Homemade Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes
Moist chocolate cupcakes, a light and fluffy vanilla cream filling, and a simple chocolate frosting on top. What’s not to love? These are a classic done very well. Everyone, of all ages, will adore them.
So many cupcake recipes turn out tough and dry, or just blah, but I promise this one is tender and perfect. No weird textures or flavors. And they look beautiful when they are finished.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need
The ingredients are all basic pantry items. The only thing you might not have is shortening for the filling. You can just use more butter (though your filling might be softer). If you don’t have a piping bag to fill the cupcakes, you can use a Ziploc bag with a tiny corner cut-off. I’ve also left a link below to a piping kit that’s pretty affordable.
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This will make 24 cupcakes. This recipe is so easy to double or triple if you want. You can make adjustments in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Equipment
- 2 12-cup muffin tins
- 24 Cupcake liners
- Mixing Bowls (large and medium)
- Electric Mixer (stand mixer or hand mixer)
- Wire cooling rack
- Piping bag with a small star tip (or a plastic bag with the tip cut off)
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 3 cups flour
- 3 cups sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Cream Filling
- ¼ cup softened butter
- ¼ cup shortening
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Chocolate Frosting
- ½ cup butter (melted)
- ⅔ cup baking cocoa
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup of milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
If you don’t want to fill them, you can skip that step. They will still taste great plain or with just the frosting.
Step One: Make The Batter
Set the oven to 375°. Get 2 cupcake pans and put paper liners in them.
To make the cupcakes, you will need a stand mixer or a hand mixer and a large bowl. Add all of the dry ingredients to the mixer or bowl (flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt). Then add all of the wet ingredients. Beat everything until it is smooth. Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter.
Step Two: Bake
Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove the cake from the pans and let it cool on wire racks. Allow the cake to cool completely before adding the filling.
Step Three: Make The Filling
To make the filling, add all of the ingredients to a mixer and blend on low speed. Once the ingredients are combined, turn up the speed to medium-high and beat until the filling is very fluffy. You should see a change in volume as air gets mixed in. This will take a few minutes.
Step Four: Fill
Get a piping bag with a small star tip. Fill the bag with the cream filling. To fill the cupcakes, turn them over and stab them through the paper liners with the pastry bag tip. Squeeze for about five seconds. Cut open the cupcake and see how much filling is inside. Adjust your next squeeze so there is less or more filling, depending on what you want.
If you are having a hard time breaking through the paper, you can poke a hole with a toothpick. You should use all the filling with 24 cupcakes. Wipe off the bottoms when you are done.
Step Five: Make The Frosting
Use an electric mixer to mix the melted butter and cocoa together. Do this on low speed.
Next, add the powdered sugar and milk to the bowl. Turn the mixer on at a low speed at first, then slowly increase the speed. Add vanilla extract. Let the frosting mix on medium speed until it is spreadable. If it is too thick, add more milk very slowly.
Step Six: Frost
Frost your cupcakes and add sprinkles, candles, or any other decorations you’d like!
Storage Instructions
These cupcakes will stay fresh at room temperature for 3-4 days, on a plate covered with plastic wrap. They tend to dry out a bit in the fridge, so I prefer them on the counter or frozen.
If you want to store them longer, they can be frozen for up to two months. To freeze them, let the cupcakes cool completely, wrap individually in plastic wrap, and then place them in an airtight container or freezer bag. When ready to enjoy them, take the cupcakes out of the freezer and thaw them at room temperature.
Tip: place a frozen one inside someone’s lunchbox in the morning. It will be perfectly defrosted in 3-4 hours for a special surprise.
Questions and Troubleshooting
Of course! These will still taste moist and delicious plain or with just the frosting.
There is so much sugar in this that it’s not a problem. Promise!
Yes, a good chocolate cake recipe will often have a thin batter. It’s normal.
Just add a little more milk, one teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the right consistency. It’s easy to fix, but be careful not to add too much at once.
More Fun Recipes Your Kids Will Love
Every kid loves a dessert they can hold in their hand.
- Your kids won’t even taste the sourdough in these sourdough carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
- Pair your favorite family cupcake recipe with this homemade vanilla cream filling that’s light and fluffy.
- These coconut lemon curd cupcakes are fresh and perfect for springtime or Easter.
- Oatmeal whoopie pies with marshmallow filling are sweet and nostalgic.
Printable Recipe
Cream Filled Chocolate Cupcakes
Equipment
- 2 12-cup muffin tins
- 24 Cupcake liners
- Mixing Bowls (large and medium)
- Electric Mixer (stand mixer or hand mixer)
- Wire cooling rack
- Piping bag with a small star tip (or a plastic bag with the tip cut off)
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 3 cups flour
- 3 cups sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Cream Filling
- ¼ cup softened butter
- ¼ cup shortening
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Chocolate Frosting
- ½ cup butter (melted)
- ⅔ cup baking cocoa
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup of milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
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Instructions
Make the cupcakes
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the wet ingredients. Add eggs, milk, vegetable oil, water, and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients. Beat at low speed for 30 seconds, then increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture is smooth and fully combined (about 2 minutes). Then, scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Fill the cupcake liners. Fill the prepared cupcake liners ¾ full with the batter.
- Bake. Bake for 17–20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through for even baking. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool. Remove cupcakes from the tins and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the filling.
Make the filling
- Mix the ingredients. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and shortening on low speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low speed until combined, then increase to medium-high speed and beat until fluffy (about 3–5 minutes).
- Prepare the piping bag. Fit a piping bag with a small star tip (about size #16 or #18). Fill the bag with the cream filling.
- Fill the cupcakes. Insert the piping tip into the center of each cooled cupcake. Then, squeeze the piping bag for about 5 seconds to fill each cupcake.Tip: If it’s hard to pierce the cupcake, use a toothpick to create a small hole first. Cut one cupcake open to check the filling amount, then adjust the filling for the rest. Wipe the bottoms of the cupcakes to remove any excess filling.
Make the frosting
- Combine the butter and cocoa. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and sifted cocoa powder, stirring until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and milk. Add powdered sugar and milk, beating on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla. Mix in the vanilla extract and beat until fully incorporated.
- Adjust the consistency. If the frosting is too thick, add more milk, one teaspoon at a time, until it reaches a spreadable consistency.
- Frost the cupcakes. Use a spatula or piping bag to frost the filled cupcakes generously. Any leftover frosting can be stored for future use.
Notes
Nutrition
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