Moist, fluffy chocolate cake topped with a sky-high, sweet marshmallow buttercream frosting – these Hot Chocolate Cupcakes are a can’t miss recipe for the winter season!
So California is having a week of rain.
And Californians are acting like Y2K is coming. Like, if Mother Nature even gave us one day of snow, we’d probably melt like the Wicked Witch in Wizard of Oz.
And there’d probably still be some weirdo wearing cargo shorts and flip flops while it was snowing. (Side note: that irrationally grinds my gears, but I digress).
Californians can be so dramatic with the slightest of weather shifts. It’s raining for a week. We’re not having a hurricane. We’re in no threat of a tsunami. It’s seriously intermittent showers. I wouldn’t even use the term “downpour.” But natives have a colossal freak-out like it’s acid rain coming from the Gates of Hell.
Hello, Hollywood is in California. Of course we’re dramatic.
But during this non-torrential sprinkle of water falling from the sky, I bet I’m not going to be the only one cozying up by the fire and catching up on novels. I’ve gone a little Amazon-crazy the last few weeks ordering no less than 20 novels (not joking) to read when I’m done writing my book (which is soon! Yay!). I’m also going to use my newfound freedom to bake cupcakes, namely these Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream.
These cupcakes are one of my new favorites for a few reasons. One, the cupcake itself is super moist, fluffy, and extra chocolaty. It’s actually made with real hot cocoa powder in it to really ramp up that milky, creamy flavor. And the marshmallow buttercream is kinda sorta to-die for. Light, fluffy, sweet… it’s almost like a cloud sitting atop each cake.
To really top it off, I sprinkled the tops with chocolate syrup and miniature marshmallow bits, which are teensy freeze-dried marshmallows you can find near the hot cocoa in the store. It just drives home that flavor, and they’re totally adorable to boot!
So whether it’s blizzard-ing, sunny, or kinda-raining, make these cupcakes this week and feel cozy no matter the weather 🙂
Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream
Ingredients
- FOR CUPCAKES:
- 1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
- 1¼ cups milk
- 2/3 cup oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 small instant hot cocoa packet just the dry mix
- 1 box (3.9 ounce box) instant dry chocolate pudding mix just the dry mix
- FOR MARSHMALLOW BUTTERCREAM:
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow fluff
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- Miniature marshmallow bits and chocolate syrup for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin tins with 22 paper liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the cake mix, milk, oil, eggs, hot cocoa packet, and dry pudding mix together with an electric mixer until combined and smooth, about 2 minutes. Portion the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full.
- Bake for approximately 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Cool completely.
- To make the frosting: Cream together the butter, marshmallow fluff, vanilla and salt together in a stand mixer until combined and smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add in the powdered sugar, about one cup at a time, alternating with the heavy cream until frosting is light and fluffy.
- Pipe or spread the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Garnish with marshmallow bits and the chocolate syrup.
Moist, fluffy cakes topped with a sinfully sweet marshmallow buttercream… these cupcakes can’t be beat!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
cakeSpy says
Hot chocolate with marshmallows is the best. In cupcake form? EVEN BETTER!
hilda Andrarde says
hello are these the regular size muffin cups, not minis?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Hilda, yes, these are standard muffin cups!
Shelby M. says
My buttercream frosting seemed to just fall flat as if it couldn’t hold its form. The cupcakes were completely cooled. Does how much I stir it matter? The frosting tasted a bit sugary so I added just a tiny bit more of cream, pqrobably like 1/4 tsp, if that. I’m wondering if adding extra cream caused this, or if you have any ideas?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Shelby, no, that little amount of cream wouldn’t have caused it to deflate. Sounds like the frosting didn’t have enough powdered sugar or if it was really hot in your kitchen, it could have melted the buttercream. Sorry this happened!
amyleahj says
Hi Shelby,
Were you definitely using butter and not margarine? I’ve had that problem before not even realizing I was swapping, margarine has more moisture and isn’t as dense, and when I try to make a buttercream with it it’s too runny. I was frustrated with a lot of frosting recipes before I realized what I was doing!
Linda says
Is the cake mix the old size 18.25 or the new smaller size of 15.75??
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Linda, it would be whatever is current on the market – I believe 15.75. However, if you have the larger box, that should work! Just follow the box instructions if you need an additional egg, water, etc.
J says
Should these be refrigerated due to the heavy cream in the butter ?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi J, you certainly can, but it’s not necessary.
Robin Mcmahon says
HI, your cupcakes are the bomb! everyone loves them. I did have a follow-up question concering the marmallow cream frosting. My Frosting also lost its shape. I made it twice thinking that I had made an error in my measurements. I double checked that I was using butter. Any other suggestions? Thanks,
Robin
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Robin! Sorry you had some issues with the frosting. This frosting has a LOT of “wet” ingredients – marshmallow fluff, butter, etc. You can always add more powdered sugar to help stiffen it up.
Chelsea says
Hello, just finding this recipe! I had a problem with the cupcakes coming out flat topped instead of rising. What did I do wrong? The cake mixture was SUPER this too. TIA
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Chelsea, it sounds like the cake batter was overmixed which can incorporate too much air – the air then collapses in the oven which results in a sunken cupcake. Nothing frosting can’t cover up!
Lisa Nussbaum says
I would like to make these the day before I will serve them. I will be refrigerating them probably. Can I put on the marshmellows and syrup on then or do I need to wait until befor serving?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Lisa, I would wait to put marshmallows and syrup on until right before serving. The marshmallows will probably melt in the fridge if you were to garnish and then store.
Courtney says
These were delicious! The marshmallows on top make the cupcake
Amanda says
I am struggling to find Marshmallow bits at a decent price. Where is everyone getting theirs from?
Jess says
Was so excited about this recipe but the frostingturned out so bad 🙁 it was so flat even after adding more powdered sugar. It was also so sweet I couldn’t taste any of the marshmallow flavor.