I love a good cupcake.  There is something about a fluffy, decadent, sinful piece of heaven that makes me want to melt and immediately cheat on an otherwise healthy day of eating.  And you know what?  It’s worth it.  Every. Single. Time.  No regrets – ever.  The one time I don’t like to buy those delicious cakes is when I need to bring a lot of cupcakes.  A couple of dozen cupcakes can cost a pretty penny which is why I LOOOOOVE this recipe for Extreme Chocolate Cupcakes.  It is moist, delicious and you won’t believe how easy they are to whip up.The best thing about this cake is that you can dump everything into a bowl and let the mixer do the work.  There is no butter to cream or no liquid and flour mixture that needs to be mixed alternately.  It is so, so simple.  When baking or cooking anything for a crowd this is a huge bonus for me.  The cake uses oil instead of butter which keeps the cake from being too dry which is the ultimate killer when it comes to any kind of cupcakes or cake.  My favorite way to top these cakes is with my basic buttercream frosting that you can find here.  This is the perfect combination of fluffy cake topped with a creamy, sweet frosting.

So, this is my secret to baking delicious cupcakes for a crowd or anytime you are having a cupcake craving for that matter.  Even though this recipe is simple nobody will ever guess…they are that good.  Try making these, you won’t regret it.

Extreme Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
(makes 24 cupcakes or 2 9-inch round cakes)

2 c. white sugar
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. boiling water
1/4 c. chocolate syrup (I use Hershey’s chocolate syrup)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees celsius).  Place 24 cupcake liners in cupcake pan or great and flour two 9-inch cake pans.

In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.  Mix for 2 minutes with an electric mixer.  Stir in the boiling water and chocolate syrup by hand until combined.  Pour into cupcake tin or into cake pans.

Bake cupcakes for approximately 20 minutes and cakes for approximately 30-35 minutes.  I say approximately because I find that different ovens cook at different temperatures.

Remove cakes from oven and let cool completely before frosting with the Easy Vanilla Bean Frosting (click the link for the recipe).