These mini cupcakes are bite-sized treats that are perfect for any occasion. This recipe shares mini vanilla cupcakes and mini chocolate cupcakes as well as chocolate buttercream and vanilla buttercream.
Whether it's a birthday party, a wedding reception, or just a casual get-together, mini cupcakes add a touch of elegance and fun to any event.
These miniature versions of regular cupcakes are not only adorable but also offer two flavors (chocolate and vanilla) and toppings to satisfy every sweet tooth.
With their small size, they are easy to eat and can be enjoyed in just one or two bites.
Whether you're hosting an event or simply craving something sweet, mini cupcakes are sure to delight your taste buds.
For more cupcake recipes, check out my banana pudding cupcakes, strawberry filled cupcakes, carrot cake cupcakes, pumpkin cupcakes, and red velvet cupcakes.
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Why this recipe works
- Flavors- this recipe creates both mini chocolate cupcakes and mini vanilla cupcakes. The recipes are adapted from my chocolate cupcakes recipe and my vanilla cupcakes recipe.
- Texture- these cupcakes have a perfectly fluffy and tender crumb with a moist texture. You will fall in love with them!
- Ease- both of these cupcakes come together in just one bowl and do not require an electric mixer. All you will need is a large mixing bowl and a whisk.
- Time- these mini cupcakes take 18 minutes to bake! They are super quick to make and are perfect for making for a crowd.
- Perfect for any occasion- these are perfect for any occasion from birthdays to parties to holidays.
Ingredients
Before you start to make these miniature cupcakes, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of this dessert.
Eggs- you will need large eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking powder and baking soda – to help the cupcake to rise. Make sure that your baking powder and baking soda are not expired.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Buttermilk- gives the cake extra moisture. You can make your own buttermilk if you don’t have one on hand. Simply mix a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
Vegetable oil – we used vegetable oil for this recipe. canola oil will work great for this recipe.
Vinegar- is the secret ingredient that makes this cake extra moist and tender. You will need two teaspoons of vinegar for this recipe.
Sour cream- use either sour cream or Greek yogurt. Both will work great.
Kosher salt- you will need about ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Dutch cocoa powder– we like to use Dutch-process cocoa powder for our chocolate cake because we like the deep and rich chocolate taste, but the natural cocoa powder will work great as well!
Hot coffee– our secret ingredient. Gives the cupcake an amazing chocolate flavor. Don’t worry, you can’t taste the coffee at all! Make a strong hot coffee, you can use espresso or instant coffee, both will work.
For the buttercream
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor. You can use vanilla bean extract or pure vanilla extract for better flavor!
Kosher salt- we like to use kosher salt.
Heavy cream- use full-fat heavy cream for this.
Dark chocolate- melt the dark chocolate in the microwave or on the stovetop (bain-marie) and let it cool completely so it won’t melt the butter.
Instructions
Mini vanilla cupcakes
Preheat an oven to 350f (180c) and prep a mini cupcake pan with liners.
In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, egg, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, kosher salt, buttermilk, and sour cream, and mix with a whisk until well combined.
Add the flour, and baking powder, and mix until the mixture is just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible.
Set aside while you make the chocolate cupcake batter.
Mini chocolate cupcakes
In a large mixing bowl, add the oil, egg, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and sift the cocoa powder. Mix with a whisk until well combined.
Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until almost combined.
Add the hot coffee and mix until the batter is smooth.
Use a small ice cream scoop to fill out the cupcake ⅔ full (do not overfill) and bake in a preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting.
Vanilla buttercream frosting
Into a big mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and heavy cream.
Mix with an electric hand mixer for a few minutes until the buttercream is light in color and creamy.
Chocolate buttercream frosting
Into a large bowl add room temperature butter and mix with a hand mixer or a stand mixer until the butter is light and fluffy.
Add half of the powder sugar and the cocoa powder and carefully mix until combined.
Add the other half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Melt dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate and let it cool completely to room temperature. Add the melted chocolate to the mixture and mix until well combined and smooth.
Transfer the frosting to two separate pastry bags with a star piping tip and frost each cupcake with the buttercream frosting. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cupcakes and not dense and dry cupcakes.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making the buttercream, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat and frost these cupcakes as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cupcakes cool for at least 30 minutes so they will be firmer and won’t crumble up.
- We suggest letting these cupcakes cool for 5 minutes and then transferring them to a wire rack to cool for at least 20 more minutes. This step ensures that the frosting won't melt off the cupcakes. You never want to frost warm cupcakes or cakes.
Faq's
These recipes are adapted from my original-sized chocolate cupcakes and vanilla cupcakes. Click on the links to find the full recipe for whole-size cupcakes.
Yes! You can use the recipe card below to double or triple the recipe.
