These Dark Chocolate Cupcakes have no refined sugar (just honey) and are a healthy dessert you can feel good about serving to your kids, or anyone for that matter!

dark chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache decorated with rainbow sprinklesPin

One food misconception I hear all the time is that eating healthy means sacrificing the foods you love most. For example, a bunch of my friends don’t like to let their kids have snacks like cake or cupcakes for all the obvious reasons and so the kids have to miss out on fun things like chocolate cupcakes at birthday parties. I can’t think of many things more heartbreaking than seeing a little one at a party having to eat a banana while all the other kids’ faces are covered in chocolate frosting!

Well, here at weelicious, we’re always up for a challenge. Is there a healthy cupcake with absolutely no refined sugar that parents can be happy to serve their kids and even the most discriminating chocoholic will love? There is now! Enter these delicious and decadent Dark Chocolate Cupcakes!

Why I Love This Recipe

  • It’s easy: When I tested this recipe I did it every which way, and turns out this version was the best (and easiest) version we tried! It’s truly a dump in a bowl, mix and bake recipe that is absolutely delicious.
  • It’s healthier: Traditionally cupcakes are loaded down with sugar and not something you would want your little ones eating all the time. But these cupcakes are made with no sugar and sweetened naturally with honey. You’d never know it though by the way they taste!
  • Kid-approved: Since this recipe is so simple to make, it’s a great one to let your kid’s help you make! They’ll have a blast helping you in the kitchen and you can even let them lick the bowl. The dream!
birds eye view of chocolate cupcakes with icingPin

The Ingredients

For The Dark Chocolate Cupcake

  • all purpose flour
  • baking soda
  • kosher salt
  • cocoa powder
  • melted butter or olive, avocado or vegetable oil
  • honey or agave
  • whole milk or plant based milk
  • apple cider or white vinegar

For The Chocolate Ganache

  • heavy cream
  • honey or agave
  • unsweetened chocolate bar or chips
  • unsalted butter

How to Make Healthy Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Place all cupcake ingredients in a mixer or mixing bowl in the order listed in the recipe card and mix well to combine. Batter should be free of lumps. No need to sift the dry ingredients or place in separate bowls. This is a dump in the bowl, mix and bake recipe!
  3. Fill greased or lined muffin cups with batter about 3/4 full.
  4. Bake for 20-22 minutes for regular sized and 15 minutes for mini cupcakes.
  5. Cool and frost with chocolate ganache.
hand holding dark chocolate cupcake peeling off silicon muffin wrapperPin

Dark Chocolate Cupcake FAQs and Substitutions

  • Can these be made vegan? Yes! The cupcakes can absolutely be made vegan. Make them vegan by using oil instead of melted butter and almond or oat milk instead of cow’s milk.
  • What if I don’t have honey? You can use agave or maple syrup in place of the honey and still get a light, perfectly sweet chocolate cupcake.
  • Could I make these into a cake? I haven’t personally, but I’ve had a few readers convert this into a layered cake by doubling or tripling the recipe. Depending on the size of your cake you’ll most likely have to bake for a little longer than the cupcake instructions. You’ll know it’s done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  • No eggs? Really? Yep! No eggs in these cupcakes. The baking soda and vinegar work together to leaven and bind the cake.
  • What kind of cupcake liners did you use? You can use any that you have on hand, but I’m newly obsessed with these silicon cupcake liners. They don’t stick at all and are reusable!
dark chocolate cupcakes on blue serving platePin

More Healthy Desserts

overhead of chocolate cupcakes with sprinklesPin
Take a batch of these to your kid’s after school activities or make them for their birthday party and be the star of the show! Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments and tag me on social media if you make them!

Images by Ivan Solis

Pin

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

These Dark Chocolate Cupcakes are decadent, delicious and naturally sweetened using honey! A healthy dessert that actually tastes like the "real" thing!
No ratings yet
Course: Dessert
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Author: Catherine McCord
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients  

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes:

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup butter (melted) OR olive, avocado or vegetable oil
  • 2/3 cup honey or agave
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider or white vinegar

Chocolate Ganache:

  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup honey or agave
  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions 

Dark Chocolate Cupcake Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place cupcake ingredients in a mixer or mixing bowl in the order listed and mix well to combine. Batter should be free of lumps. (No need to sift the dry ingredients or place in separate bowls. This is a dump in the bowl, mix and bake recipe).
  • Fill greased or lined muffin cups with batter about 3/4 full.
  • Bake for 20-22 minutes for regular sized and 15 minutes for mini cupcakes.
  • Cool and frost with chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache Instructions:

  • Heat the cream and honey (or agave) in a small saucepan just to a boil, whisking to combine.
  • Turn off the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk constantly until chocolate is melted.
  • Pour into a bowl and add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time until icing is smooth and butter is incorporated.
  • Let the icing come to room temperature to allow it to set. You can also put the icing in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to speed up the process. Dip the cupcakes into the icing or spread using an offset spatula or knife.

