealthy!
I wonder if incorporating black beans into these cupcakes somehow would make them fudgey like the brownies?! Or I guess I could just make the brownies in a muffin tin, d’oh…
Decorating is super fun, but I actually hate eating frosting [which is usually involved, but not always, of course]… I’m not much of a cupcake fan, either – like Ragnhild said as well! I guess the number one way I enjoy chocolate is the same as my favourite way to enjoy blueberries: straight-up, plain.
Hmmm… that sounds like a fun experiment! Maybe pureed black beans in place of some of the yogurt or applesauce?
Please can you write a cookbook? Please please please????????
We are all addicted to your Single Lady Cupcakes in this house and usually make them at least once a week. We even have the Single Lady Cupcake Ramekins devoted strictly to baking these particular cupcakes. I like to put chocolate chips and cinnamon in mine, my 5 year old likes hers with strawberry preserves and vanilla, and my husband usually wants peanut butter and white chocolate chips in his. We don’t usually decorate them because we can’t wait long enough for them to cool before we eat them!
Oh yes, agreed! Eating is more fun than decorating. I love getting cute liners and maybe fun colored frosting. But I’m never patient enough to actually decorate them!
LOL single lady ramekins! Too cute!
I love decorating cupcakes! But mine are never works of art like yours. I would love to try fondant someday, but I still haven’t yet.
Those seaside cupcakes are adorable!
I actually don’t think I have ever made cupcakes. Muffins yes, banana bread, but never a good cupcake. Hmm…I wonder if it is even possible to make a gluten-free, xanthan gum-free cupcake? Sounds like a possibly tasty experiment!
Maybe with Bob’s gluten-free mix? I’ve never used it, but I’ve heard it works really well for gluten-free items… but I’ve never looked at the ingredients, so maybe xantham gum is in there!
Their all-purpose flour doesn’t have xanthan gum in it, although I haven’t been too successful in baking with it. Although I do feel lucky that my husband and I don’t mind the taste! A lot of people can’t stand the bean flour taste.
I just use rice flour instead for GF baking… you don’t need xanthan gum, especially for little cakes, and they taste great!
I’ll have to try that. Thank you!
I’m bookmarking this, Katie. It sounds like the perfect healthy recipe that doesn’t call for all sorts of weird ingredients. That’s what I love most about your recipes
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I LOVE making cupcakes. And decorating them is fun… except for the fact that I have no artistic ability and am absolutley horrible at decorating cupcakes!
But honestly, cake is so good by itself, I prefer eating it alone
these look good- wtith vanilla frosting, mmm!!!
haha
can I replace anything with cornstarch? maybe xanthan gum or something? and I still totally have to get that stevia! I tried a different brand and did not like the results
Maybe arrowroot?
Yum these look great Katie! I have a very similar recipe – in mine chocolate chips are never optional
I love making cupcakes! I make lemon ones most often as they’re my boyfriend’s favourite and frequently requested
I LOVE decorating cupcakes! Sprinkles are the best! This recipe looks great. A keeper for sure
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Saw this on twitter and had to click. I am a sucker for cupcakes, especially chocolate ones. I don’t really take the time to decorate them, because I don’t really like frosting. It is too sweet for me. But I love your single lady cupcakes because you can make just one. Just wondering, have you done a chocolate single lady cupcake yet?
I haven’t!
Could cupcakes get any more perfect!?!?! I think NO. They look amazing Katie!!!
Mmm I want to sink my teeth into that first photo. I love how your recipes are always so simple, without crazy ingredients like xantham gum or obscure flours. It makes it much easier to actually make the recipe as soon as I see it, without having to go out to the store first and buy things I’m only going to use for one recipe.
In other words, I’ll be making these today! Or, well, maybe as soon as I have an occasion for which to make cupcakes. I don’t think I need eight cupcakes hanging around my house!
They look so fluffy and soft, just like you said! I also am interested, like another commenter, in how you get your photos so crisp and real looking, like I could take the item off the screen. Of course, that is also wishful thinking. I WISH I could take them off the screen, especially in the case of these cupcakes!
A lot of it is the editing process. But it also helps to not shoot with flash and to shoot in manual mode.
The mermaid cupcake is cute, but I REALLY love the frog!!!! My birthday is in December. Can you make me frog cupcakes pretty please????
I love your blog!
These look so cute. I wish I had a party to try them out on!
I’m still waiting for a party to take your deep dish cookie pie to as well!
I haven’t made cupcakes in ages!! Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting is my favorite classic combination, but the flavors coming from the “cupcake craze” are awesome! I had a brown sugar praline cupcake from sprinkles and it was to die for!!
Totally random side note, but I was thinking about this while working out — how cool would it be if they made m&m’s with a fudge baby filling? They would taste so good!
Chocolate cupcakes are the BEST!! I love you so much for posting this and making me happy (and hungry!)
They look so fluffy and fudgy… or fludfy! (NEW WORD!). YUM
I’ve never made cupcakes! I don’t like them, so I’ve never really had any interest in making them. I think they are adorable, though and I love all the neat ways people decorate them!
Ooh another Cait! Great name
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You had me at chocolate.
Just sayin.
I love to make and decorate cupcackes!! Whenever we have Student Government parties at school, I bring them and they are always the first thing to disappear
These cupcakes are calling my name!! Now all I need is an excuse to make them. Though I think the fact that they’re chocolate is a good enough excuse by itself
Quicky question: I’m dying to make your fudge brownies, but I have no silken tofu. Any suggestions of what I could use instead of the tofu? I was thinking pumpkin, but I really have no idea! Thanks!
I hope you have the most wonderful day, Katie!
<3 <3
I’ve not personally done this (so I can’t say for sure that it works) but two other commenters have subbed banana, and one said pumpkin worked. If you experiment, let me know how your experiment works out!
Omg I completely see why you are obsessed with those brownies!! They are AMAZING!! I used the pumpkin and decided to sub it for both the tofu and applesauce. I doubled the recipe (since it was one of your recipes I KNEW I would love it!) and used a total of 3/4 cup pumpkin. I used about two and a half tbsp of coconut oil (I was going to 2 tbsp per recipe, but I forgot I was doubling it when it came to adding it) and ended up having to use 1/2 cup of almond milk. For sweetener, I used 1/4 cup maple syrup and 10 drops of stevia. It was the PERFECT sweetness for me!
The brownies were a little thin because the batter was really good, if you catch my drift 
I wasn’t able to control myself when they came out, so I had one hot from the pan! Oh so fudgy and chocolatey!!! I wanted another and another and another!! I’m thinking they would make a great breakfast, don’t you? 
And maybe even a great dinner…. So anyway, the pumpkin worked great, and obviously, I LOVED them!! Thank you so much for the fabulous recipe! I loved you before, but I love you even more know! 
<3 <3
Oh gosh darn it, now I’ma gonna hafta try pumpkin, myself. I can’t just take your word for it. Ugh, you’re forcing me to eat more chocolate. How could you do that???
I’ve only made scratch cupcakes once. I tried to decorate them, but they fell apart, and the icing was all messy, and it was a disaster. My mom is good at decorating cakes though, our birthday cakes are all so much fun!
Yes, I love making cupcakes!! My friends at school request that I bring them all the time
I also really like decorating, but I usually just try to pipe the icing prettily and then do a fun chocolate drizzle or dust coco powder on top. I have yet to venture into the world of fondant.
I’m somewhat addicted to cupcakes!! It helps having a boyfriend who is addicted to the rosewater & pistachio cupcakes from VCTOTW. I use the brooklyn brownie cupcake recipe as my go-to chocolate cupcake. Though I should probably find a healthier version considering how often I bake!!
I ADORE that cupcake book! Best cookbook ever!
I ususally prefer a piece of a big cake, or decorating a big cake, to cupcakes…. that said though, these look great – I might make an exception!
I have never actually made cupcakes from scratch, but this recipe makes me want to! I love all of the extra tips you added for making them more healthy and have less sugar. Thanks!
This recipe was posted just in time for my church Bible Study group tonight! I whipped up a batch this afternoon, and in a few minutes I’ll be taking them off to my group leader’s house. If they like the cupcakes even half as much as I did, they’ll be a big hit! The one I ate this afternoon was fabulous! I dusted them with powdered sugar for a light yet decadent treat. Thanks Katie!
There is nothing as fun as a naked chocolate cupcake! You can dress it up in any flavor you wish. My personal favorite is peanut butter frosting
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Hi Katie,
I love how you always have just the focal point in focus in your photos. Do you do this with your camera? What setting do you use for this? I just got a dslr and have no clue how to use it!
Aperature priority on my Nikon. Set the f stop to the LOWEST you can (3.5 on my camera).
Ohh those look delicious!
I love making cupcakes! This Thursday I’m making my friends some butterbeer cupcakes to enjoy before the midnight premiere of the final Harry Potter movie! (I have no shame in being a HP nerd!)
You won’t get any judgment from me! I actually was thinking of making butterbeer cupcakes! But sadly I’ll be on vacation. I’ve definitely made a HP-themed cake before… oh, and t shirts. So um nerdy? If that’s not nerdy, I dunno what is
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Katie! How do you do it?! I will so have to make these on our family beach trip next week. My mom and older bro are chocoholics!!! To answer your question, I LOVE decorating cupcakes. My dream is to own my own cupcake store. For Bible School I made and decorated like 64 cupcakes. I loved it!! I even have one of those huge cupcake pans that you make 1 huge cake shaped like a cupcake. We used it for my neices 1st bday! I Keep the recipes coming girl! I do have a question though. How do you afford to make all those yummy recipes? Do you already have most of the ing. and just restock hen needed? Maybe you could do a post on the necessities. Also, do your parents help eat them?
I usually use simple ingredients in my recipes– regular cocoa powder, quaker oats, etc. And I take advantage of sales for things I eat a lot of, like coconut butter. It can be as expensive as $15, but I never buy it for more than $9.
My friends are the lucky recipients of a lot of the experiments! My tummy is the other
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I love cupcakes but I haven’t made any recently due to the lack of an oven. It sucks. Actually, the last cupcakes I made were your single lady cupcakes
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Usually I don’t bother to decorate them. If I do, I put some light whipped cream or just cover them with some muesli before baking and then enjoy the soft + crunchy combo.
I love cupcakes! The more frosting on them too, the better!!!
love ya girl! I hope your weekend was great!!!!! xoxo
I think decorating cupcakes is even MORE fun than making them — and that’s coming from someone who LOVES to bake! Girl, you have the BEST CHOCOLATE Recipes EVER!!!!
Katie these look STELLAR!
I admit I do more cakes or brownies or raw desserts or dessert bites/balls than cupcakes. Not sure why, just works out that way. Probably b/c it’s easier to just put everything into a big pan than portion out cupcakes into liners and tins but that may have to change b/c your recipe looks…wonderful.
Lovely photography
Oh my gosh, yum! I wish I had a muffin pan, but I also wish I was home so I could make them. I’m so limited right now! Living with a family of non-vegans and non-vegetarians for a week. Eep!
These look yummy – everything you make looks yummy. Although I wouldn’t ever pass on the chance to eat one of these bad boys, I’m much more of a yellow cake and chocolate frosting. And if I could only pick ONE dessert, it’d have to be a brownie. Fudgeyness prevails over cakeyness in my book. Mmmm I want one now….
Heck yes! I think that’s probably why I went so long without a cupcake recipe on my blog… I just love fudgey, rich, or creamy desserts more than cake-y ones. But it’s always good to have a go-to cupcake recipe because they’re so versatile for parties and events.
I love making cupcakes! There are so many opportunities for decorating creativity:)
These look great! I tend to buy boxed mixes of cupcakes and then decorate them with fun home made frostings and such. I think I may give this recipe a whirl though, I just have a slight baking phobia. I usually go no-bake when I make things from scratch! haha!
I guess my dad only gets one homemade lavender dark chocolate heart today, because I am eating the other one, even though I was saving it for him
LOL your blog always makes me want dessert!! 
These look delicious!! Is it alright if I use yogurt and milk and isn’t non-dairy? I only have regular milk/plain yogurt as of right now. Will it make a significant difference in the cupcakes if I don’t use non-dairy products?
Hi Grace,
I’m sure it’ll work with any milk/yogurt!
katie, your recipes (and you) are SO beautiful, but it really bothers me how you always label food “evil”, “naughty” etc. I know it wouldn’t bother 95% of people, but that sort of language just automatically associates food with guilt and it’s just a little…I dunno, triggering. Just thought someone should tell you. But these look great
Hey Marina!
I really need to do a post about what I mean when I say things like “healthy tastes naughty.” I’m not saying that not-so-healthy treats are evil… really, I mean “naughty” more like “sexy” or “risque.” But lol I think writing “Making healthy taste sexy” on my blog header might be a little too… naughty?
My meaning is more like: you’ll FEEL devilish when you eat delicious food, but really you are NOT.
I strive, through ALL my posts, to show people that they can and SHOULD eat the foods they really crave. Every single day. I hope I’m explaining this well… I do not mean to say that you would be naughty if you ate UNhealthy food; all I’m saying is that you’ll THINK you’re being naughty when you eat the recipes on my blog when really you’re not!
Sorry to ramble! As I said, I should probably write a post to explain my true meaning. It’s sometimes hard to get one’s ideas across with words.
I just stumbled on your website and I am dying to make some of these recipes. Girl, you are amazingly talented! Thank you for sharing!
Aw Monica, thank YOU for taking the time to leave such a sweet comment!
I made these cupcakes yesterday, and made some frosting to decorate them today! For Halloween! They turned out AMAZING!!! It only made ten cupcakes, but I actually liked that. Otherwise, with a ton of cupcakes, I can sometimes feel like I HAVE to eat them all quickly before they go bad. So this recipe is definately a keeper! Boyfriend and step-dad approved as well
Oh, and I meant to ask… what purpose does the cornstarch serve in this recipe?
Awww yay!!
I think the cornstarch is a binder… honestly, I am still learning when it comes to the science of cooking, so I’m not 100% sure it even needs to be in there. As I wrote in the post, the recipe is very-loosely based off the sexy vanilla cupcake from the cookbook “Vegan Cupcakes take over the World.” Their recipe calls for 2 T cornstarch, so I just left some in mine. But if you ever make it without the cornstarch, I would be VERY interested to know if they still work well. In fact, I might just have to try it too…
can you use normal milk?
or did you just say non-dairy as a vegan recipe?
You can use any milk. I used almond milk.
Have you tried using coconut oil instead of canola oil in this cupcake recipe?
Yes! It’s wonderful
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How many does this recipe make?????
Sorry, I’m trying to figure it out… I know some of your recipes only make one or two this loks like at least six, but is it six, or 12 or, well how many? Trying to figure out if I need to heat up the big oven or just the toaster oven.
12
Sorry about that!
Thanks!
I used 1/2 c coconut sugar and they were great. Mine weren’t as pretty as yours, I never can get a rounded top, I guess I don’t measure well enough, or maybe it’s my altitude.
These were just what we wanted tonight.
Katie! I have a question for you- I’ve recently decided to become vegan after 3 years of vegetarianism, and my fellow blogger/dear friend, Krisla, is a far cry from understanding (she just can’t eat enough meat, eggs, dairy, etc.). While there are countless recipes on your site I want to wow her with, I have this urge to make attractive vegan cupcakes, from frosting to last crumb! Would this recipe make the cut, since you served them to non-vegan-eaters? Or do you suggest something else entirely in order to amaze a stubborn omnivore? And if these cupcakes do fit the bill, is the soy yogurt replaceable?
Sorry for the long post, I hope it’s not too much to ask!
P.S. I love how successful and passionate you are when it comes to veganism. It’s really helped solidify my choice to become one!
These are definitely just as good as non-vegan chocolate cupcakes. But honestly, I don’t think anyone will ever be “wowed” by a plain-jane chocolate cupcake. With cupcakes, it’s all about the frosting
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Other good recipes I turn to when I want to “wow” people:
1. http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/05/31/deep-dish-cookie-pie/
2. http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/09/15/chocolate-bar-pie/
Just don’t tell the person what the ingredients are until AFTER he/she tries it… that way no one is biased against the dessert before trying
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Oh, and yes you can sub whatever type of yogurt you wish for the cupcakes. A vanilla-flavored yogurt is recommended.
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