These easy chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream blend rich chocolate flavour and smooth, creamy sweetness. The moist chocolate base pairs perfectly with the light, vanilla-infused buttercream topping, creating a balanced and satisfying treat for dessert lovers.
This is my children’s favourite cupcake recipe. They are super simple to make and never last very long in our house.
With their swirls of vanilla buttercream frosting, these chocolate cupcakes are a delightful combination of rich and creamy flavours.
The cupcakes are moist and decadent, infused with cocoa’s deep, intense taste. Each bite delivers a satisfying chocolatey goodness that melts in your mouth.
Topping these indulgent treats is a smooth and creamy vanilla buttercream whipped to perfection. The buttercream adds a sweet, creamy contrast to the chocolate base, and its light vanilla notes enhance the overall flavour experience.
Together, they create a harmonious balance of sweetness and richness, making these cupcakes a favourite for any dessert lover (especially my cake-loving children!).
Ingredients
For the chocolate cupcakes
- 100 grams butter, room temperature
- 200 grams caster sugar
- 2 free-range eggs beaten
- 150 grams plain flour
- 165 ml full-fat milk
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 35 grams of cocoa powder
For the vanilla buttercream
- 175 grams of butter, room temperature
- 300 grams of icing sugar
- 1 tsp Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean paste
- 1 tbsp full-fat milk
- chocolate sprinkles to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C/160 C (fan)/350 F/Gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with large paper cupcake cases.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well.
- Sift in the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder. Pour in the milk and and beat to combine well.
- Spoon into the prepared cupcake cases and bake for 12-15 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To prepare the frosting, beat the butter and vanilla in a bowl until soft. Sift in the icing sugar and beat well. If the frosting is too stiff, add the milk.
- Frost your cupcakes and sprinkle with the chocolate crispies, if desired.
MAYDAY!!!
ALERT: Elizabeth has been called away. Her pager has just gone off.
I am an RNLI volunteer at Britain’s most northerly lifeboat station. At any given moment, my pager could alert us that someone is in need at sea.
How often are you asked to drop everything in an instant to go and save someone’s life? RNLI crew members can be called away anytime, day or night. Whether they are about to get married, go to a concert or are out with friends, they drop everything as soon as the Mayday distress call comes in.
Please consider supporting these volunteers this Mayday. They are raising vital funds to keep the charity and its 237 lifeboat stations operating.
For more information about Mayday and to see how you can get involved visit RNLI.org/Mayday.
Ok, on this particular occasion my pager didn’t really go off, but in between baking these cupcakes and frosting them I went for a 17 mile mountain cycle ride – training for the epic 250 mile mountain bike ride I am going on this June. I may not be going on grand trans-Atlantic sailing adventures on Viking ships, but I am living my own little adventurous life.
I am fundraising for the RNLI with this trip – you can sponsor me online, or there’s a paper form in my village shop for those of you who know me in person.
Recipe Difficulty Levels
Easy
Requires basic cooking skills and ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen.
Moderate
Requires more experience, preparation and/or cooking time. You may have to source special ingredients.
Challenging
Recipes requiring more advanced skills and experience and maybe some special equipment.
Easy Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
for the chocolate cupcakes
- 100 grams butter room temperature
- 200 grams caster sugar
- 2 free-range eggs beaten
- 150 grams plain flour
- 165 ml full fat milk
- 1 pinch Shetland sea salt
- 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda use a heaped measure
- 35 grams cocoa powder
for the vanilla buttercream
- 175 grams butter room temperature
- 300 grams icing sugar
- 1 tsp Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean paste
- 1 tbsp full fat milk
- chocolate crispie sprinkles to decorate
Affiliate Links
This recipe card may contain affiliate ingredient and equipment links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C/160 C (fan)/350 F/Gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with large paper cupcake cases.
- Cream together 100 grams butter, room temperature, and 200 grams caster sugar until light and fluffy. Add 2 free-range eggs and beat well.
- Sift in 150 grams plain flour, 1 pinch Shetland sea salt, 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 35 grams cocoa powder. Pour in 165 ml full fat milk and and beat to combine well.
- Spoon into the prepared cupcake cases and bake for 12-15 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To prepare the frosting beat 175 grams butter and 1 tsp Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean paste in a bowl until soft, sift in 300 grams icing sugar and beat well. Add 1 tbsp full fat milk if the frosting is too stiff.
- Frost your cupcakes and sprinkle with chocolate crispie sprinkles, if desired.
48 Hour BBQ Ribs: The Perfect Blend of Sous Vide and Barbecue
I made this and it was amazing!!!!!!
I made these too and my batter ended up being enough for 20 cupcakes and when I took them out of the oven they were huge. Was yours like this?
In the heady World of cup cakes these stand out a mile. Gorgeous !
it would be nice to have UK imperial weights for ingredients as well
Mmm cupcakes are on of my faves i love all the flavors you can get them in
A classic combination for a cupcake! My daughter is going to go out with the Whitby RNLI crew next month so I will make sure she knows all about the MAYDAY campaign.
Stunning cupcakes – thanks for linking them up with Treat Petite! What a fantastic cause you are supporting here too, I hope you raise lots!
Haha, cupcakes seem like a great way to make it up to him. They look lovely!
Corinne x
A great cupcake recipe. Delicious! Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare. Ps sorry I’m late popping over to comment 🙂
Oh, those look amazing Elizabeth. I’m sure your husband was delighted that you made his favourite cupcakes! Mine has rather savoury tooth but I managed to please him with my cinnamon doughnuts, thanks for the link.
Hi Elizabeth,
Gorgeous story, your husband totally deserved those cupcakes! I wish you all the best finding a sponsor. Keep it up with the great work!
Zaria
I probably would be baking these myself if m favourite viking was in town or in the vicinity lol. Thanks for the recipe.
What an incredible thing to do (lifeboat volunteering, not flirting with Vikings!), I’ve got a huge soft spot for the RNLI as a charity as they scattered my Granpda’s ashes at sea for us – something I’m sure he would have loved.
All the best with your ride – I’ll pop over and sponsor you in a bit x
Congratulations on getting to the finals of the Bibs! Only the other week we watched a programme and Shetland Reel was featured on it. I do like a good gin and hope to keep an eye out for some soon. We are up in Scotland at the end of the month so hope to see some. These cakes look and sound delicious and I love the story about the viking. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Gosh that is a loud, piercing sound, I’ll be hearing it in my sleep lol
These cupcakes look lush and if they taste as good as they look, well I’ll be a happy bunny! xxx
Oh my word, these look delectable. You take the best pictures! H x
Sounds like a very eventful day! And those cupcakes sound delicious! The ship looks amazing! It must have been a sight to see!
This was such a lovely read – the cupcakes look so yummy too!!
Those cupcakes look delish! Haha I’ve had a few awkward swoon moments and been caught by my other half… He didn’t get cupcakes though. I best not let him see this haha
I could really go for one of those cupcakes right now. They’re so pretty. Those flavors sound great too!
Oh wow, that is some amazing work you do! I can’t imagine what it must be like when that call comes in. Also, I’d be swooning over Vikings too, ha ha ha!
Fabulous post! You’re such a great storyteller, Elizabeth!
Oliver • http://suedeandsymphony.com
Yummy looking and sounding cupcakes. You’ve just reminded me that I need to get round to watching Vikings too!
Gin tasting sounds amazing and these cupcakes also sound spot on. x
Gin and cupcakes – you know the way to my heart Elizabeth! Love the wee tale here x
Oh I am sure these delicious cupcakes did sweeten hubby! There is nothing wrong with a little swoon (keep him on his toes!!) Kaz x
Glad that your husband was ok with it in the end and how cool that your got to meet Mr Viking and he told you, you were marvelous. It does not get any better than that. By the way loving the hat photos!
Those cupcakes looks AMAZING! Chocolate and vanilla are my favourite combination 😀 Yum! I’ll have to give these a try 🙂 xx
The gin tasting sounds like a lot of fun, and those cupcakes look amazing! I just bought some vanilla bean paste and I love it. Can’t wait to use it in this recipe!
A very fun post! And so glad your husband got his favourite cup cakes in the end! Busy few days 🙂
What a gorgeous cupcake! My mother always made chocolate cake with vanilla icing, and I have a soft spot in my heart for it still — wonderful post, that Viking ship is awesome 🙂
Such a fun post Elizabeth… I would also lose the plot over a burly Viking so can totally understand your keenness to help him out!!! Fab pics of the cupcakes with your daughter in her floppy hat too…
These look so delicious! I can almost taste the frosting! 🙂 x
Those cupcakes look so yummy! I need to do more baking.
I don’t blame you for swooning over Vikings I would too but I’m sure your hubby loved the cupcakes! They look amazing and I will be attempting this recipe X
I see why these are your husbands fav cupcakes!
And I gotta say, your story is my fav this morning!
The cupcakes look yummy! Well done for volunteering with RNLI, it’s such an important cause.
What a great story! Going to google the Viking ship now, it (and the Viking) sounds intriguing. Gin tasting while the husband takes the kids to the cinema sounds like my idea of heaven.
I don’t know if I love the cupcakes or your story more! Thanks for sharing 🙂
What an amusing story – could be a scene in an Outlander novel.
Beautiful cupcakes too!
What delightful cupcakes! They’re sure to melt anybody’s heart 🙂 I love your pictures of the boats too. And I can certainly understand the swooning. I don’t watch Vikings (despite everybody telling me to) but I am obsessed with The Last Kingdom. It’s on Netflix, see what you think of Uthred son of Uthred lol
Gin tasting while your husband and kids are at the movies. I want YOUR life!
These look delicious!! I haven’t tried making cupcakes in a long time, but any excuse to butter up the husband right!? Haha. Your lifeboat rescues and cycling trip sound amazing!
Love the story you tell in this post and absolutely drool at the vanilla-chocolate combo cupcake! Can’t wait to try…Nice job!
How wonderful that you volunteer to help people in need! I do love these cupcakes – your piping is spot on. The addition of chocolate crispy sprinkles make them look too delicious to eat!
If I had eggs I would make those right now they look great.
I’ve never had gin so i’d quite like to have a tasting session! Those cakes look absolutely delicious!!!
Oh wow those look absolutely delicious – have to admit I am envious of those who can do perfect swirls! x
these look amazing. I’m eating a blueberry muffin at the moment and now i want these
Okay. You totally put my baking attempts to shame! These look amazing.. I will master cupcakes!
I think I can offer some comfort here. First of all, I would TOTALLY have swooned too… secondly, I’m always buttering up my other half with sweet treats when he’s made / upset with me. He seems oblivious but it works every time lol. They do say the way to a mans heart is through his stomach 😉 great post!
The cupcakes look droolworthy I am not surprised your hubby loves them.You can’t go wrong with chocolate in a cake.
I loved reading this story! Gin tasting and cupcake baking sounds the perfect weekend too (plus the viking obv) x
Those look gorgeous, and I love the Viking story – brilliant!! Fantastic work volunteering for RNLI, I visited a lifeboat station recently and learned so much about the amazing work they do.
Ummm, if that man looked anything like Travis Fimmel, you were totally within your ogling rights! These cupcakes look so good. I love the classic vanilla and chocolate combo and those sprinkles are too cute!
Seriously, can you cook something with kidney beans and tinned carrots so I am not hungry when I get to the bottom of the page ha x
Love the smile on your daughter’s face holding the apology cupcakes. Who could turn those down. The photos of the viking ship are amazing and my son got a kick out of them. The cupcakes look just as amazing!
Awesomeeeeeee! I will absolutely make these… seem delicious and simple to make. I love the photos too! So cute xx
Cup cakes look amazing and sound tasty as… I just wish there was a picture of the viking.. you tease you!
Um… Yum! These are gorgeous cupcakes! I am adding this recipe to my must bake list!
That’s one impressive Viking shop and one gorgeous looking cupcake! I am going to have to make these for my son.
I love baking, these look lovely am going to be trying these out on my next baking session x
I did some research on that boat and the only shelter is a tent in the middle! How the Vikings did it without modern navigational aids is amazing.
Thank you for all your RNLI work – I have sailed so much throughout the years and have so much admiration for everyone who volunteers for the RNLI. Their selflessness offers so much peace of mind when you step onto a small yacht.
Those cupcakes look divine. Also, the RNLI are such a great cause
Ha! Ha! What a brilliant story. I can’t say I blame your hubby for being less than thrilled hearing you chased a big hunk of a man down. . .but it seems these divine cupcakes may have made him forget about this innocent obsession. Of course, these beauties would cause anyone to forget just about anything except the chocolate-y vanilla goodness sitting in front of them.
BTW. . .good luck training for your mountain bike ride. It’s been eons since I got a cook mountain biking ride in.
That looks amazing! I can’t wait to have my kitchen back and try out all your recipes… not that they’ll ever turn out as good as yours 😉 x
Cupcakes look divine. You make me want to bake.
Ha ha I want to see some pics too – although have to say my imagination is doing the job pretty well. Never seem to bump into Vikings in Wiltshire (sadface) The cupcakes also look fab x
Lovely story Elizabeth, and those cupcakes look delicious Those Viking ships are really quite something…they must look even more amazing in real life (and probably even more so with a big burley bearded vikings aboard), and like Janie, Chocolette and Helen I’d love to have seen an image (or two) of said Viking 🙂 #HowtoSunays
Angela x
Fantastic! I am a huge Vikings fan, so I get where you are coming from!! The cakes sound delicious. My girls visited the lifeboat last weekend in Sussex- what a great charity! Sarah #HowToSunday
The cupcakes look delicious! Hope your husband has forgiven you now. Like Janie I also want to see photos of real life Vikings lol
Amazing sotry. Those cakes look so delicious!
These cupcakes look lovely! Great work for the lifeboats too 🙂
Well I’m in complete agreement with your husband, you are amazing. But where are the pictures of said hunky Viking? Rather desperate to see one now 😉
And hats off to you for your RNLI work. Critical in Shetland as it is here in Cornwall.
This story is amazing. Love it. Lucky husband getting those cakes..don’t be surprised if he seems to get sulkier more and more just to get the cakes!! ha x
Wow, I’m smitten too Elizabeth! But where, prey tell, are the photos of the big burly Viking??! I wonder if we can find some on their Twitter page… 😉
Janie x