These eggless chocolate cupcakes are super soft, spongy, and moist in texture with a strong chocolate taste. These cupcakes are made with simple ingredients and topped with chocolate buttercream frosting. After having one bite, you won’t believe these cupcakes are made without eggs.

5 eggless chocolate cupcakes in a plate with napkin and wooden board under the plate.

Why Choose My Recipe

Tried by many with rave reviews: You can check out all the positive feedback below in the comments.

“my signature cupcakes! Absolutely amazing- they work out perfect every time.” – Tessa

Originally I shared this recipe in 2012. At that time I was new in this country (USA) and my husband doesn’t eat eggs. So I was trying my hand at eggless baking and this eggless chocolate cupcake recipe is one of the few recipes that I tried in the first month of my baking journey. Other goodies were eggless chocolate chip cookies and eggless vanilla cake. After many trials and errors, I shared the foolproof recipe on the site.

Recently I have updated the pictures and write-up only. The recipe is still the same.

One eggless chocolate cupcake cut into half to show inside texture.

You’ll Love These Eggless Cupcakes

Easy: You’ll need 2 bowls, one for wet ingredients and one for dry ingredients. Combine both, bake and frost. Even baking beginners can make it without fail.
Quick: You’ll need under 10 minutes to make the batter. The rest is done by the oven. Plus, frosting takes around 15 minutes to make. Isn’t it quick?
Full-on Chocolate Flavor: The cupcakes of course have a deep chocolate flavor. On top of that the frosting is made with real chocolate, not just the cocoa powder. You’ll get a double dose of chocolate.

Ingredient Notes

Here is a pic of the ingredients you’ll need to make an eggless chocolate cupcakes recipe. All of them are simple and easy to find.

Eggless chocolate cupcake ingredients in bowls and spoons with labels.

All purpose flour: For my Hindi audience, it is called maida in Hindi.
Sugar: Regular white granulated sugar is used.
Cocoa powder: I recommend using regular Natural cocoa powder that you find in grocery store’s baking aisle e.g. Hershey’s, Ghirardelli, or any store brand, etc. No, we are not using Dutch processed cocoa powder.
Salt: A pinch of salt will enhance the overall flavor, so cupcakes don’t taste flat.
Baking soda & Vinegar: Because this is an egg-free recipe, baking soda (leavening agent) reacts with vinegar to create a fluffy, spongy texture.
I have used white distilled vinegar. Apple cider vinegar works as well.
Oil: Use any flavorless oil like corn, canola, vegetable, safflower oil, etc.

Here is the pic of the ingredients you’ll need to make chocolate buttercream frosting.

Chocolate buttercream frosting ingredients in bowls on a marble surface with labels.

Unsweetened chocolate: Get the bar of your favorite brand’s baking chocolate and chop it finely at home. Make sure it is unsweetened to control the overall sweetness of the frosting.
Butter:
Unsalted: I highly recommend using unsalted butter for frosting. It tastes way better than salted butter.
Room temperature: It must be softened to room temperature (not cold or not melted) to get a perfectly smooth, creamy texture. So don’t forget to remove it from the fridge a few hours before.
Powdered sugar: It is not just the regular sugar in powder form. It is also known as icing sugar or confectioner’s sugar. It makes a perfectly smooth piping consistency.
Vanilla: Always use pure vanilla extract and stay away from imitation ones.

Step By Step With Tips

Full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of the post. This is just the overview and notes on how to make these eggless chocolate cupcakes.

How To Make Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes?

Prep: Preheat the oven. Keep the muffin tray ready (line with cupcake liner or grease with butter/oil).

1) Mix Dry Ingredients: Sift flour, baking soda, and cocoa powder to break all the lumps. This sifting step makes sure that the cupcake batter has a smooth consistency. Whisk in sugar and salt.

Collage of 4 images showing sifting and mixing dry ingredients.

2) Mix Wet Ingredients: This step is super simple, just add water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk. Of course, oil and water are not going to combine, that’s ok.

Collage of 2 images showing mixing wet ingredients.

3) Combine Wet & Dry: Always add dry mixture to a wet bowl to mix the batter easily and avoid overmixing.

How to avoid overmixing the cupcake batter? Start with the wire whisk and halfway through switch to the spatula, scrap the sides and the bottom of the bowl while mixing with the spatula

The batter consistency: It has a slightly runny consistency. It is not a thick batter like muffin batter. A thick batter will result in a dense texture like brownies. We want a spongy, cakey texture, right?

Collage of 2 images showing adding dry mixture to wet and making cupcake batter.

4) Fill The Tray, Bake & Cool:

Fill the cupcake liners only halfway full. Not ⅔, not ¾, not all the way to the top.

Half-full bakes into the perfect flat surface cupcake. That’s what you’re looking for, not the dome, mushroom top.

Half full = flat surface cupcakes
More than half full = Mushroom tops & may sink in the center
Too full = overflow the cupcakes (shape looks like bakery-style muffins)

So, go for halfway full! Got it?

Bake for 20-22 minutes.

How To check the doneness? Insert the toothpick in the center of the cupcake and it should come out clean. This means taking the cupcake tray out of the oven.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes only, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool down completely.

Don’t let the cupcakes sit in the muffin tray for longer otherwise, they start to turn soggy from the bottom because of the steam produced from the hot cupcakes.

Collage of 3 images showing dividing batter into the muffin tray and baked cupcakes in the tray and on a wire rack.

How To Make Chocolate Buttercream Frosting?

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting.

1) Melt Chocolate Using Double Boiler Method:

Double Boiler: Add around 1 inch of water in a saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer on low heat. Place a heatproof bowl on top of the saucepan. Make sure that water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Your double boiler is ready.

Melt the chocolate: Add chopped chocolate to the double boiler bowl, and keep stirring the chocolate with a whisk for even melting. You may need to hold on to the bowl with a towel or oven glove using another hand. If you find it is getting too hot then remove the bowl, and keep stirring. If not yet melted then place it back on the saucepan and continue melting until smooth and melted completely.

Let the melted chocolate cool to room temperature.

Collage of 4 images showing melting chocolate with double boiler method.

2) Cream Butter & Sugar: Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature.

Room temperature butter= Smooth, piping consistency
Cold butter = Lumps in the frosting & not easy to beat
Too soft, almost melted butter: Runny consistency frosting

Sift the powdered sugar to get rid of all the lumps, it results in smooth, shiny, lump-free chocolate frosting.

If using with hand mixer, I suggest mashing and mixing butter-sugar using a spatula to avoid sugar dust flying everywhere. Beat the butter and sugar until it turns light, fluffy and smooth.

Collage of 5 images showing beating butter and sugar for frosting.

3) Add Melted Chocolate & Beat: Now the melted chocolate must be cooled to room temperature, add that into the butter-sugar mixture along with vanilla.

If melted chocolate is still warm then it will melt the butter in the frosting and result in runny frosting. So make sure to cool it down.

Beat it until smooth, fluffy, and shiny. Scrap the sides and bottom of the bowl using a spatula to mix the frosting.

Collage of 3 images showing adding melted chocolate and beating to get frosting.

4) Frost The Cupcakes: Make sure that cupcakes have cooled down completely before frosting them.

Pipe the frosting on your eggless chocolate cupcakes however you like. (I used Wilton 1M)

Eggless chocolate cupcakes on a wire rack.

Check Out Other Eggless Cupcakes

7 eggless chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting on a plate.

Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below. If you’re sharing it on your Instagram then don’t forget to tag me @spice.up.the.curry