Loaded Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

These easy-to-make loaded chocolate cupcakes are the perfect dessert for every occasion! Chocolate cupcakes, topped with peanut butter frosting, and a unique but delicious variety of toppings create a fun dessert that tastes amazing and is sure to get everyone talking!

Cupcakes aren’t really my thing, actually, cake of any kind isn’t really my thing (unless it’s cheesecake, of course!) And to be completely honest, I never thought I’d be posting a cupcake recipe here, I don’t know if I ever even thought I’d create a cupcake recipe of my own. But here we are.

This recipe came about from a picture of cupcakes I saw somewhere. I had never seen cupcakes like them before, and needless to say, I was intrigued. Normally, I’m not a sweet and salty kind of person. But I couldn’t get those cupcakes out of my head, so I figured, what the heck? Why not give them a try?

All I can say is that these cupcakes are delicious. It might sound like an odd combination of things: cupcakes, peanut butter, potato chips, pretzels, it shouldn’t work, but it does.

And these cupcakes not only taste amazing, but they are a fun and unique dessert perfect for any holiday, party, or gathering! 

And the best part is you can easily play around with different flavors and combinations, try using vanilla cupcakes instead of chocolate ones.

Or add a chocolate ganache on top of the peanut butter frosting, add your favorite chopped candy to the top of the cupcakes, or fill the cupcakes. You can even add espresso powder or hot coffee to give these cupcakes a delicious mocha flavor! 

There are endless ways to make these cupcakes, and I hope you’ll make this recipe your own and have as much fun serving these loaded cupcakes as I do! 

Loaded Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe 

This recipes make 12 regular-sized cupcakes. I like to use cupcake liners for baking, then remove them before topping my cupcakes, but you can grease your muffin pan instead of using liners if you prefer. 

Ingreidents 

For the cupcakes 

• unsweetened cocoa powder
• semi-sweet baking chocolate, roughly chopped
• hot water
• all-purpose flour
• white sugar
• baking powder
• baking soda
• sea salt
• unsalted butter, softened
• sour cream
• eggs
• egg yolks

For topping

• peanut butter frosting, homemade or store-bought. You can use any of your favorite frostings instead. Chocolate buttercream frosting, vanilla frosting, chocolate cream cheese frosting, and plain chocolate frosting are all delicious.
• chocolate chunks, you can also use chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips
• pretzel sticks, or twists, broken or left whole
• plain potato chips, crushed.

How To Make Loaded Chocolate Cupcakes

Combine the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in a small heat-proof bowl. Add the hot water(your water should be near boiling) and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted. Pop the bowl in the fridge to cool for about 30 minutes. Whisking once or twice to keep everything combined. 

Preheat the oven to  350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside until ready to use.

Once the melted chocolate is cooled, remove the bowl from the fridge and set aside until ready to use. 

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Now, cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the dry ingredients, and mix using an electric mixer(you can also make these cupcakes in the bowl of a stand mixer), beat until the mixture resembles dough. 

Now, in a medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients(the sour cream, eggs, and egg yolks) and whisk to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients into your flour-butter mixture and beat until it is light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes at high speed.  Once mixed, scrape down the sides of your bowl with a rubber spatula and mix again. 

Then pour the chocolate mixture into your batter and beat on high speed until combined. Again, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once to make sure everything gets combined.

Once the batter is done, spoon it into your prepared muffin tin, doing your best to keep an equal amount in each cup. 

Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Be sure not to overbake your cupcakes or they will be dry inside!

Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan until they are cool enough to handle, then remove them from the pan and place them on a wire rack to finish cooling. 

Allow the cupcakes to cool to room temperature, then remove the cupcake liners and top! You can frost your cupcakes with a knife or use a piping bag to pipe the peanut butter frosting.

Sprinkle the crushed potato chips and chocolate chunks over the frosted cupcakes, doing your best to keep an even amount on each. Place your pretzels onto the cupcakes, and gently press them down into the frosting to make sure they stay on! 

Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Any leftover loaded chocolate cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days! Unfrosted cupcakes can also be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days! 

If you like, you can add chocolate chunks or chocolate chips to the cupcakes themselves! You can also add a teaspoon of espresso powder, and substitute hot coffee in place of the hot water to give these cupcakes a delicious mocha flavor!  You can also add a splash of vanilla extract to help bring out the chocolate flavor!

I love using my homemade peanut butter frosting recipe for these cupcakes, but you can feel free to use any of your favorite frostings. Or a peanut butter frosting from the grocery store.

I like to use semi-sweet chocolate for making the cupcakes, but you can also use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or even unsweetened baking chocolate.

These chocolate cupcakes aren’t the sweetest cupcakes in the world. When I was developing the recipe, I cut down the amount of sugar I would usually add because I knew I was going to be loading these cupcakes with frosting and chocolate on top. So feel free to play around with the amount of sugar to create a sweetness that better suits you. 

Be Sure to Check Out These Delicious Desserts Too!

Cookies & Cream Cheesecake 

Banana Torte Recipe | with homemade meringue

Banana Cream Pie with Real Banana Pudding

Black Forest Cheesecake

The Best Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe | with Oreo crust