These Mini Devil’s Food Cupcakes With Milk Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting are rich, moist, and not too sweet. The key in getting these cupcakes super moist is adding the hot water to the cupcake batter.

This recipe makes a big batch of mini cupcakes, about 90. If you would like you can cut the recipe in half. You can also make these into regular sized cupcakes or two 9-inch round cakes (see below for full instructions).

How To Make Mini Devil’s Food Cupcakes With Milk Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

First, gather all your ingredients.

FOR THE DEVIL’S FOOD CUPCAKES:

• 1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I prefer using avocado oil)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup very hot water

FOR THE MILK CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, slightly softened
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted, still slightly warm
• 2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon whole milk, plus more as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE DEVIL’S FOOD CUPCAKES:

Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Line a 24-cup (or 48-cup) mini cupcake pan with mini paper liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, mix the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low speed until well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat until blended.

Slowly add the hot water, stopping the mixer as soon as the mixer is blended (the batter will be thin).

Divide the batter evenly among the liners and bake until the tops are just dry to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool completely.

Frost the cupcakes with the Milk Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.

FOR THE MILK CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Slowly add the melted chocolate and beat for 1 minute more.

Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the confectioners sugar until just incorporated, being careful not to beat too much air into the frosting.

Add the milk and vanilla and beat until just blended. If necessary, add more milk 1 tablespoon at at time until the frosting has the spreadable consistency but it still thick and fudgy.

NOTES:

I used Wilton 8B Open Star piping tip, Disposable cake decorating bags, and Wilton® Icing Bag Ties to frost the mini cupcakes.

For regular sized cupcakes, Line a 12-cup (or 24-cup) cupcake pan with paper liners and bake at 350°F degrees for 18 to 20 minutes.

How To Bake As A Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees.

Butter (or use non-stick cooking spray) two 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper cut to fit, and butter (or use non-stick cooking spray) the parchment paper. Flour the pans, coating the bottom and sides of each pan, then tap out the excess flour.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, mix the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low speed until well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat until blended.

Slowly add the hot water, stopping the mixer as soon as the mixer is blended (the batter will be thin).

Divide the batter between the prepared pans, place the pans on a baking sheet, and bake until the tops are dry and spring back, the sides have pulled away from the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool the cakes completely on a wire rack and then invert them onto cake rounds or onto the wire rack.

Using a long serrated knife, trim off any uneven or domed parts from the top of each cake to create a flat surface.

Place one of the cakes on a serving platter, leveled-side up.

Using an offset spatula, frost the top of that layer, then stack the other cake layer on top, leveled part facing down. Create a crumb coat and place remaining frosting on the top of the cake. Working from the center outward, frost the top and the sides of the cake, adding the rest of the frosting as needed.

Tips & Tricks

• My favorite go-to baking book is The Sprinkles Baking Book: 100 Secret Recipes from Candace’s Kitchen.
• I love using Wilton baking pans. I feel like they are the best quality pans out there for the price. They don’t rust, are durable, and easy to clean. I found all my Wilton baking essentials at my favorite store, TARGET!
• For all-purpose flour I love using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour. I first fell in love with this brand when I started eating healthy back in 2012, shortly after our twins were born. I first tried their Steel Cut Oats. Then when I had more time to bake I started using a lot of their other products such as, Almond Flour, Coconut Flour, Gluten Free Flour, Whole Wheat Flour, Pastry Flour, Bread Flour, and Xanthan Gum. They have so much more too! Baking mixes, Oats, Bars, Cereal, Granola, Grains, Beans, Seeds, Baking Aids, and more Flours! Seriously go check them out. Best quality baking products out there and no I am not getting paid to say this, I just love their products that much!
• Since I bake quite often I like to buy stuff in bulk. I love buying my flour, sugars, pure vanilla extract, butter, oil, eggs, and spices at Costco.
• Costco, Target, & Amazon are my favorite stores to shop at!

Make sure you post your photos on Instagram and tag me in them so I can see your creations from my blog #eazypeazylemonsqueezee

Mini Devil's Food Cupcakes

Adapted from The Sprinkles Baking Book

By: Tammie

• July 22, 2019
• 90
• 1 hr 30 min
• Print this

Ingredients

• Butter or non-stick cooking spray for greasing
• 1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I prefer using avocado oil)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup very hot water

Directions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Line a 24-cup (or 48-cup) mini cupcake pan with mini paper liners.

Step 2

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, mix the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low speed until well combined.

Step 3

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.

Step 4

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat until blended.

Step 5

Slowly add the hot water, stopping the mixer as soon as the mixer is blended (the batter will be thin).

Step 6

Divide the batter evenly among the liners and bake until the tops are just dry to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 10 minutes.

Step 7

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool completely.

Step 8

Frost the cupcakes with the Milk Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.

Step 9

NOTES: I used Wilton 8B Open Star piping tip, Disposable cake decorating bags, and Wilton® Icing Bag Ties to frost the mini cupcakes. For regular sized cupcakes, line a 12-cup (or 24-cup) cupcake pan with paper liners and bake at 350°F degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. See above for directions on how to bake as a cake.