These Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes are super chocolatey, moist, rich, and delicious! They’re easy to make, with just a handful of ingredients. Perfect for birthday parties, gatherings, celebrations, or whenever the mood strikes. The recipe includes step-by-step photos and lots of tips.
Why I Love These Egg-Free Chocolate Cupcakes!
Oh, My Chocolate!! These Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes are super chocolatey and rich. You are going to LOVE them. Plus, they’re easy to make, with just a handful of ingredients, just like my popular Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes [Video].
Perfect for those with egg allergies, but also great for those who ran out of eggs and are having a chocolate emergency. I can attest that chocolate emergencies are a real thing!
These egg-free chocolate cupcakes are some of the moistest, fluffiest, and most delicious cupcakes I’ve ever eaten! Usually, when you skip out on the egg in a cupcake recipe, they become dry but not this one eggless cupcake recipe!
They’re the only chocolate cupcake recipe you’ll need! For the frosting, I made my chocolate buttercream, but you can use anything you like. If you are looking for a shortcut, you can use store-bought frosting.
Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe Highlights
- They’re super chocolatey and rich.
- The texture is fluffy and moist.
- Super easy to make.
- Made with simple ingredients that you probably have in your pantry.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Amounts are included in the printable recipe below (scroll down). You’ll need:
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
- Flour: Standard all-purpose flour works best here, skip the cake flour, bread flour, and wheat flour.
- Baking powder & Baking soda: Make sure they’re not expired or too old.
- Unsweetened natural cocoa powder: I like to use unsweetened natural cocoa powder instead of Dutch-processed, because it’s more acidic and reacts with baking soda, allowing your baked goods to rise. Also, note that the recipe calls for natural cocoa powder, not Dutch-processed. These cocoa powders are not interchangeable. The acidity in natural cocoa powder activates the baking soda in the recipe and causes the batter to rise in the oven. Dutch-process cocoa powder has been treated with an alkali to neutralize its acidity and is therefore not acidic enough to activate the baking soda.
- Salt: I prefer kosher or sea salt. If you only have table salt handy, I recommend reducing the amount to half.
- Hot water: To dissolve the instant coffee.
- Instant coffee: This is optional, but I recommend its addition because it enhances the chocolate flavor. Adding a little bit will make things taste more “chocolatey” without giving a coffee flavor.
- Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter handy, you can use it. In this case, skip the salt called in the recipe.
- Sugar: Regular white granulated sugar o caster sugar.
- Sour cream: You can substitute sour cream for plain regular yogurt. I recommend using the full-fat versions.
- Oil: Vegetable or canola oil – Or any light-tasting oil of your preference.
- Buttermilk: You don’t have buttermilk? No problem!! Check out my recipe for Easy Homemade Buttermilk Substitute [Video].
- Vanilla extract: For optimal flavor, reach for pure vanilla instead of imitation. Even better, try homemade vanilla extract!
- Vinegar: You can use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
Step By Step Recipe Photo Tutorial
Detailed instructions are included in the printable recipe below (scroll down).
1 – Prepare the Oven and Pan
Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C). Line the cupcake pans with liners.
2 – Combine the Ingredients
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cocoa, and salt. Reserve.
Stir together hot water and instant coffee power until the coffee is dissolved. Reserve.
Add butter and sugar to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until well combined, creamy, and pale Add sour cream, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, vinegar, and coffee mixture; mix until well combined. Add flour mixture and continue mixing until just combined. Do not overmix.
3 – Bake the Cupcakes
Divide batter evenly among liners, about three-quarters full each.
Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let them cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then remove from pan.
Allow cooling completely before frosting.
Eggless Cupcakes Baking Tips
Measure the ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale.
Preheat the oven at least 15 minutes before you get started to give it plenty of time to reach the ideal recipe temperature.
Right temperature butter is KEY! Softened butter should easily bend without breaking and will give slightly when pressed. If your finger sinks into the butter and looks oily, it’s way too soft.
Don’t overmix the batter. Instead, mix just until you’ve evenly distributed the ingredients throughout the batter.
Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full. If you overfill the liners, they won’t rise properly.
Bake the cupcakes as soon as the batter is ready.
Don’t open the oven door until the cupcakes have set. Leave the oven closed until the minimum time stated in the recipe.
Every oven is different, so baking times always have to be taken with a grain of salt. Oven thermostats can be wildly off, and that will all affect baking time, so keep an eye on yours. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to make a cake check out my awesome recipe for Eggless Chocolate Cake or One Bowl Eggless Chocolate Cake.
Yes, buttermilk is necessary for this recipe.
Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup of regular milk. Let stand for 5 minutes. The milk will get thicker and clumpy and is ready to use in any recipe calling for buttermilk.
Yes, you can use self-rising flour. In that case, omit the baking powder and salt called in the recipe.
Yes, you can omit it but I recommend its addition because it enhances the chocolate flavor. Adding a little bit will make things taste more “chocolatey” without giving a coffee flavor. If you decide to omit the coffee just add the tablespoon of hot water.
Adapt This Recipe for Other Food Allergies
This recipe is egg-free, but you can certainly adapt it to other food allergies.
Gluten-Free: Substitute all-purpose flour for 1-to-1 Gluten-Free flour. This is my favorite brand.
Dairy-Free: Use your favorite plant-based milk, dairy-free, or vegan butter.
My favorite dairy-free butter brands for baking are:
Make sure to use an unflavored, unsweetened variety of non-dairy milk to make your own buttermilk substitute. Soy and oat milk have the best consistency and very neutral flavors, in my opinion. To make your own dairy-free buttermilk at home, check my Easy Homemade Buttermilk Substitute [Video] post.
Also, use your favorite dairy-free sour cream. You can substitute sour cream for dairy-free plain unsweetened yogurt.
Storing & Freezing Instructions
These egg-free cupcakes always disappear so quickly that you might not even have leftovers to pack up! But if you do have leftovers or you’re planning on making these ahead of time for a party, here’s how to do so.
Leftovers
The eggless cupcakes will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days as long as it’s unfrosted. If frosted, store it in the fridge.
Freeze
To freeze, skip frosting the cupcakes and then wrap cupcakes tightly in plastic wrap and place individually wrapped cupcakes in a plastic double zipper quart freezer bag. Freeze the cupcakes for up to 1 month. To defrost, unwrap cupcakes and bring them to room temperature.
Pro-Tip: I usually make two batches of cupcakes to freeze them and use later. When my daughter has to attend a party, I defrost a cupcake, add some icing and lots of sprinkles, of course, and pack it in this super convenient and cute cupcake container. This way, she won’t be left out during celebrations and get to enjoy an eggless cupcake. Freezing cupcakes is super convenient!
More Egg-Free Cupcake Recipes You’ll Love!
- Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes
- Easy Eggless Oreo Cupcakes
- Eggless Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes
- Eggless Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
- Easy Eggless Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Eggless Funfetti Cupcakes
- more cupcake recipes…
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Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (175 g) all-purpose flour (see notes)
- 1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons (45 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) hot water
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- 4 tablespoons (60 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (60 g) sour cream
- ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable or canola oil
- ¾ cup (180 ml) buttermilk (at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
To Decorate:
Important
Don’t forget to check out the step-by-step photos above in the post—they’ll guide you through the process and make everything super clear!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C). Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, and salt. Reserve.
- Stir together hot water and instant coffee power until the coffee is dissolved. Reserve.
- Add butter and sugar to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until well combined, creamy, and pale, about 3 minutes. Add sour cream, oil, vanilla, vinegar, and coffee mixture; mix until well combined.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture; beat until just combined, about 30 – 45 seconds. Do not overmix.
- Divide batter evenly among liners, about three-quarters full each.
- Bake for 20 – 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Cool pan on wire racks for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes from pan, place back on the rack, and cool to room temperature before frosting, about 1 hour.
- Spread or pipe chocolate buttercream evenly on cupcakes. Sprinkle with chocolate jimmies, if desired. Serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Eggless Baking Frequently Asked Questions
You’ve asked, and I’ve answered! Read on for a handful of answers to the most frequently asked questions about eggless baking.
The recipe was updated in June 2022 to add more helpful information. No change to the recipe.
