Name: Cake Mix Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 22
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 15.25 Ounces Yellow Cake Mix with Pudding in the Mix, (one ((1)) box); 3 Large Eggs; 3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil; 1/2 Cup Water; 3/4 Cup Sour Cream; 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, (2 sticks, softened); 3 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar; 1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder; 3 Tablespoons Milk, (or heavy cream); 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract; 1 Teaspoon Espresso Powder, (optional)

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These cake mix cupcakes with chocolate buttercream are easy to make and taste delicious! Best of all, they feature a classic chocolate buttercream frosting.

This post was originally published back in June of 2016. Needless to say, it’s a classic.

While there’s nothing wrong with classics, sometimes they need a little updating. So, that’s what we’re doing today.

Kim made a few changes to the recipe and hopefully you gals and guys will enjoy our new and improved cake mix cupcakes. Let’s get started!

Five cupcakes topped with chocolate buttercream frosting and colorful sprinkles.

How to Make Cake Mix Cupcakes:

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

The yellow cake batter in a large glass mixing bowl.

After that, combine the yellow cake mix, eggs, oil, water, and sour cream.

Use a hand mixer to beat all the ingredients into a batter.

The cake batter has been transferred to the cupcake liners.

Next, transfer the cake batter to the cupcake liners and place them into the oven to bake for about twenty (20) minutes.

Then, once the cake mix cupcakes are done, set them on a cooling rack to cool for about thirty (30) minutes.

In the meantime, you can make the frosting.

The cupcakes have baked and are cooling before being frosted.

How to make chocolate buttercream frosting?

To begin, grab a large mixing bowl and your hand mixer. Toss in the butter, vanilla, milk, and espresso powder.

Slowly sift in the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Combine the ingredients on low speed with hand mixer for about one (1) minute.

The sugar, butter, and other frosting ingredients in a bowl.

Afterward, increase the speed to medium and continue to mix the chocolate butter cream for another two (2) or three (3) minutes.

For a light, whipped butter cream, blend the ingredients until the frosting become light and fluffy.

The chocolate buttercream frosting has been mixed in a glass mixing bowl.

All that’s left is to top the cake mix cupcakes with the frosting. That’s it your cupcakes are done.

Kim and I hope you enjoy the recipe and wish you all the best 🙂

Top down view of the decorated cupcakes on a rack.

How many cupcakes come in a box of cake mix?

Usually, around two (2) dozen or twenty-four (24) cupcakes. It can vary slightly depending on how much cake mix you use for each cupcake.

For example, our recipe makes about twenty-two (22) individual cupcakes.

What can you substitute for eggs?

We typically recommend using a flax, “egg.” Basically, it uses ground flax seed and water to create a gelatin that acts like an egg in baking.

Three yellow cupcakes topped with chocolate buttercream frosting and sprinkles.

If you like this recipe, please leave us a comment and rate the recipe card. You can also find us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram searching for Berly’s Kitchen!

Yield: 22 Servings