One Bowl Never Fail Rich and Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

by Micki
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These one bowl chocolate cupcakes are rich, moist, and oh so easy to make!

one bowl chocolate cupcakes that are easy, moist and as close as never fail as you can get.

Our ten year old makes these by herself all the time (I help with the hot water), so they’re as close to never fail cupcakes as you can get!

You know those times that you want something delicious, home made and chocolatey, but you don’t want to sweat for hours in the kitchen?

In our house that’s almost every day. We love great food, but I honestly don’t love spending hours in the kitchen.

That’s why I’m in love with anything that can be made in a single bowl! There’s so much less cleaning and fuss!

Never Fail Chocolate Cupcakes
Never Fail Chocolate Cupcakes

These are the perfect no fail cupcakes, with a great dose of rich chocolate goodness added in!

We make this recipe in our house every time (yes EVERY time) we’re craving chocolate cupcakes.

Once in a while I try another recipe, and always kick my self because it’s never as good, or as easy, as this one.

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes – Never Fail Rich and Moist

Never Fail Rich and Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

These cupcakes have it all. They’re rich, moist and chocolatey, easy to whip up in a single bowl, and best of all – they’re almost impossible to screw up.

This recipe makes 24 cupcakes.

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Total Time:  These one bowl chocolate cupcakes are rich, moist, and oh so easy to make!

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need. The ingredients are pretty simple, and you should have most, if not all of these in your pantry already.

  • 2 1/4 cups granulated white sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour. Note, you cannot substitute cake flour – use all-purpose flour. Cake flour will make these cupcakes rise too much.
  • 5/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 medium or large eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Flour and grease 24 cupcake tins or just use cupcake liners. Click here to see prices.

Using a mixer, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking power and and salt.

Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla into the same bowl.

Mix for three minutes on medium speed.

Stir in the boiling water last. IMPORTANT: Batter will be very thin. Pour into the prepared tins, filling each tin or liner about about 2/3 full. Do not overfill, or they may flow out of the tins as they cook

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean, or the top of the cake springs back if you touch it gently with your finger.

IMPORTANT: This batter is very, very thin. It’s almost the consistency of a can of paint. Don’t let this worry you – the cupcakes will still turn out great!

The picture below shows the consistency of these cupcakes – it’s very thin! In fact, it often comes out thinner than the photo shows.

Never Fail Chocolate Cupcakes batter is thin

Helpful tips!

We like to use paper liners, and spray them with PAM or another vegetable oil before cooking. Spraying the liners helps the cupcakes come neatly out of the liners – they’re less likely to stick.

This is an easy recipe to change. Just add a few drops of mint flavoring to make mint cupcakes, or a couple of tablespoons of espresso to make mocha cupcakes.

You can even add half a cup of mini chocolate chips to make an extra tasty chocolate chip cupcake!

Want to make better cupcakes?

This Wilton regular cupcake pan is the perfect size, cooks evenly, and cleans up easily.

See it on Amazon here.

Did you make this cupcake recipe?

How did it turn out?

Let us know in the comments below!

Craving some chocolate goodness? Check out our chocolate fresh fruit cake with whipped cream, this mint chocolate chip cheesecake dip, or follow our Dessert Pinterest Board now for more great ideas.

one bowl chocolate cupcakes

One Bowl Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

Yield: 24
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

These one bowl chocolate cupcakes are rich, moist, and oh so easy to make!

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 5/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Flour and grease 24 cupcake tins or use cupcake liners, sprayed lightly with cooking oil.
  3. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking power and and salt.
  4. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla into the same bowl.
  5. Using a hand mixer, mix for three minutes on medium speed.
  6. Stir in the boiling water last. IMPORTANT: Batter will be very thin.
  7. Pour into the prepared tins, filling each tin or liner about about 2/3 full. Do not overfill.
  8. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean, or the top of the cake springs back if you touch it gently with your finger.

Notes

IMPORTANT: This batter is very, very thin. It’s almost the consistency of a can of paint. Don’t let this worry you – the cupcakes will still turn out great!

We like to use paper liners, and spray them with PAM or another vegetable oil before cooking. Spraying the liners helps the cupcakes come neatly out of the liners – they’re less likely to stick.

This is an easy recipe to change. Just add a few drops of mint flavoring to make mint cupcakes, or a couple of tablespoons of espresso to make mocha cupcakes. You can even add half a cup of mini chocolate chips to make an extra tasty chocolate chip cupcake!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 165Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 187mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 1gSugar: 19gProtein: 2g

All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information should only be used as a general guideline.

No Fail Rich and Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
easy chocolate cupcakes
most and easy chocolate cupcakes
Never Fail one bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

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63 comments

Emy Cooks February 20, 2014 - 12:10 pm

Yes, I do this recipe and it is my favorite, everyone loves it. Been a while since I baked might do it as I have some homemade frosting;)!

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Linda Carmical February 20, 2014 - 12:15 pm

These look so good I want to whip up a batch now! Very tasty looking!

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Susan salcito October 19, 2016 - 5:39 am

These are excellent. Did think I messed up because the batter is very thin and this recipe made 24 standard sized cupcakes despite the recipe stating 12 (?). But they were perfect and EASY!!

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Micki October 22, 2016 - 8:33 pm

Hi Susan,

Thanks so much for catching that typo! I’ve changed the recipe to say that it makes 24 cupcakes.

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Hilda November 8, 2016 - 4:08 pm

I made these with a group of seniors at a day program today. We followed the recipe and everything looked great. After 15 minutes in the oven the cupcakes rose and then fell flat in the tins. Was very disappointing after spending all that time in the kitchen. Is there a typo in the recipe anywhere? We were able to salvage the flat cupcakes by scraping them into bowls and eating it with ice cream. Still tasted good.

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Micki November 17, 2016 - 9:58 am

Hi Hilda, we’ve made this exact recipe a dozen times and have never had that happen. We use an all purpose flour so make sure you’re using the proper flour as that can sometimes lead to problems.

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Sharon December 31, 2016 - 3:46 pm

What does 5/8 cup translate to?!

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Micki January 17, 2017 - 9:56 am

Hi Sharon, 5/8 cup is about 150 ml or 5 ounces.

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mitch February 2, 2017 - 11:45 pm

can i make this batter into a cake and not cupcake? i wanted to try to make a cake using this. will it work? and what is the temperature would be? tnx for your future response

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Mikele February 5, 2017 - 7:33 am

I do this recipe and substitute half a cup f water for bourbon ……. then top with a cinnamon buttercream. AMAZING!!!!!

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Marie February 11, 2017 - 4:12 am

hello, what type of white sugar is used in the recipe? is it granulated, castor, or powdered?

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Micki February 12, 2017 - 2:37 pm

Hi Marie. We use granulated sugar in the recipe.

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Lisa Patterson March 3, 2017 - 1:28 pm

We jusy tried this recipe and they boiled over and burned, instead of rising and cooking. What could we have done wrong? We are at a high altitude.

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Micki March 3, 2017 - 2:36 pm

Hi Lisa. It’s possible they were overfilled or you added too much of one ingredient. Is it possible the oven was set too high? Altitude does make a difference.

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Kendra Putnam March 11, 2017 - 12:57 pm

Cupcakes are in the oven now. They have risen tremendously! Looks like i should have filled the batter 1/4 the way full instead of 3/4. And yes, I used all purpose flour. Hoping they turn out good becuase i chose this recipe for my sons birthday party cupcakes tomorrow! I hope i dont have to stay up making another batch this evening. Will update!

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Sara Flamerich March 15, 2017 - 4:35 pm

My cupcakes were beautiful , but they only took 18 minutes to bake. Maybe it’s because I have a gas preffessional oven ? I live at sea level so things usually take the maximum time to bake. The toothpick came out clean so I pulled them out. Great easy recipe though!

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Tamara March 17, 2017 - 4:48 pm

I made these muffins with hopes of having them for St Patrick’s Day. Good thing it was just for my family, because my muffins fell too like Hilda reported. I live at 3200ft above sea level, would that make a difference? Whenever I bake a basic cake it collapses too, however bundt cakes do fine.

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M Caroline March 31, 2017 - 3:00 pm

Altitude can definitely play havoc while baking Tamara and so can humidity. Also make sure you’re using the right kind of flour. Over beating can also result in a dropped cake so make sure you don’t overmix it.

Under cooking or opening the oven too many times, especially at the beginning, can also account for dropping. If you have problems baking any cake, you can pick up a cheap thermometer like this to make sure you’re oven is reaching (and staying) at the right temperature.

Also be careful not to overfill your tins otherwise the center might not be cooked enough when you go to pull it out. Hope one of these ideas help!

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Aarica March 31, 2017 - 3:55 pm

So the recipe doesn’t say to line with cupcake liners…but the picture shows them so I used them. I couldn’t get them off the liners. The liners just torn apart (and I sprayed them before hand.) Mine also fell flat as someone else stated. Very disappointed and I have to start all over.

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M Caroline March 31, 2017 - 6:23 pm

Sorry to hear you had such problems Aarica. Sometimes I spray the liners really lightly and sometimes I don’t bother but have no problem either way getting them off once they’ve cooled down a bit. We’ve made them a dozen times and have never had one fall flat on us before either. Of course, if you’re in the US you shouldn’t use cake flour, or they could rise to fast and fall flat. Make sure you use all purpose flour. Of course, and baking can vary depending on altitude and humidity.

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Marie April 5, 2017 - 10:34 am

These cupcakes are delicious and definitely the best I’ve had in a while!! #2017baking

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Colleen Thain May 14, 2017 - 3:34 pm

These are amazing Thank you. Do you think you could bake as a cake in a 9×13 maybe??

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M Caroline May 17, 2017 - 11:12 am

Sure Colleen, the first time we ever made this was as a cake for a birthday party. You’ll need to bake it longer but just check it with a toothpick before taking it out.

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Annette May 25, 2017 - 3:01 pm

Hi I’m in England what is all purpose flour is it plain flour or self raising? Thank you

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M Caroline May 25, 2017 - 3:20 pm

Hi Annette! All purpose flour is plain flour. It’s funny – we’re from Canada, and almost all recipes (both bread and cake) are made with all purpose (plain) flour, so I honestly didn’t think to put plain flour in the directions. Thanks for asking!

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Jane May 30, 2017 - 5:05 pm

So are you saying in the U.S. You need to use cake flour??

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M Caroline June 27, 2017 - 12:24 pm

No. In the USA, use all purpose flour.

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Colleen Thain June 26, 2017 - 7:16 pm

BEST Cupcakes EVER! Thank You

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Krista Kirby August 26, 2017 - 5:29 pm

Hey I’m wanting to make this recipe for my family but all we have is unsweeted special dark chocolate cocoa powder. I was wondering if I make it will that will it still turn out the same or will it me up the cupcakes? I’m sorry for bothering you this is my first time making cupcakes from scratch and im trying to make sure I do it right. Thank you!

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M Caroline August 26, 2017 - 5:32 pm

Hi Krista,

Yes, it should work just fine. They’ll have a dark chocolate taste from the cocoa powder, but they sound delicious!

Make sure you use regular all purpose flour and NOT cake flour!

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Samantha January 21, 2018 - 3:33 pm

I’m not sure if this happened with anyone else but the cupcakes I made got stuck to the liners. Otherwise they were great!

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Sherry March 14, 2018 - 7:07 pm

These are the best cupcakes I have ever made and had! I made them for treat week at work and they were a hit. I was a little sceptical about the “as thin as paint” batter but when they were ready to eat they were moist and delicious.

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Krista Kirby May 12, 2018 - 9:23 am

Hi sorry to bother you but is it okay for me to use self rising flour instead of all purpose flour. Also thank you for the recipe I made it many times before for my family by using all purpose flour and they loved it. They were delicious, moist and beautiful!?

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M Caroline August 21, 2018 - 6:14 pm

Hi Krista, You need to use all purpose flour. If you use self rising flour, the cupcakes will likely rise to far and overflow the tins.

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Jill May 19, 2018 - 8:23 pm

Mine also fell a bit after rising, but are still delicious and moist. One note, ive made these 4 times and i always bake for 17 minutes. Not sure how they would be after 35.

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Debbie October 10, 2018 - 4:56 pm

These were delicious!

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Victoria March 21, 2019 - 9:24 pm

Tried this recipe! It was really great! I have been in a long search finding a moist, and delish chocolate cupcake recipe. And I am glad I found it! Thank you

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Justine July 17, 2019 - 10:36 am

This recipe was so yummy! We used some strong brewed coffee in place of the boiling water and they turned out great!

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Stef July 17, 2019 - 12:29 pm

Love that you can make these in one bowl. Sometimes I just don’t want to fuss with cleaning multiple bowls when I’m all done with baking. And.. they are so moist!

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Beth October 3, 2019 - 11:12 am

Oh how I love a classical chocolate cupcake. And you made it so easy to pull these together. Thanks for a great recipe!

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wilhelmina October 3, 2019 - 2:56 pm

These were so easy and delicious! I love how moist and chocolately they are!

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Isabel February 24, 2020 - 11:52 pm

Hi, I was wondering if I could replace the vegetable oil by something else like butter

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M Caroline February 25, 2020 - 5:29 pm

I haven’t tried it, but using butter should work. Make sure the butter is melted before adding.

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Rachael March 25, 2020 - 8:05 am

Absolutely delicious-thank you! Q-do you think the batter freezes well? ?

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M Caroline June 24, 2020 - 2:20 pm

Hi Rachael! I’m not sure how the batter would freeze – I’ve never tried it? If anyone else tries freezing the batter, let us know!

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CandyWolf March 29, 2020 - 11:35 pm

Cupcakes rose fast, fell flat, and were super crumbly and airy. They still tasted good but were a mess to eat. For everyone with the same issue, add more flour to the mix! The flour adds more mass to the batter so the cupcakes can stay up on their own instead of collapsing.

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M Caroline June 24, 2020 - 2:22 pm

Hmmm… that’s interesting. I’ve never had that happen. Is there any chance you used cake flour instead of all purpose? Just a guess…

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kelly rockney April 15, 2020 - 6:12 pm

Made these for my mom’s birthday! Delicious. Very rich and just like a quality bakery. I used 1 cup of hot coffee instead of the boiling water.

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Alicia July 5, 2020 - 1:14 am

Hey can I use butter or olive oil instead of vegetable oil?

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M Caroline July 5, 2020 - 9:42 am

I’ve never tried butter or olive oil in this recipe, but should both work. I’d melt the butter before adding. Let me know how it works out!

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Alicia July 5, 2020 - 4:52 am

I skipped the boiling water but it was still super moist; reduced the sugar and still had a super rich chocolate cupcake. Although I must say, I had it in the oven for 40mins. I can definitely make a great sale! Haha!

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Brenda September 6, 2020 - 2:17 pm

I made 24 cupcakes and had enough batter left over for six more cupcakes. I guess I was being really careful about not over filling muffin cups. Husband ate one warm before I had a chance to frost! He said they were very good.He usually will only eat tha bakers german choclate cake which is a pain to make and requires five or six bowls!! good quick cupcakes, will make again-oh! I used hot coffee instead of the hot water at the end.

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Loren September 22, 2020 - 5:51 am

Delicious! I followed recipe as written. I topped them off with cream cheese frosting. Yummy. My husband says they were similar to a brownie.

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Johanna Pancia January 29, 2021 - 8:07 pm

This is my favorite cupcake recipe. It’s delicious, fool-proof and comes out perfect every time.

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Krista October 2, 2021 - 4:36 pm

Sorry for all the comments, can I also substitute the flour to something diabetic friendly and use margarine instead of stick butter. Thanks for your time.

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Kelly April 7, 2022 - 5:42 pm

These were delicious and easy to make! Somehow I was able to make 36 cupcakes with this recipe and they baked in 20 minutes. Quick question, do these need to be refrigerated after baking?
Thank you for sharing!

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Kathleen May 15, 2022 - 7:22 pm

5/8 cup = 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons

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Micki December 4, 2023 - 8:13 pm

Correct!

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Birdie September 26, 2022 - 6:35 pm

Made the cupcakes. Taste really good. Made 28 cupcakes. They were done in about 23 minutes, would have been overcooked 30 to 35 minutes.

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Dee November 5, 2022 - 5:31 pm

I love this recipe, cupcakes were so moist. I will make these cupcakes often.

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Laura Joyce January 15, 2023 - 10:15 am

To avoid the sinking cupcakes some have complained of in the comments, be sure to mix for the full three minutes as indicated. Otherwise they will sink.

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Carley July 28, 2023 - 2:31 pm

I’m going to be making these for my nephew’s 6th birthday and I’m curious about the water. I feel like that would just make the cupcakes go flat, does there need to be water added to it since there is already the milk?

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M Caroline December 3, 2023 - 7:59 pm

Yes, the water is necessary.

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