We use all-purpose flour for this cupcake, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
My biggest tip for this is to do the toothpick test. Insert a toothpick into the middle of 1-2 cupcakes, and if it comes out clean, with a few moist crumbs, the cupcakes are ready!
Make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature and your butter is softened. The most important ingredients that should be at room temperature are eggs, buttermilk, and butter.
This will ensure that your mixture mixes into a homogenous batter and will bake perfectly.
Storing
These cupcakes will last up to 5 days in the fridge (dairy needs to be stored in the fridge). Cover them with plastic wrap or foil to prevent them from drying out. They stay moist for at least 3 days!
Freezing
Freeze these cupcakes after they cooled completely in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months.
Our tip is not to freeze it decorated or covered with frosting, because it can ruin the decorating of the cupcake, we suggest freezing the cupcake and decorating it when you defrost it.
If you’re not looking to impress anyone with your decorating skills, it’s absolutely okay to freeze the cake with the frosting on.
Substitutions
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Dairy-free- you can make this cupcake recipe dairy-free by replacing the butter with vegan butter and replacing the Nutella with your favorite chocolate spread.
Variations
Frosting- You can use any kind of your favorite frosting on these cupcakes, these are very versatile so you can turn them into whatever you want! You can use dark chocolate frosting, vanilla frosting, caramel frosting, etc.
Chocolate- make the chocolate cupcakes double chocolate by adding chocolate chunks or chocolate chips to the batter!
Vanilla- add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla bean extract for delicious vanilla flavor.
Equipment
- Mixing bowls- best glass mixing bowls.
- Whisk set- our favorite copper whisk set.
- Mini cupcake tins
- Open star piping tip- our favorite Wilton piping tip for cupcake decoration.
More cupcake recipes
Vanilla cupcakes- These moist and tender vanilla cupcakes are made in one bowl and are topped with the most delicious vanilla buttercream frosting.
Nutella cupcakes- These Nutella cupcakes are made with delicious chocolate Nutella cupcakes, filled with Nutella, and topped with Nutella buttercream and chopped hazelnuts!
Honey cupcakes- These honey cupcakes are made with soft and moist cupcakes, topped with freshly made whipped cream, and more honey!
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📖 Recipe
Mini Cupcakes (Chocolate & Vanilla)
Ingredients
Mini vanilla cupcakes
- ¼ cup Butter melted, unsalted
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1.41 oz Sour cream
- ¼ cup Buttermilk
- ¾ cup Flour
- ¾ teaspoon Baking powder
Mini chocolate cupcakes
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
- ¼ cup Vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 Egg
- ¼ cup Cocoa powder
- ¾ cup Flour
- ¾ teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ cup Coffee hot
Vanilla buttercream frosting
- ½ cup Butter softened, unsalted
- 2 tablespoon Heavy cream
- 2 cups Powdered sugar
- 1 Vanilla extract
Chocolate buttercream frosting
- ½ cup Butter softened, unsalted
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon Heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¼ cup Cocoa powder
- 1.75 oz Dark chocolate melted and cooled
Instructions
Mini vanilla cupcakes
- Preheat an oven to 350f (180c) and prep a mini cupcake pan with liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, egg, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, kosher salt, buttermilk, and sour cream, and mix with a whisk until well combined.
- Add the flour, and baking powder, and mix until the mixture is just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible.
- Set aside while you make the chocolate cupcake batter.
Mini chocolate cupcakes
- In a large mixing bowl, add the oil, egg, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and sift the cocoa powder. Mix with a whisk until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until almost combined.
- Add the hot coffee and mix until the batter is smooth.
- Use a small ice cream scoop to fill out the cupcake ⅔ full (do not overfill) and bake in a preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting.
Vanilla buttercream frosting
- Into a big mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and heavy cream.
- Mix with an electric hand mixer for a few minutes until the buttercream is light in color and creamy.
Chocolate buttercream frosting
- Into a large bowl add room temperature butter and mix with a hand mixer or a stand mixer until the butter is light and fluffy.
- Add half of the powder sugar and the cocoa powder and carefully mix until combined.
- Add the other half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
- Melt dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate and let it cool completely to room temperature. Add the melted chocolate to the mixture and mix until well combined and smooth.
- Transfer the frosting to two separate pastry bags with a star piping tip and frost each cupcake with the buttercream frosting. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cupcakes and not dense and dry cupcakes.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making the buttercream, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat and frost these cupcakes as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cupcakes cool for at least 30 minutes so they will be firmer and won’t crumble up.
- We suggest letting these cupcakes cool for 5 minutes and then transferring them to a wire rack to cool for at least 20 more minutes. This step ensures that the frosting won't melt off the cupcakes. You never want to frost warm cupcakes or cakes.
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