Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

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Make your own chocolate chip cupcakes from scratch! Homemade white cupcakes that are light and moist with mini chocolate chips inside.

the inside of a chocolate chip cupcake

Baking from scratch doesn’t have to be intimidating, especially with our easy chocolate chip cupcake recipe. These moist cupcakes start with a classic vanilla base and have mini chocolate chips in every bite. They are a hit for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, or even a last-minute bake sale.

We tweaked this recipe from my favorite cookbook, the Mennonite Community Cookbook. You’ve mastered our easy chocolate chip cookie, and with our step-by-step techniques, you’ll be a cupcake pro at no time at all.

What is the secret to moist cupcakes?

Different cupcake recipes have ingredients that make them moist. Our strawberry cupcakes have Jello and oil. Our cream cupcakes have heavy cream.

This moist chocolate chip cupcakes recipe is more traditional, made with egg, milk, butter and oil for the ultimate in moistness. 

Ingredients in Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

chocolate chip cupcakes ingredients on a table
  • Cake flour. Why cake flour? It’s a low protein flour, which results in less gluten formation. That means tender cupcakes! Will all-purpose flour work? Yes, but cake flour gives the best results and that’s what I recommend to ensure success.
  • Butter, egg and milk. You’ll want to make sure the butter, egg and milk are at room temperature when you mix together the batter. This ensures that the batter will be smooth. If you add cold ingredients, the butter could harden and look lumpy or curdled.
  • Mini chocolate chips. Mini chocolate chips are best so that they are less likely to sink to the bottom of the cupcakes. If you only have regular size chocolate chips, you could run them through the food processor with a couple of pulses to chop them smaller.
  • Chocolate frosting. I highly recommend our fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting. It gets rave reviews!

✨ See the recipe card below for full ingredients and amounts. ✨

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from Scratch

  • Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line cupcake tins with paper liners. (This recipe yields about 20 cupcakes.)
  • Cream the butter and sugar. In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer with a large bowl), cream together the butter and sugar. Beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg and beat again. 

egg over creamed butter and sugar in a bowl

  1. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla and oil. 
  2. Combine the batter. Add the flour mixture alternately with milk mixture. Mix thoroughly after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

pouring milk into cake batter in a bowl

  1. Add the chocolate. Fold in the chocolate chips. Use an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full. 

mini chocolate chips over white cake batter in a metal bowl

  1. Bake the cupcakes. Bake for 16-17 minutes or until the top of the cupcake bounces back when you touch it. A toothpick inserted into the center may have a few moist crumbs and that’s ok. Allow the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.
  2. Frost the cupcakes. Top with our favorite Chocolate Buttercream or your favorite chocolate frosting. Use Wilton tip 1M or 2D for large swirls, or use a spatula for a thinner layer of frosting.

piping chocolate frosting on a cupcake

Other Frosting Ideas

Top these sweet things with our best ever chocolate buttercream as we recommend, or use one of these:

And remember, shortcuts are ok. Everyone needs a time-saver now and then! Use your favorite store-bought frosting to top the cupcakes. You’ll still impress friends with these homemade chocolate chip cupcakes.

a frosted cupcake on a wire rack

Storage Instructions

Store the chocolate chip cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

You can also freeze the cupcakes, either frosted or unfrosted. Store in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Allow the cupcakes to fully thaw in the container before opening.

chocolate chip cupcakes with frosting on at able
chocolate chip cupcakes with chocolate frosting on a table
chocolate chip cupcakes with chocolate frosting on a table

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes Recipe

4.66 from 47 votes
Make your own chocolate chip cupcakes from scratch! Homemade white cupcakes that are light and moist with mini chocolate chips inside.
Servings 20
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 17 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes

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Ingredients
 

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line cupcake tins with paper liners. (This recipe yields about 20 cupcakes.)
  • In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer with a large bowl), cream together the butter and sugar. Beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg and beat again. ⅓ cup salted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg
  • Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. 2 cups cake flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla and oil. ¾ cup 2% milk, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • Add the flour mixture alternately with milk mixture. Mix thoroughly after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Fold in the chocolate chips. Use an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full. 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Bake for 16-17 minutes or until the top of the cupcake bounces back when you touch it. Allow the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.
  • Top with our favorite Chocolate Buttercream or your favorite chocolate frosting.

Notes

  • Room temperature ingredients take a little bit of planning ahead. Or if you’re like me and are terrible at planning ahead, you can soften the butter in the microwave, place the egg in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes, and put the milk in the microwave for just a few seconds to take the chill off.
  • If you want just a small amount of frosting on top, you’ll use less frosting.
  • Wilton tip 1M or 2D both make pretty swirls on top of cupcakes.
  • Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 20 cupcakes, with 1 serving being 1 frosted cupcake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. **

Nutrition

Calories: 318kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 159mg | Potassium: 147mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 138IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1mg
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Calories 318
Keyword chcoolate cupcakes, easy cupcake recipe

 

About JulieJulie Clark

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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4.66 from 47 votes (35 ratings without comment)
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Ava
5 months ago

I will be making these very soon!!!

Last edited 5 months ago by Ava
Arfah
2 years ago

5 stars
Very moist, soft and delicious cupcake recipe. Everyone’s favorite❤️

sabastian
2 years ago

5 stars
i like chocolate chip cupcakes

Sandra
3 years ago

5 stars
They turned out delicious, and I made them with gluten free flour! I also substitute the sugar – half is brown sugar, half is Stevia (which comes equivalent to sugar) for even better nutrition.
Amazing, thanks.

Lisa
3 years ago

4 stars
They are moist and delicious. The only problem for me is that the we’re doing light, they fell apart a bit.

Scarlet
3 years ago

Hi, i want to try this recipe but i don’t know what standard size you use? A cup can be anywhere between 180g to 250g, and table spoon sizes also vary… it would be very helpful if next to the ingredient you added the exact amount you put in so as to make sure people follow the recipe correctly. After all, baking is a more exact science than cooking😅

Dawn Freitas
4 years ago

3 stars
Just made these cupcakes. My chocolate chips didnt sink which was a plus.. they are a little dry and the bottom of the cupcake liners are really greasy.. too bad the grease couldn’t have stayed in the cupcake to make it moist.

Catarina Mendes
4 years ago

5 stars
Literally the best cupcakes ever! I loved the texture, the taste, they were fluffy, the icing was delicious. Amazing, my friends really enjoyed them too. Thank you, will definitely be making these again soon!

Brigitte Booth
4 years ago

I baked for 20 mins and they were still raw in middle… Do I just let them continue cooking on their own or keep cooking. They do bounce back but they are gooey. U never specified if u should check with a toothpick or not.

Melvin
5 years ago

This recipe might have worked for others. However, mine turned were not moist. They were a bit on the stiff side. This will probably be the last time I’ll bake using cake flour. It was a disappointment on my end. I just ended up eating them without frosting as to not waste food.

Em
5 years ago

Just because I have some in the fridge, do you think buttermilk would work instead of milk (maybe with 1/4 t. baking soda)? The cupcakes sound delicious and I was looking for a recipe w/chocolate chips so this is perfect.

Anonymous
5 years ago

salted or unsalted butter in your recipes?

Jewels
6 years ago

5 stars
Delicious, light crumb! Made these for my children, left off the frosting, and they are a perfect sweet treat. Thank you so much!

Jen
6 years ago

What is the yield on these – 12 or 24?

Monisha
6 years ago

5 stars
SUPERB!

Tried this recipe and followed instructions with absolutely no changes. Came out incredibly delicious, perfectly scrumptious! Wish I had found this recipe long ago! Love it!!!!!