Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Red Wine Buttercream Frosting

4.25 from 4 votes

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Red Wine Buttercream Frosting

A velvety cupcake topped with a rich and creamy buttercream frosting is always a treat. These Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Red Wine Buttercream are the perfect something sweet for sharing with someone special in your life, whether at the end of a particularly stressful day or for special occasions and holidays.

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 542kcal

Author: Meaghan @ 4 Sons R Us

Ingredients

For The Cupcakes

1 15.25 oz box chocolate cake mix
¾ cup dry red wine room temperature
3 eggs room temperature
3 tbsp canola oil
½ cup dark chocolate nibs or chips melted

For The Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter softened
3 ½-4 cups powdered sugar
½ cup dry red wine
2 tbsp granulated sugar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To Make The Cupcakes

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cake mix, wine, egg, oil, and chocolate- just until evenly combined. Don't over-mix.
1 15.25 oz box chocolate cake mix, ¾ cup dry red wine, 3 eggs, 3 tbsp canola oil, ½ cup dark chocolate nibs or chips
Line cupcake pans with paper liners. Use a large scoop to fill the liners 2/3 of the way full until the batter is gone.
Bake the cupcakes according to the package directions, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the largest cupcake comes out clean.
Remove the cooked cupcakes from the oven, and let the pans rest for about three minutes before removing them to wire racks to finish cooling completely.

To Make The Frosting

Add the remaining wine and sugar to a small sauce pan, stirring until the sugar's completely dissolved.
½ cup dry red wine, 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Bring the mixture to a simmer, and stirring occasionally, continue simmering until reduced and the syrup is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. You'll know when it's almost ready when stirring starts to form fleeting lines in the mixture showing the bottom of the pan.
Remove the skillet from heat; it should yield several tablespoons of syrup.
In the bowl of a stand mixture, cream together the powdered sugar and butter,until whipped and fluffy. Set the mixture to a lower speed and slowly pour in the red wine syrup, mixing until evenly combined.
1 cup unsalted butter, 3 ½-4 cups powdered sugar
Fit your desired tip into a piping bag, and scoop the frost in.
Generously frost the cupcakes; serve and enjoy.

Notes

Be sure to use a dry red wine in this recipe. It gives you the flavor without making the cupcakes or frosting sickeningly sweet.
Do NOT overmix the batter, only until the ingredients have just been evenly combined. This is important because over mixing can lead to tough, dense cupcakes and also possibly prevent them from rising properly during baking.
To ensure the cupcakes are cooked through, be sure to perform a toothpick test before carefully removing them from the oven.
Do NOT attempt to frost the cupcakes before they're completely cooled, otherwise the frosting will melt.

Nutrition