Best Air Fryer Chocolate Cupcakes (From Scratch)

Super moist air fryer chocolate cupcakes that are full of flavor made from melted chocolate, cacao, and buttermilk. They turn out amazing every time, and you always will regret that you didn’t make more of them. A perfect dessert for any occasion.

Remember those days when you want a little chocolate? Well, these air fryer chocolate cupcakes are for those days when you want a dessert that is full of chocolate.

No kidding. We used melted chocolate in the cupcake mix and also natural cacao and melted chocolate for the frosting.

Yes, I know. But this recipe is for those cheat days when you didn’t think about calories.

It is a perfect dessert for any occasion. Also, you can make your own frosting and decorate these chocolate cupcakes as you want.

Everyone who tried these cupcakes remained speechless and asked me the recipe. So good they are.

Pro Tip: Part of the secret is that we will bake them in the air fryer at a low temperature. Baking them at a lower temperature, allows them to bake evenly and to become moist and fluffy.

Secret Behind a Perfect Chocolate Cupcake Frosting

I prefer to use cream cheese instead of buttercream because it is lighter and keeps it just as well-formed. If the cream cheese is too thick, mix it with a little whipped cream.

If you want to get a more homogeneous consistency, mix the cream cheese with powdered sugar instead of regular sugar.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with frosting flavors. Besides chocolate and cocoa, try to use spices such as vanilla or cinnamon. Or you can go in the direction of citrus fruits and use orange peel, lemon, or tangerines.

🥰 Why You Will Love This Recipe?

• The cupcakes themselves are very fluffy.
• This recipe is perfect for true chocolate lovers because both the cupcakes and frosting have a rich taste of chocolate.
• Because the frosting of the cupcakes is based on cream cheese it is lighter than the buttermilk. Also, the light acidity of the cream cheese balances the overall taste.
• Even if visually you may think that this is a complicated recipe with a lot of ingredients, this recipe is very simple and easy to follow. All you have to do is gradually mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.
• You can get a perfect dessert even for a special occasion with little effort.
• If you follow the recipe step by step, you can’t go wrong. Just mix well the ingredients and be with an eye on the cupcakes.

🏆 Expert Tips and What to Pay Attention on?

• Bring all the ingredients to the same temperature. For that, take all the ingredients out of the fridge two-three hours before you plan to start the recipe, and leave them on the table.
• Preheat the air fryer well to avoid drying the cupcakes.
• Fill the cupcake molds only in half because the cupcakes need room to grow during baking.

🥘 Ingredients and Substitutes

Ingredients for the Chocolate Cupcake Mix

• ¾ cups of all-purpose flour. For the best results, use high-quality flour.
• ½ cup of natural cocoa (unsweetened).
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder.
• ½ teaspoon baking soda.
• ¼ teaspoon of salt.
• 2 medium eggs.
• ½ cup of regular sugar and ½ cup of brown sugar. I used a mix between those two, but you could only use one type of sugar (1 cup in total).
• ⅓ cup of vegetable oil. Use any vegetable oil that you prefer. As a recommendation, avoid oils that have an intense aroma, because they could cover the taste of chocolate.
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• ½ cup of buttermilk. You can replace it with yogurt in the same amount.
• ½ cup of melted chocolate. I decided to add melted chocolate to the cupcake composition. I used a mix of two types of white and brown chocolate. Pick whatever chocolate you prefer. Also, if you’re a fan of chocolate particles in cakes, you can replace melted chocolate with chocolate chips.

👩‍🍳 Step-by-step Directions

How to Make a Delicious Homemade Cupcake Mix?

Take a large bowl and pour in it the all-purpose flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda.

Mix all ingredients well. This way you will avoid the formation of lumps in the cupcake mix.

Take another bowl and mix in it the buttermilk, with two eggs, and vanilla extract.

Pour the composition over the dry ingredients and mix well all the ingredients.

Quick Note: At this stage, you have two options: To use melted chocolate and as a result, you will get a richer chocolate taste or to use chocolate chips that will give you the texture of the chocolate but the taste will be lighter. It all depends on the texture and taste you want to get into the end.

Mix well until you get a uniform composition.

Preheat the air fryer to 320°F (160°C), and in the meantime, pour the composition into cupcake liners.

Pro Tip: Fill the forms only in half because, during baking, the cupcake mix will double in size. If you pour too much of the cupcake mix, you risk that the cupcakes will grow too much and will flow out of the cupcake liners.

After the air fryer warmed to 320°F (160°C), put the cupcake liners filled with the cake mix in the air fryer basket.

Pro Tip: If you have cupcake liners that have hard edges, you can use only them. If you have regular silicone forms or metal cupcake molds, then you will also need to use paper cupcake liners inside of them.

Bake the cupcakes at 320°F (160°C) for 15-20 minutes. In my case, it took 20 minutes because I used the Cosori Air Fryer 5.8QT. If your air fryer is smaller, the baking time will be shorter.

Quick note: Baking time may vary depending on the air fryer size, model, and quantity of cupcakes you will bake. Because of that, check the chocolate cupcakes with a toothpick after 15 minutes if the cakes are ready. If not, adjust the timing accordingly.

In the end, you will get delicious cupcakes that will have an intense chocolate taste and a slightly cracked surface that will remind you of brownies. These are so delicious that you can enjoy them without frosting on top.

Actually, I really suggest you try a cupcake as is without the frosting.

Got impressed? Let’s make our cupcakes even more delicious. Let’s make for them an easy and delicious chocolate frosting.

How to Make a Homemade Chocolate Cupcake Frosting?

After all the ingredients have reached room temperature, we can start making the cream mix.

First of all, you should melt the chocolate.

Quick Note: You can melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. In a microwave for 30 seconds. Then take off the plate, mix the chocolate, and put it for another 30 seconds if is needed. Repeat the process until the chocolate is fully melted.

Ingredients for Chocolate Frosting for the Cupcakes

• 1 cup of cream cheese.
• ⅓ cup of natural cocoa.
• ½ cup of chocolate (optional).
• ½ cup of powdered sugar.
• ½ cup of cream.
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

After that, take a large enough bowl in which it will be easy for you to mix all the ingredients.

Put the cream cheese and whipped cream in it and mix well. You will get a composition as in the image below.

Over this composition, pour the powdered sugar and natural cocoa. Mix well all the ingredients.

Pro Tip: Be careful to set a low speed at the mixer because you risk spreading the whole kitchen with those dry ingredients. If the minimal speed of the mixer is too high, you can mix all the ingredients initially manually using a spoon.

After mixing these ingredients, you will get a uniform composition, as in the image below:

Basically, this is already a frosting ready to use.

(Optional) If you prefer a richer chocolate taste, add the melted chocolate over this mixture and mix well one more time with all the ingredients.

For decorations, you will need sac a poche (decorating bag).

Pro Tip: If you do not have a “sac a poche” at hand, you can use a durable plastic food package, to cut a small corner and you will be able to pour the cream as you want. The easiest way is to use zip lock bags.

Optionally, for extra decoration, you could throw a mix of cake sprinkles over the cupcakes.

♻️ Make Ahead and Storage:

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