Chocolate Birthday Cupcakes

Classic chocolate cupcakes with creamy vanilla American buttercream and rainbow sprinkles.

This is my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe. It’s perfect – moist chocolate cake and perfect little cupcake domes every single time. I’ve also tested it with 1 to 1 gluten free flour from Bob’s Redmill and they come out perfect. You can find my GF Oreo Cupcake recipe here and it has the silkiest cookies and cream swiss meringue buttercream that is to-die-for.

But back to the classic chocolate + vanilla + rainbow sprinkle version of this cupcake that you came for. Let’s make ’em!

How to Make Chocolate Birthday Cupcakes

Make the Chocolate Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 and line cupcake pans with 18 total liners. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar for 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the egg and vanilla and mix for another 2-3 minutes, or until the batter is fluffy and lightened in color.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk into the mixer. Start by adding 1/3 of the dry ingredients, and mix on low. With the mixer running, pour in 1/2 of the buttermilk, then another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, the rest of the buttermilk, then ending with the remaining 1/3 of dry ingredients.

Stop the mixer when there is a few flour streaks remaining to prevent over mixing. Do a final mix with a rubber spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated evenly. Use a standard ice cream scoop with a trigger to portion the cupcake batter into the prepared pan. You should have exactly enough batter for 18 cupcakes – with the liners about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake the cupcakes at 350 for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pans for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely while you prepare the buttercream.

Make the Vanilla Buttercream

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for 10 minutes. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl every couple of minutes to make sure all of the butter is getting whipped. Mixing the butter for a long time is key in achieving the fluffiest and silkiest buttercream. After 10 minutes, the butter should’ve lightened in color and become very smooth.

Add in the vanilla and salt and mix to combine. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 at a time, mixing on low for 3 minutes after each addition. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, add the heavy cream 1 TBSP at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

Frost and Serve

You can frost these however you like, but I chose a simple swirl and rainbow sprinkles. To achieve this look, you’ll need a piping bag, a large round piping tip, an offset spatula (or small spoon) and rainbow sprinkles. Fit the tip into the piping bag and then fill with buttercream.

Start in the center of the cupcake and then slowly pipe twice around, but keeping the tip close to the cupcake and not allowing the buttercream to sit too tall. Use your offset spatula to create the swirl in the center of the cupcake, then top with rainbow sprinkles. You can see a video of me doing this on my Instagram and on TikTok.

Cupcakes will keep at room temperature for up to 24 hours, or up to a week in the fridge in an airtight container.

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If you loved this recipe for Chocolate Birthday Cupcakes, be sure to check out some of my other cupcake recipes like these Gluten Free Oreo Cupcakes and these Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes.