Classic Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting — These from-scratch yellow cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting taste just like the kind you grew up eating at childhood birthday parties!

Classic Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

At the beginning of the year, I made it a goal to post some classic recipes on my site. Goal fulfilled.

In this very Pinteresty world, there’s always another Nutella-swirled, brown buttered, bacon crumbled, bourbon-infused recipe for everything from cookies to cakes. But sometimes you don’t want potato chips in your cookies or pretzels in your salted caramel.

Sometimes you just want a classic yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting like you remember eating at birthday parties as a kid. These are those cupcakes.

Sure, you could use cake mix. Duncan Hines makes an almost unbeatable yellow (I ate plenty when I toured their test kitchen last month), but I just had to make these from scratch. And they really don’t take any more time to make than using a mix.

I used melted butter and so there’s nothing to cream, making it a fast, whisk-together cake batter, just like making muffins or quick bread.  A bowl of wet ingredients, fold in the dry, pour into liners, and bake. I used melted butter not only for ease, but for color, and most importantly for flavor.

Often I prefer oil in cakes, muffins, and quick breads because it keeps them so soft, but only in recipes where there are other dominating flavors, like chocolate or pumpkin, which will mask the butter flavor anyway. But with yellow cupcakes, that buttery flavor is instrumental.

In addition to the butter, the other ‘fat source’ is 6-ounces of nonfat honey Greek yogurt. If you can’t find honey flavor, use vanilla.

I tinkered around with various combinations of 1 egg, 2 eggs, 1 egg plus 1 yolk, and a popular Cook’s Illustrated The New Best Recipe (a cooking Bible, best $22 bucks you’ll ever spend on a cookbook) calls for 1 egg plus 2 yolks.

Although I try hard not to use partial eggs in recipes because it’s just annoying, I found that 1 egg plus 1 yolk gives the right amount of  moisture and thickness to the batter. Yolks add moisture, whites dry things out, and having extra moisture insurance in cupcakes is nice since they’re prone to being dry. The extra yolk also helps add a more golden hue.

To top the yellow cupcakes, I made a simple chocolate buttercream frosting. One stick of butter, cocoa powder, confectioner’s sugar, dash of vanilla. That’s it. If you want to add a splash of cream or milk to thin it, feel free but I didn’t.

It’s dense, uber-thick and fudgy. It’s not too ‘dark’ of a chocolate flavor. We didn’t have 72% chocolate on birthday party cupcakes when I was growing up, and this frosting tastes like my childhood.

Piping bags and I don’t generally get along, but I tried my best with a Wilton 1M tip and disposable piping bag.

I garnished with Wilton Chocolate Jimmies. The sprinkles taste more like real chocolate, and not like corn syrup made to taste like chocolate, compared to any other brand of chocolate sprinkles I’ve tried.

These from-scratch yellow cupcakes are soft, moist, springy, light, and are what I’d want to see on a big spread at a birthday party, graduation party, or shower. Or on any old Wednesday afternoon.

The chocolate buttercream frosting for the cupcakes is rich, creamy, and has a perfect chocolate intensity. Not too bold and dark, or too light and wimpy, and not cloyingly sweet.

It’s piled on sky high. The only way to enjoy a cupcake.

What’s in Yellow Cupcakes & Chocolate Buttercream Frosting? 

To make the homemade yellow cupcakes, you’ll need: 

• Unsalted butter
• Eggs
• Granulated sugar
• Greek yogurt
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda 
• Salt

And to make the chocolate frosting for the cupcakes, you’ll need:

• Unsalted butter
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Confectioners’ sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Cream or milk
• Chocolate sprinkles 

How to Make Yellow Cupcakes

To make the classic yellow cupcakes, melt the butter then stir in the egg plus yolk, sugar, yogurt, and vanilla. Next, stir in the dry ingredients. 

Place about 2 tablespoons of batter per cupcake into your muffin cups so they’re solidly 3/4 full. Bake until the tops are golden, set, slightly domed, and springy to the touch. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.

You need to let the yellow cupcakes cool completely before frosting. 

How to Make Chocolate Frosting for Cupcakes

This chocolate buttercream cupcake frosting recipe is so simple! To make the best cupcake frosting, add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy (it’ll take about 5 minutes). 

Add the cocoa powder, sugar, and vanilla to the butter and beat for another 5 minutes. 

Once the yellow cupcakes have cooled, pipe the chocolate buttercream frosting on top and garnish with sprinkles, if desired. 

Can I Freeze Yellow Cupcakes? 

Yes, the yellow cupcakes should be baked and then allowed to cool completely before being stored in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. When you’re ready to enjoy the frozen cupcakes, place them on your counter to thaw. Note that you should freeze the cupcakes before they’re iced. 

Can I Freeze Frosting? 

Yes, the homemade chocolate buttercream frosting for the cupcakes can be prepared and frozen separately from the cupcakes. When you’re ready to eat the frozen cupcake frosting, place it in the fridge to thaw. 

Can I Make This Recipe as a Regular Cake? 

Possibly, but I haven’t tried it before so I can’t say for sure. If you’re looking for a classic yellow cake recipe, I recommend making my Easy Yellow Cake and topping it with the chocolate buttercream icing I used for these yellow cupcakes. 

Can I Make This Recipe as Mini Cupcakes? 

I bet you could, although you’d need to drastically reduce the cook time. If you make mini yellow cupcakes with this recipe, please leave me a comment below letting me know how they turned out! 

Tips for Making the Best Yellow Cupcakes

If you don’t have yogurt on hand, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream will work as well, but you’ll miss out on a bit of sweetness and sour cream adds tons more fat. I’m very pleased that I got the cupcakes to stay soft and moist without piling in mindless fat grams.

Also, be sure to sift the cocoa powder into the butter mixture when making the chocolate buttercream frosting. Sifting the cocoa powder will ensure that no lumps form while the frosting is being whipped up. 

Lastly, don’t overbake these yellow cupcakes. In my oven, just over 18 minutes is ideal, and by 20 minutes, while they don’t appear to be too dark, they taste dry. You’ll have to find your own oven’s sweet spot.

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4.70 from 26 votes

Classic Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

By Averie Sunshine

These from-scratch yellow cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting taste just like the kind you grew up eating at childhood birthday parties!

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cooling Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

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Ingredients  

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Yellow Cupcakes

• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, melted
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 egg yolk
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 6 ounces about 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used nonfat honey Greek yogurt; vanilla or plain Greek yogurt, or sour cream may be substituted)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt, optional and to taste

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, softenend
• ▢ ½ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted (I used Trader Joe’s)
• ▢ 2 ½ to 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted is ideal
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ splash cream or milk, only as needed for consistency
• ▢ chocolate sprinkles, optional for garnishing

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350F. Line a Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan with paper liners; set aside.

For the Cucpakes:

• In a large, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
• Allow the butter to cool momentarily (so you don’t scramble the eggs), and add the egg plus yolk, sugar, yogurt, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
• Stir in the flour, baking powder, optional salt, and mix until just combined and free from large lumps; don’t overmix or cupcakes will be tough.
• Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, place about 2 tablespoons of batter per cupcake into each of the 12 cavities so they’re solidly 3/4 full. There will likely be enough batter for a 13th cupcake, and either lick the bowl or discard it; or I placed a large paper liner inside a mini loaf pan, and fit the mini pan on the rack next to the main muffin pan.
• Bake for 18 to 19 minutes, or until tops are golden, set, slightly domed, and springy to the touch. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
• Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. While they cool, make the frosting.

For the Frosting:

• To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and beat on medium-high speed until pale, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes). Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Add the cocoa (sift it, or you will have a hard time getting the lumps out of the frosting), 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Based on texture and taste preferences, optionally add 1/2 cup additional sugar (for 3 cups total), which I find necessary to achieve a thick consistency with my ingredients. If your frosting seems thick enough, refrain from the additional sugar and/or add a splash of cream to thin it.
• Transfer frosting to a piping bag and frost the cooled cupcakes. I used a Wilton 1M tip . Or simply spread frosting on with a knife.
• Optionally, garnish each cupcake with a pinch of sprinkles (do it over the sink because they fly around when they hit the frosting).

Notes

• Cupcakes will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days. I personally am comfortable storing buttercream-frosted items at room temp, but if you prefer to store in the fridge, that’s fine, but note the fridge will dry them out more quickly.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 622kcal, Carbohydrates: 107g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 80mg, Sodium: 186mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 90g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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