Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

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These rich Triple Chocolate Cupcakes are filled with a homemade chocolate ganache and topped with silky smooth chocolate buttercream!

These Triple Chocolate Cupcakes are so rich and decadent! These moist chocolate cupcakes are filled with homemade chocolate ganache and they’re topped with a silky smooth chocolate buttercream. They’re a chocolate lover’s dream!

More Chocolate Recipes You’ll Love

• Chocolate Blossom Cookies
• Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes
• Fudgy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
• Double Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredient Breakdown

All-purpose flour – this gives the cupcakes structure.

Granulated & brown sugar – sweetens and tenderizes cupcakes. Either light or dark brown sugar will work.

Cocoa powder – gives the cupcakes their chocolate flavor! I always use natural unsweetened cocoa powder.

Baking soda & baking powder – both leaveners are needed to help the cupcakes rise.

Buttermilk – adds flavor and moisture.

Vegetable oil – adds moisture and tenderizes cupcakes. Also allows more chocolate flavor to shine through versus butter!

Eggs – binds the ingredients and provides structure.

Vanilla extract and salt – enhances flavor. Always use pure vanilla extract instead of imitation for best flavor.

Hot water – enhances chocolate flavor

How To Make Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

1. Make the Chocolate Ganache Filling: place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave or in a small pot over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate then let sit for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk together until combined then place the chocolate ganache in the fridge until ready to use.

2. Make the Chocolate Cupcakes: in a large bowl combine granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl whisk the buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract.

4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Once combined, slowly mix in the hot water. Scoop batter into prepared pans 3/4 full. Bake at 350°F for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

5. Make the Chocolate Buttercream: using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy.

6. Add confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder then mix on low until combined. Then add the vanilla extract and heavy cream or milk and beat until fluffy. Add salt to taste.

7. Cut a small hole in the center of each cupcake using a cupcake corer or a knife. Fill each cupcake with chocolate ganache. Decorate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream as desired. Store Triple Chocolate Cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Pro Tips For Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

• Weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale! Measuring ingredients by volume is not accurate.
• Don’t over mix the cupcake batter otherwise it will develop too much gluten and be dense/gummy.
• Do not over fill your cupcake liners. Only fill them 3/4 full. I love this cookie scoop because it fills them with the perfect amount of batter!
• Make sure your water is hot NOT boiling and slowly add it to the batter while stirring so you don’t accidentally cook the eggs.
• Wait until the cupcakes are COMPLETELY COOLED before frosting otherwise the buttercream will melt and slide off.

My Favorite Cupcake Tools

• Kitchen scale I love this scale, I’ve been using it for years!
• Stand Mixer
• 12-count cupcake pans. I like having two of them so I bake off the whole batch all at once.
• Cupcake liners
• Cookie scoop. This one makes it so easy to scoop the perfect amount of batter for each cupcake.
• Mini offset spatula
• Piping tips and piping bags
• Ateco 824 I used this tip to pipe the chocolate buttercream onto these cupcakes

If you try this recipe then please leave a rating/comment below to let me know how you liked it and feel free to ask any recipe questions you may have! 🙂