Chocolate Cupcakes

June 8, 2026

This is a recipe from the archives of a previous blog. I hope you enjoy!

I’m not a huge fan of the scary Halloween treats, but I do love the holiday itself, so I make themed pumpkin sweets (they don’t necessarily have to contain pumpkin) to put on the table for everyone.

I dug through last year’s 365 Muffins & Cupcakes calendar and picked a recipe that originally called for a slightly liquid centre. I baked mine for 5 minutes longer than suggested because I didn’t want the runny effect – this way the insides stayed beautifully moist without anything spilling over. But let’s go step by step.

For the cupcakes:

200 g dark chocolate
250 g butter
5 eggs
80 g icing sugar
80 g self-raising flour

For the frosting:

250 g mascarpone
60 g dark chocolate
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp icing sugar
1 drop black food colouring

ready-made food fondant, orange & green/gray/brown

How to make the cupcakes

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bain-marie, stirring continuously. Once fully melted, leave the bowl aside to cool slightly.
Beat the eggs and icing sugar until well combined. Then add the flour – either self-raising or plain with a raising agent.
Gradually fold in the melted chocolate using a silicone spatula (or “cat’s tongue,” as the Italians call it).
Divide the mixture between the muffin cases and bake at 160°C for about 20 minutes (or 25 minutes like I did, if you want to avoid a liquid centre). Once baked, leave the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Make the frosting by combining mascarpone, a little melted dark chocolate, cocoa powder, icing sugar, and a drop of black food colouring. You can also enjoy the cupcakes without any frosting or with any creamy frosting of your choice.
Shape the pumpkins from ready-made orange fondant: roll a small ball, slightly flatten both ends, use a tool or toothpick to make grooves, poke a hole for the stem, moisten to stick the pieces together, and add a stem in a different colour.

These cupcakes are fun, festive, and perfect for a Halloween table – moist chocolate cakes with cute pumpkin hats that are almost too good to eat… almost.