These chocolate cream filled cupcakes have a soft, moist chocolate crumb, a creamy whipped filling hidden in the center, and a rich chocolate ganache topping. They look like bakery-style cupcakes, but each part is simple enough to make at home with basic baking ingredients.
The cupcake batter uses cocoa powder, brown sugar, oil, and a little hot coffee mixture for deep chocolate flavor, while the center is filled after baking with a light cream cheese whipped cream. A smooth layer of ganache finishes everything off and gives these bakery-style chocolate cupcakes their glossy chocolate top.
If you love chocolate desserts with a creamy center, try my Easy Chocolate Filled Cake next. My Creamy Chocolate Pudding Cups are another rich chocolate dessert that can be made ahead.
For something simpler to serve alongside the cupcakes, these Chocolate Chip Cookies give you a chewy contrast, while a mug of Homemade Hot Chocolate works well when you want a full chocolate dessert spread.
Table of contents
Ingredients for Chocolate Cream Filled Cupcakes
How to Make Chocolate Cream Filled Cupcakes Step by Step
Prep
Heat your oven to 350°F (180°C ) (Assumption). Line a 12-cup (heaping 1/3 cup each) muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Make the coffee mix (optional)
Dissolve coffee granules in hot water; set aside (if using for flavor).
Prepare ganache
Prepare ganache: heat heavy cream until steaming. Pour over dark chocolate, let stand 2 minutes and then stir until smooth. Set aside to thicken.
Combine wet ingredients
Combine the wet ingredients: brown sugar, milk, oil, vanilla, vinegar and eggs until combined and smooth.
Whisk dry ingredients
Whisk dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
Make the batter
Add wet to dry, stirring only until incorporated. Whisk in the hot coffee-water mixture slowly until well combined.
Bake
Fill liners about 2/3 full. Bake 16 -18 minutes (Assumption) or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely.
Make the filling
Whip cold heavy cream with softened cream cheese until thick and pipeable.
Fill
Core the centers of each cupcake, and pipe in filling. Place the cut portion back down if you wish to have a tidy top.
Frost
Spoon or pipe thickened ganache onto cupcakes. Allow to set 10-20 minutes before serving.
What Makes These Chocolate Cupcakes Soft and Moist
Oil is one of the ingredients helping these moist chocolate cupcakes stay tender. Unlike butter, neutral oil remains liquid at room temperature, so the crumb stays soft even after the cupcakes have cooled.
The recipe also combines baking soda with white vinegar. That acid-base combination creates carbon dioxide during baking and helps provide lift; King Arthur uses the same baking soda-and-vinegar combination in its classic chocolate Cake Pan Cake.
You can see the technique in King Arthur Baking’s Chocolate Cake Pan Cake.
The optional coffee does not need to make these taste like coffee. Coffee and espresso are commonly used in chocolate cakes to deepen the overall flavor; King Arthur includes coffee or espresso in several chocolate cupcake and cake formulas.
The finishing ganache is simply chocolate emulsified with hot heavy cream. Your recipe uses roughly equal weights of cream and chocolate, which produces a relatively soft ganache that becomes thicker as it cools. King Arthur’s basic ganache also starts with equal weights of chocolate and cream and notes that more chocolate produces a thicker result.
For more detail, see King Arthur Baking’s guide to chocolate ganache.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Overmixing the cupcake batter, which can make the cupcakes dense.
- Filling the cupcake liners too full.
- Baking the cupcakes too long, which can make them dry.
- Filling the cupcakes before they are completely cool.
- Making the chocolate cream too thin, so it leaks out.
- Adding too much filling inside each cupcake.
- Frosting the cupcakes while they are still warm.
What To Serve With Chocolate Cream Filled Cupcakes
Chocolate Cream Filled Cupcakes are delicious served with hot coffee, cold milk, hot chocolate, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or fresh strawberries. They also pair well with chocolate sauce, caramel drizzle, raspberries, or a dessert tray for birthdays, parties, and holidays.
FAQs
But if you do use coffee granules, the cupcakes don’t taste like coffee at all — they taste more chocolaty!
It acts on baking soda to keep the crumb tender, so it’s a little lighter.
Yes, but being less acidic the rise might be a bit different. They’ll still bake up delicious.
It should look like thick soft peanut butter; spreadable but not runny.
Yes. Keep them covered in the fridge and bring to room temperature 10–15 minutes before serving for that perfect texture.
You could, but whipped cream filling may change in texture after freezing and thawing. For best results, freeze the cupcakes plain and add filling/frosting after they have thawed.
More Recipes Links
Chocolate Cream Filled Cupcakes
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Assumption: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Mix the HOT COFFEE ingredients: dissolve coffee granules (if using) in hot water; set aside to cool slightly.
- In a bowl, whisk DRY ingredients together (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt).
- In a second bowl, whisk WET ingredients together (brown sugar, milk, oil, vanilla, vinegar, eggs) until smooth.
- Add DRY to WET and whisk just until combined. Pour in the HOT COFFEE mix and stir until smooth.
- Divide batter into liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake 15–18 minutes (assumption), until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely.
- Make ganache: heat heavy cream until steaming. Pour over chocolate. Rest 2 minutes, then stir until smooth. Cool until thick enough to pipe/spread (assumption: 20–45 minutes).
- Make filling: beat softened cream cheese until smooth. Add cold heavy cream and whip to medium-stiff peaks.
- Core cupcakes and pipe filling into the center. Replace the cake “cap” if desired.
- Frost cupcakes with thickened ganache. Let set at room temp or chill briefly to firm.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- For deeper chocolate flavor, keep the coffee granules; it enhances cocoa without making the cupcakes taste like coffee.
- If ganache is too runny, let it sit longer at room temperature; if too thick, warm very briefly and stir.
- Store finished cupcakes in the fridge because of the dairy-based filling.
- Substitution: apple cider vinegar can replace white vinegar 1:1.
- Substitution: any neutral oil works (canola/vegetable/avocado).
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Let us know how it was!Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