Nutrition

Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 427mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 607IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?Mention @Weelicious or tag #weelicious!

About the Author

Catherine is a mama of three. A Kentucky girl living in California. Here’s what I know: all kids can be great eaters and mealtime must be easy. I create simple, healthy recipes the whole family will love.

Comments

  1. […] Source Weelicious […]

  2. Top 10 Beautiful Chocolate Cupcakes- Delicious Cupcake Recipes | Amazing Place Photos says:

    […] Source Weelicious […]

  3. Absolutely delicious! I have made these cupcakes three times now but tonight, I poured the ganache frosting into a piping bag and inserted the tip into the center (from the top) of the cupcake, squeezing the filling inside and then over the cupcake as I always have a lot of frosting left over. It’s a little messy but totally worth it! My 4-year old son absolutely loves these cupcakes!

  4. Trying to cut back on refined sugar in our house. I’m gonna make these for my son’s 2nd birthday! Thanks so much for the awesome recipe! As a side thought…have you really seen someone give their child a banana while others were eating cupcakes? I hope you were joking. I mean unless they have a dietary restriction, this is just sad.

  5. […] It is entirely possible to bake healthy chocolate cupcakes. Take these, for example. They contain agave instead of refined sugar, making them just as sweet as any others available. The milk and butter can be substituted with almond or rice milk and oil, respectively, in order to make these vegan, as well as sugar-free. And, to top it all off, these cupcakes are easy to make. There are no complicated steps beyond mixing all of the ingredients together, baking them, letting them cool, and then frosting them. Source Weelicious […]

  6. […] It is entirely possible to bake healthy chocolate cupcakes. Take these, for example. They contain agave instead of refined sugar, making them just as sweet as any others available. The milk and butter can be substituted with almond or rice milk and oil, respectively, in order to make these vegan, as well as sugar-free. And, to top it all off, these cupcakes are easy to make. There are no complicated steps beyond mixing all of the ingredients together, baking them, letting them cool, and then frosting them. Source Weelicious […]

  7. Thank you for the great recipe! I used maple syrup (I’m Canadian!) instead of agave & they were fabulous. And so easy to make!

  8. I noticed there are few different Agave products at our local Whole Foods; light, dark, raw, etc. What kind do you use in your recipes?

  9. I tripled this recipe and made it into a multi-layer cake for my son’s second birthday. It made one rectangular casserole pan, one 9 by 9 square pan, and a few cupcakes. I stacked them all together and topped it with cream cheese`cocoa icing, and then decorated it with a mini loader, digger, dumptruck, chocoalte rocks, and black sanding sugar to make it look like a construction site. The cake recipe was perfect! It was thick, which made a firm cake, perfect for this kind of decorating. It was so easy to make, too. This is definitely a recipe I’m going to come back to over the years.

  10. Loved the Ganache but I may have done it incorrectly because I had only used 2 TBsp of butter and it was a lil runny. It was still awesome, specially for my chocolate loving husband : ) Also, I made a cake instead of cupcakes. The mix was a bit thick and I kept using milk. It tasted great!

  11. Question about the icing: can I use cocoa powder instead of shaved chocolate? If so, how much would you recommend?

  12. Nettle leaf, not nettle root. Nettle root is good for psattore problems but not so much for what most people want out of nettle. Nettle leaf is one of the herbs that almost anyone can take at any time. I’ve never heard of a recommendation to only use it for a limited time. I know Susun Weed recommends it daily for all seasons of life. It’s gentle, supporting the liver and kidneys, full of nutrients. I drink an infusion of it almost daily and can the difference (low energy) when I stop for a while.

  13. Without being there I can’t know for sure what happened. How did you measure your ingredients? You may have used too much flour or not enough liquid. I scoop the flour into the measuring cups with a spoon and then level with the flat side of a knife. If you pack your flour in the cups or scoop directly from the container you would end up with more flour than I used. What type of flour did you use?

  14. I just made these and they taste like glue… I’m a former vegan baker so I know what I’m doing… what do you think happened?!

  15. Hello, a good friend of mine just rrrefeed me to your blog. This recipe sounds right up my alley. as for soaking the almond meal, do you grind your own almonds? If you soaked your almonds and then ground them you wouldn’t have to soak the meal.oh and Jann’e I hate to answer on someone else’s blog. But I wouldn’t bake flax. Heating flax will break down it’s nutrients and actually cause the oil to turn “rancid” causing a carcinogen. Flax is incredibly sensitive. The best way to eat flax is freshly ground and topped on cereal, smoothies, waffles, ect.glad I found your blog, looking forward to reading more!Brittany

  16. Since this recipe has no eggs the baking soda and vinegar work together to leaven and bind the cake!

  17. Why does it call for vinegar? I am just curious since I”ve never seen it with other cupcake recipes.

  18. Thanks so much for this recipe Catherine. I live in Uk and trying to find good healthy recipes as many of my family and friends have allergies or can’t tolerate some things. My hubby is on Gluten free diet i’m diabetic (althoughI can eat most things as long as I limit the amount) and my son has ADHD so additives not good for him and my tutor at college is Dairy Free so this was so helpful

  19. Just tried the recipe in cake pop pans and it worked beautifully… home make cake pops or doughnut holes 🙂 would the ganache icing be firm enough to hold on the the cake pop? If not, can you suggest an icing recipe that would work. Thanks for all your great recipes 🙂

  20. Is it possible to substitute the ap flour for whole wheat flour? I would actually love to use coconut flour but I know the consistency is different. So looking forward to making these!!

  21. These are soooo easy and perfect for freezing…thank you!! I subbed banana for the oil and they were great as a choc banana cupcake! Perfect for kiddos that can’t get enough banana. 🙂

  22. If I wanted to make this a cake what size pan would I use? And long would you bake it. I live in Colorado so at high altitude?

  23. Yes, I always use unsweetened cocoa powder so I sometimes forget to specify! Yes, white vinegar! Oy, sometimes this mommy’s brain gets a little scrambled!

  24. Is it correct for me to assume that the Cocoa Powder is unsweetened and the vinegar is white vinegar? Thank you!

  25. Hello. I would like to make these, but I need to know if they will hold up if shipped by mail. I have to and these to Florida and Colorado. Also, is it okay to use regular mail, or should I go to a mail shipping store?

    Thank you for your speedy reply.

    Sincerely,

    Marisa DiFalco

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    […]Dark Chocolate Cupcakes | Weelicious â„¢ – Fast, Easy & Fresh Homemade Home Made Baby Food Babyfood Recipes, Toddler Food and recipes for the entire family![…]…

  27. absolutly love this recipe! (and all the other weelicious ones) its not super sweet which is great for my 1 year olds first cake and it is super easy to make not weird ingredients or time consuming details. thanks for another go to recipe!

  28. Is the Cocoa powder sweet or unsweetened? I need to make these on Friday, if you could send a quick response. Thank you!

  29. Just made these again for the third time! They are so moist and delicious! I substituted 1/4 cup oil + 1/4 cup apple sauce for the butter.

  30. Hi, this looks fantastic! But i was wondering, if i use honey instead of agave (because i have to order agave online but honey i can buy in the store and i wanna try this out before my sons birthday (in 3.5 months lol so i have time!)) would i just use the same amount of honey as the recipe calls for agave?

  31. Hi!
    Everything you post is amazing! We love it all. Do you have a vanilla version of these cupcakes? My daughter’s birthday is coming up as well, and I would like to offer a variety.
    Thanks so much!
    -Jessica (Gwen 23 months)

  32. Thank you for such a superb recipe! I’m eager to try the ganache at our daughter’s next birthday party.

  33. Monday to Friday Meal Ideas | Weelicious â„¢ - Fast, Easy & Fresh Homemade Home Made Baby Food Babyfood Recipes, Toddler Food (and now for big kids too!) says:

    […] Breakfast: Egg in the Hole and Yogurt with Apricot, Peach and Raisin Puree Lunch: Elvis Panini and Strawberry Spinach Salad Dinner: Baked Ziti and Steamed Asparagus Snack: Dark Chocolate Cupcakes […]

  34. […] Dark chocolate cupcake – the dark chocolate gives a more refined and elegant taste to the little cupcake […]

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