Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

by Jillian
Moist hot chocolate cupcakes stuffed with marshmallow fluff and frosted with silky smooth whipped hot chocolate buttercream!

Moist hot chocolate cupcakes stuffed with marshmallow fluff and frosted with silky smooth whipped hot chocolate buttercream!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Actually, it’s been looking a lot like Christmas since November 1st. It seems like Christmas starts sooner and sooner each year. At this rate, people will be stringing up Christmas lights in August. 

I’m not complaining though. No matter how old I get, Christmastime is always going to feel magical. Despite the stress that comes along with the holidays, I love being surrounded by cheery decor, Christmas movies, and delicious baked goods. Oh, and speaking of delicious baked goods, how would you like to bite into one of these chocolicious beauties…

Without a doubt, one of the coziest and most comforting beverages to enjoy this time of year is hot chocolate. That’s why I decided it was time to dedicate a cupcake recipe to this classic drink. With a deep dark chocolatey cupcake STUFFED with marshmallow fluff and a gorgeous crown of silky hot chocolate buttercream, this cupcake truly has it all.

So let’s just dive into the nitty gritty of these cupcakes, shall we?

The cake is pretty much your standard chocolate cake recipe, but with the addition of a couple special ingredients. First, in order to amp up that classic hot chocolate flavor, I dissolved 5 Tablespoons of hot chocolate powder mix in hot water. You’re essentially making up a really strong cup of hot chocolate and adding it to the batter.

While butter might be the best option as far as flavor goes, I have to say that I prefer vegetable oil for that light and airy, consistently moist crumb. Butter tends to give cakes a denser texture, which can be great for layer cakes, but for cupcakes, light and fluffy is best in my opinion. For these cupcakes, I used a combination of vegetable oil and greek yogurt. However, sour cream will also work if you don’t have greek yogurt on hand.

Once baked and cooled, these cupcakes are ready to fill! Using a knife or apple corer, carve out a hole in the center of each cupcake. Make sure not to carve too close to the bottom. You only need to go about halfway down. Since marshmallow fluff has the reputation of being super sticky (obvi), I scooped it into a piping bag fitted with a round tip. You can also use a gallon ziplock bag and cut one of the corners off. Fill each cupcake hole with the marshmallow fluff until you reach just below the top of the cupcake.

Now let’s move on to the whipped hot chocolate buttercream…

Unbelievably silky and exceptionally creamy, this buttercream pairs so well with these moist chocolate cupcakes. What I love about this whipped buttercream is that it’s not overly sweet. Unlike American buttercream which is usually a mixture of 1 cup of butter and 4-5 cups of powdered sugar, this buttercream only contains 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar. The process of making whipped buttercream is a little more involved than American buttercream, but it’s really not that difficult.

You start off by whisking some flour, milk, and hot chocolate mix together in a saucepan, and cooking it until the mixture has a thick, pudding-like texture. Once this mixture cools completely, you beat some butter, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and a dash of salt together for a few minutes. Once everything is light and fluffy, the “pudding” mixture is added. Now, this is the stage where things can get a little tricky. Similar to how we all go through that awkward pre-teen stage in life, this frosting goes through that same awkward stage as well. As the “pudding” mixture is combined with the butter-sugar mixture, it starts to look curdled. I’ve made this whipped buttercream recipe several times, and I have yet to NOT go through that ugly curdled stage, so it’s totally normal! You just have to keep beating it and trust that it’ll eventually come together. 

And when it does finally come together, you’re left with the most gorgeous, silky smooth buttercream frosting your tongue has laid its tastebuds on. It’s so light, creamy, and pipes like a dream! Not to mention, you can really taste the flavor and sweetness of the hot chocolate mix.

To garnish these hot chocolate babes, I sprinkled some tiny marshmallow bits on top. Not only are these marshmallow bits great for providing that classically sweet marshmallowy flavor, but they also add a nice little crunch when you bite into (or in my case, inhale) these cupcakes.

Whether you have a fun holiday gathering coming up, or just ADORE all things hot chocolate, I guarantee these Hot Chocolate Cupcakes will be a MAJOR hit!

Moist hot chocolate cupcakes stuffed with marshmallow fluff and frosted with silky smooth whipped hot chocolate buttercream!

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Moist hot chocolate cupcakes stuffed with marshmallow fluff and frosted with silky smooth whipped hot chocolate buttercream!
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 48 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 18 Cupcakes

Ingredients
  

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes:

  • 5 Tablespoons hot chocolate mix powder
  • ¾ cup hot water
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 6 Tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Whipped Hot Chocolate Buttercream:

  • 7 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 5 Tablespoons hot chocolate mix powder
  • 1 ⅓ cup milk
  • 1 ¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 (7 oz) container marshmallow fluff
  • Mini marshmallows*

Instructions
 

Make the Cupcakes:

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF degrees, and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Add the hot chocolate mix to the hot water, and stir until fully dissolved; set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar together until well combined. Add the oil and yogurt and continue stirring with a whisk. Batter will be thick so you’ll have to add half of the hot chocolate liquid to stir more easily. Add the rest of the hot chocolate liquid, the egg, and vanilla, stirring until just combined.
  • Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling 2/3 of the way. Bake in the oven for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Buttercream:

  • In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk flour, hot chocolate mix, and milk together, stirring constantly, until it thickens. It should look like thick pancake batter or pudding. Remove from heat and immediately pour hot chocolate mixture into a bowl to cool completely.**
  • After the hot chocolate mixture has come to room temperature, use a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a beater to cream the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt together on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  • Add the completely cooled hot chocolate mixture, and beat it for about 7-10 minutes on high until it looks like whipped cream. The mixture will look curdled at first, but as you continue whipping it, it should come together. If you can still see streaks of butter, keep beating it until you can’t.***

To Assemble:

  • Scoop marshmallow fluff into a piping bag, fitted with a round tip. Alternatively, you can use a gallon ziplock bag and cut the corner tip off.
  • Using a sharp knife, carve a hole into the center of each cupcake, about halfway deep. Remove cake piece and fill with marshmallow fluff. Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake. Garnish with mini marshmallows.

Notes

*You can either use the traditional mini marshmallows, which are found in the baking aisle next to the regular marshmallows. Or you can use the dehydrated marshmallow bits, which are usually found next to the coffee and hot chocolate mix in the grocery store.
**The hot chocolate mixture can be refrigerated to speed up the cooling process.
***If you're still having trouble with the buttercream coming together, try switching out the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment.
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