Deliciously Easy Chocolate Cupcakes

On Feb 17, 2025 17 0

Get ready to bake some incredibly tasty chocolate cupcakes right at home! This recipe is inspired by classic baking methods and perfected to be visually appealing like the ones in the image, especially for those who are new to baking halal treats. These cupcakes are simple to prepare and bring so much joy with every bite.

Halal Ingredients You’ll Need

🍎 2 Eggs
🍚 1 cup Sugar
🥄 2 tablespoons Melted Butter (halal certified)
🍶 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
🥛 1 cup Milk
🌾 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
🍫 2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder
🥄 1 teaspoon alcohol free Vanilla Extract
🥄 1 teaspoon Baking Powder

For the Frosting:

🍦 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
🧈 200 grams Butter, at room temperature (halal certified)
🥛 4 tablespoons Milk
🍬 1 cup Powdered Sugar

For Decoration:

🍓 Fresh Strawberries
🍫 Chocolate Sprinkles

Kitchen Equipment Needed

🥣 Mixing Bowls (various sizes)
🥄 Measuring Spoons
🥛 Measuring Cups
whisk Whisk
spatula Spatula
🧁 Muffin Tin
paper Paper Cupcake Liners
oven Oven
coolingrack Cooling Rack
🔪 Knife (for strawberries)
pipingbag Piping Bag or Ziploc bag (optional, for frosting)

Let’s Make the Chocolate Cupcakes

Step 1: Preparing the Cupcake Batter

To begin, take a large mixing bowl. Crack two eggs into the bowl. “Crack” means to break the eggshells open carefully so that the egg inside comes out into the bowl.

Next, add one cup of sugar to the bowl with the eggs. Using a whisk, mix the eggs and sugar together. “Whisk” means to stir quickly in a circular motion. Continue whisking until the mixture becomes lighter in color and slightly thicker. This usually takes a minute or two.

Now, it’s time to add the wet ingredients. Pour in two tablespoons of melted butter. Make sure the butter is melted but not too hot. Then, add half a cup of vegetable oil and one cup of milk to the bowl. Stir everything together with the whisk until all the wet ingredients are well combined.

In a separate mixing bowl, it’s time to prepare the dry ingredients. Measure and put two cups of all-purpose flour into the bowl. Add two tablespoons of cocoa powder, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, and one teaspoon of baking powder to the flour. “Cocoa powder” is what gives chocolate baked goods their chocolate flavor. “Baking powder” is what helps the cupcakes rise and become fluffy.

Using the whisk, gently mix the dry ingredients together. This helps to distribute the cocoa powder and baking powder evenly throughout the flour.

Now, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Add a little bit at a time and stir with a spatula until just combined. “Spatula” is a flat, flexible kitchen tool used for mixing and scraping bowls. Be careful not to overmix. Overmixing can make the cupcakes tough. Mix until you no longer see streaks of flour in the batter. The batter should look smooth and chocolatey, as you can imagine from the image.

Step 2: Baking the Cupcakes

Preheat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). “Preheat” means to turn the oven on ahead of time so it reaches the correct temperature before you put the cupcakes in. This is important for even baking.

Place paper cupcake liners inside a muffin tin. “Cupcake liners” are paper cups that prevent the cupcakes from sticking to the muffin tin and make them easier to remove.

Using a spoon or an ice cream scoop, carefully pour the cupcake batter into each cupcake liner. Fill each liner about two-thirds full. This leaves room for the cupcakes to rise as they bake. Refer to the image to see the size and shape of the baked cupcakes.

Carefully place the muffin tin with the batter-filled liners into the preheated oven. Bake for about 20 minutes.

To check if the cupcakes are done, insert a toothpick into the center of one cupcake. “Toothpick test” is a common way to check if baked goods are cooked through. If the toothpick comes out clean, meaning no wet batter sticks to it, the cupcakes are done. If there is wet batter on the toothpick, bake for a few more minutes and check again.

Once baked, take the muffin tin out of the oven. Let the cupcakes cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before carefully transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. “Cooling rack” allows air to circulate around the cupcakes as they cool, preventing them from becoming soggy on the bottom. It is important for the cupcakes to be completely cool before frosting, otherwise, the frosting will melt.

Step 3: Making the Frosting

While the cupcakes are cooling, it’s time to prepare the frosting. Take a clean mixing bowl. Put 200 grams of butter, which should be at room temperature, into the bowl. “Room temperature butter” is butter that has been left out of the refrigerator for a while and is soft enough to easily mix.

Using a whisk or an electric mixer, beat the butter until it becomes creamy and smooth.

Add one teaspoon of vanilla extract and four tablespoons of milk to the bowl with the butter. Continue to beat until these are well mixed in.

Gradually add one cup of powdered sugar to the bowl. Add it a little bit at a time while continuing to beat. “Powdered sugar” is very finely ground sugar that dissolves easily into frosting. Beat until the frosting is smooth, creamy, and holds its shape. If the frosting seems too thick, you can add a tiny bit more milk, one teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. The frosting in the image looks thick and holds its shape well.

Step 4: Assembling and Decorating the Cupcakes

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, it’s time to frost them. You can use a knife or a spatula to spread the frosting evenly on top of each cupcake. For a more decorative look, like in the image, you can use a piping bag. “Piping bag” is a cone-shaped bag used to apply frosting in decorative patterns. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a Ziploc bag and snip off a corner to make a simple piping bag.

Frost each cupcake generously with the white frosting. You can see in the image that the frosting is swirled on top.

Now for the final touch: decoration! Wash and dry a few fresh strawberries. Cut each strawberry in half or keep them whole if they are small, as shown in the image. Place a strawberry on top of the frosting of each cupcake.

Sprinkle chocolate sprinkles over the white frosting around the strawberry. Observe in the image how the chocolate sprinkles are scattered around the strawberry and on the frosting.

Arrange the beautifully decorated chocolate cupcakes on a plate and they are ready to be served. As clearly seen in the image, these cupcakes are a delightful treat for any occasion.

Enjoy the process of making these homemade chocolate cupcakes and the wonderful taste of your baking. Sharing these cupcakes with family and friends will surely bring smiles and happiness. Do try this recipe and experience the joy of baking delicious halal treats in your own kitchen!