Sunflower Chocolate Cupcakes

These beautiful sunflower cupcakes are definitely a crowd pleaser!

This decadent and fluffy cupcake has a chocolate base with vanilla buttercream. We'll first bake the cupcake for about 20 minutes, and work on the creamy buttercream. Once the cupcakes are cooled, we'll use a special piping tip to create layers resembling sunflower petals. Lastly, the cupcake will be finished with a sprinkling of mini chocolate chips. Enjoy 🤎

---

Sunflower Chocolate Cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcake

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 eggs at room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup veg oil

1/2 cup whole milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream

1&1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Wilton Star Tip

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease/line cupcake pans.

2. In a medium bowl, add: all purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk till combined & set aside.

3. In a separate medium bowl, add eggs and whisk till combined. Then, add in brown sugar, granulated sugar, veg oil, and vanilla extract. Mix till combined.

4. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture about 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with the 1/2 cup of milk. Mix to combine, but do not over-mix. Scoop batter into cupcake pans about 3/4 of the way and bake for 18-20 minutes till you can stick a toothpick in the center of the cupcake and it comes out clean. Once baked, cool completely.

5. While baking, prep the frosting. To a mixing bowl, add in butter and beat for 3-4 minutes on medium till creamed. Then, add in sifted confectioner's sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Alternate confectioner's sugar with the portion of heavy cream till everything is combined. Lastly, add in couple drops of yellow food coloring, salt, & vanilla extract.

6. Once cupcakes are completely cooled, pipe them with the frosting. Using a star tip, start at the outer part of the cupcake and pull out to create the sunflower petals. After two layers of petals, add in 1/2 tsp mini chocolate chips to the empty center.

* Cupcake base adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction.