These chocolate chip cupcakes are the perfect spin on a traditional vanilla cupcake. They share the same ease in effort to make as vanilla cupcakes, but are packed with milk chocolate chips both inside the cupcake batter and on the buttercream frosting. Your kiddos (and you!) will love this recipe.
There's nothing better than a moist cupcake. My vanilla cake recipe has become one of the blogs top recipes, so it inspired me to make these chocolate chip cupcakes.
Why you'll love these chocolate chip cupcakes
- Because they are packed with chocolate chips! I'm talking in the cupcake batter and in the buttercream frosting.
- From start to finish, they can be made in under and hour!
- It's a simple spin on a classic vanilla cupcake recipe, but there's something special about chocolate chips in a cupcake. It takes them to the next level.
Ingredients You'll Need to Make these Cupcakes:
Here are the main ingredients needed for this recipe. You'll find a complete list of ingredients listed in the recipe card below.
This recipe follows a pretty standard vanilla cupcake recipe!
- Unsalted Butter: buttery flavour is essential to these cupcakes. Make sure your butter is room temperature so it fully incorporates.
- Vegetable Oil: provides moisture without adding unwanted flavouring.
- Granulated Sugar: important for sweetening and assisting with achieving rise in cupcakes as well as creating a light texture.
- Egg Whites: make sure your egg whites are room temperature in order for them to completely incorporate into your batter.
- Vanilla: I love to use pure vanilla extract to enhance the flavour.
- Cake Flour: a lower protein flour that results in light, airy cupcake texture.
- Baking Powder: aids in leavening cupcakes.
- Baking Soda: essential to leavening process. Make sure it is fresh - it can expire!
- Salt: an important flavouring tool!
- Buttermilk: provides a slight tang flavour, assists to activate leavening agents and provide moisture to the cupcakes.
- Milk Chocolate Chips: I like to use milk chocolate chips but you can use semi-sweet if you prefer.
Instructions to Make Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
1. Begin by creaming together your butter and vegetable oil.
2. Next, add in your granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Don't skip this step - it's essential to creating a light and fluffy cupcake.
3. Add in egg whites and vanilla.
4. Alternately add in cake flour and buttermilk, only mixing until combined.
5. Finish by folding in floured chocolate chips. It's important to coat your chocolate chips in flour before adding them into the cupcake batter or they might sink to the bottom!
6. Bake at 325 degrees F for 18 minutes and cool completely before frosting.
Hint: Vanilla cake can easily become very dense if it is over-mixed. In order to prevent this, it's important to mix the batter until just combined. Never leave your mixer going unattended.
Substitutions
- Gluten Free - swap cake flour for gluten free flour to make these gluten free chocolate chip cupcakes. I like using Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour.
- Chocolate Chips - use semi-sweet chocolate chips or even white chocolate chips for fun!
Variations
Here are a few variations you might like to try with this gluten-free banana bread recipe.
Chocolate Chips - use semi-sweet chocolate chips or even white chocolate chips for fun!
See these vanilla cupcakes from scratch for another cupcake option!
Equipment
For these chocolate chip cupcakes you'll need an electric hand or stand mixer. It's important to cream the oil and butter mixture well with the sugar. If not, you won't whip enough air into the batter to make it light.
Our Swiss meringue buttercream frosting recipe requires an electric stand mixer.
Storage
Store frosted chocolate chip cupcakes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Note that as the days progress, the cupcakes won't be as moist.
Baked but not frosted chocolate chip cupcakes can be frozen for up to 1 month in an airtight container or a Ziploc bag with most of the air removed. Allow the cupcakes to thaw on the counter before frosting.
top tip
Measure your flour properly. It's so important to NOT use your measuring cup as a scoop. Doing this will result in flour being packed down into the cup. Your chocolate chip cupcakes will be dry. Instead use a spoon to spoon flour into the measuring cup and then level it off.
FAQ About Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
It's important to flour your chocolate chips before adding them into the cupcakes. They are heavy so sometimes if you don't flour them they will sink.
Of course!
Related
Looking for more recipes like this? Try these:
Frosting
Top your cupcakes with my easy Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. Swiss meringue buttercream is light, silky, and a marshmallow like buttercream. It requires a few extra steps, but I assure you it's worth it! You'll have extra buttercream frosting left over. You can simply place it in an airtight container and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Equipment
- Electric hand or stand mixer
- Medium Bowl
- Measuring Cups/ Spoons
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 egg whites at room temperature
- ½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups cake flour
- ½ tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cups buttermilk at room temperature
- ¾ cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
- Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Fill a cupcake tray with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a small bowl, coat milk chocolate chips in all purpose flour. This prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the batter.
- Into the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and oil together for 3-4 minutes until they are completely unified.
- Slowly add sugar into the mixture and beat on medium to high speed until light and fluffy (about 1 minute)
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed add egg whites in one at a time followed by the vanilla.
- Beat on high until mixture is smooth and light in colour. With the mixer on low speed, add one third of the flour mixture into the bowl and mix until just combined.
- Scrape down the bowl and add one half of the butter milk and again mix until just combined. Repeat this process. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Do not over mix or your cake will become quite dense.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Distribute batter evenly into cupcake liners.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of one cupcake comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes in cupcake tray before transfering to cooling rack.
- Cool completely before frosting. Read notes section below for Buttercream Frosting Recipe.
Tami W. says
These cupcakes are delicious!! They were a total hit with the whole family, fluffy and not too sweet. I topped them off with the suggested buttercream frosting and it was perfection!! Try these cupcakes for a yummy duo of vanilla and chocolate, thanks Blair for the best cupcakes!!
Blair Braz says
Aren't these so delicious? What a simple addition of chocolate chips can do!
Liz says
These turned out perfect!! Both the cupcakes and Swiss meringue buttercream are delicious! I'll be using these recipes from now on!
Blair Braz says
I'm so happy to hear this!!