cupcake project | 06: flour bakery’s chocolate cupcake

What? I’m back to my chocolate obsession?!

Yes, yes, yes. A resounding yes!

I figured that although I have a good dark chocolate cupcake recipe and a go-to devil’s food cupcake recipe, I still haven’t found my go-to chocolate cupcake aka the BEST chocolate cupcake recipe yet.
So, on with my search for the best. I stumbled upon two recipes yesterday – Hummingbird Bakery (recipe here) and Flour Bakery’s (recipe here) chocolate cupcakes.

I really had a hard time choosing which recipe to try last night, and well, you have probably guessed by now, Flour Bakery’s recipe won. I chose it cos it uses unsweetened chocolate and cocoa powder, not just one of the two. If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you also probably know by now that I have a blossoming love affair with tablea.

Knowing that I can use both regular baking chocolate and tablea for this recipe… I’m SOLD!

I love how the cupcakes turned out – moist, dark, chocolate-y and delicious. All of that even without frosting! It totally melts in your mouth.


Now, just a disclaimer. This is just for me, ‘kay? I’ve tried a lot of recipes which got rave reviews but some of them didn’t wow me. This may also be the case for any of you who want to try the recipe –- it may or may not work. That’s the fun and challenging part! :)

For the frosting, I decided to use my chocolate frosting recipe with a few changes.

Want the recipe? Here you go.

Flour Bakery's Chocolate CupcakeAdapted from Three Clever Sisters  

2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 pcs tablea, chopped
1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 egg + 1 yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt  

Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. The recipe said it makes 12 cupcakes, I got 18. Haha.  

In a heatproof bowl, combine chocolate, tablea and cocoa powder.   

In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the granulated sugar, butter, and water, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.  

Pour the butter mixture over the chocolate and whisk until smooth and all the chocolate is melted. Let cool. When bowl is no longer hot, just a little warm, whisk the milk, egg, extra yolk, and vanilla into the chocolate mixture until combined.  

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until blended. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth.  Let the batter sit at room temperature for 1 hour or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.  

[I was impatient, I refrigerated the batter for about an hour and proceeded to baking. The batter wasn't as thick compared to Three Clever Sisters'.]  

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F. Bake cupcakes for 25-30 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. 

Chocolate Frosting  

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or a mix of chocolate melts, chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate), melted
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp milk, as needed  

Whisk powdered sugar and cocoa powder together.  

In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening together. Gradually mix in powdered sugar until blended. Add in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add in milk one tablespoon at a time. Beat until desired consistency is reached.  

* If frosting is too thin, add 2-3 tbsp powdered sugar at a time. If too thick, add 1-2 tsp milk at a time.