These green and black chocolate cupcakes are perfect for a party and versatile for different occasions. Use them to represent Frankenstein at a Halloween party, evergreen colors for a Christmas party, or shades of green for St. Patrick’s Day, to name just a few!
Advantages of Cupcakes
Cupcakes can be advantageous over cakes because they provide two dozen opportunities to experiment with decorations. There are no cake pans to grease and flour, and you can taste test one cupcake before serving the rest to guests. Cupcakes are convenient to serve at parties and events. There’s no need to worry about cutting and plating slices; guests can simply grab a cupcake and enjoy.
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
These cupcakes have a chocolate cake base, but half are frosted with black chocolate icing and the other half with green vanilla icing. I wanted a dramatic black and green color scheme so I started with black cupcake liners and dark chocolate cake. I added extra dark cocoa to make them very dark and chocolaty.
Buttercream Frosting: Two Flavors in One Bowl
To simplify the recipe and only use one mixing bowl for two flavors, make one batch of vanilla buttercream frosting with a mixer. Here is how to make two flavors out of it:
- Divide the frosting in half, leaving one half in the mixing bowl and placing the other in a separate bowl.
- Add green food coloring to the frosting in the mixing bowl and beat it to mix the color well.
- Move the finished green frosting to another bowl and set it aside for piping later–be sure to remove as much frosting off the beater as you can.
- Add the other half of the frosting back into the mixing bowl. You do not need to wash the bowl or beater because the chocolate will cover any green frosting.
- Finally, add dark chocolate cocoa powder and black gel food coloring to the buttercream and mix it well with the mixer.
Black Chocolate Buttercream
There are two ways I make black buttercream. The first step is to add dark chocolate (Dutch) cocoa powder to the buttercream to create a rich dark blackish-brown color. Then add black gel food coloring or edible charcoal powder to deepen the color to a true black.
Gel Coloring for Chocolate Cupcakes
It takes more than just a few drops of black gel coloring to dye chocolate buttercream black. Sometimes I use an entire small bottle or tub to color one batch of cupcakes. Of course, the more dark chocolate cocoa you use, the easier it is to create a black color. Usually, the frosting turns a dark gray at first but gets a little darker as it sits. Also, if you use sprinkles, they will contrast with the dark black color, making it appear even darker.
Charcoal for Frosting Chocolate Cupcakes
Charcoal powder works very well to turn buttercream a dark black color. Add it in teaspoons until you achieve the dark color you want, beating it well between additions. I think it turns frosting black easier than gel coloring. However, there are a couple of things to know before using charcoal. Charcoal dust can fly onto other surfaces, and it easily stains things. Also, charcoal can reduce the absorption of some oral medications because it can act as a filter. So if you plan to use it, keep these things in mind.
Sprinkles for Chocolate Cupcakes
I used premixed sprinkles with black, white, silver, blue, and shades of green. To make your own (similar) sprinkle mix, search online for “green sprinkle mix” or look for them at a local store that sells sprinkles. Then add silver, white, and black sprinkles to a green mix to get a look like these cupcakes. When you create your own sprinkle mix, vary the sizes and shapes of the sprinkle mix. Add a few larger candies, such as Sixlets in green and black. Also, add silver metallic jimmies and balls to make it eye-catching.
I hope you enjoy creating your own sprinkles and black and green chocolate cupcakes!
Other Green Recipes
Here are some other “green” party recipes you might enjoy. Click on each name to link to the recipe.
Green and Black Chocolate Cupcakes
Equipment
- (2) 12-count muffin pans
- 24 black cupcake liners
- 2 large piping bags
- 1 large star tip (Wilton #1M)
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- â…” cup sour cream, room temperature
- ¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature (shake buttermilk before measuring)
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 egg white, room temperature
- â…“ cup dark cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 15.25 ounces box devil food chocolate cake mix (Duncan Hines used)
Frosting
- 1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon butter flavoring
- ½ teaspoon granulated salt
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 5 cups powdered (icing) sugar (see note below on measuring sugar)
- Wilton Leaf Green gel food coloring
- Wilton Kelly Green gel food coloring
- â…“ cup dark cocoa
- black gel food coloring (Americolor Super Black used)
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the cupcake liners into the cupcake pan(s).
- Place the sour cream, buttermilk, vanilla, eggs, and vegetable oil into a large mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth. Then sift in the cake mix, granulated sugar, and cocoa powder. Stir until smooth–but not overmixed. Do not skip sifting the cake mix because the batter will be lumpy.
- Using a cookie scoop, divide and place the cake batter into the cupcake liners. Fill them about 1/2 – 2/3 full.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean or with a few small crumbs. Do not overbake. After 5 minutes of cooling time, move the cupcakes to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- Use a mixer to beat the butter, vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt until creamy. Add the cream and stir. Add the powdered sugar a cup at a time and beat between each addition.
- Divide the frosting in half, leaving one half in the mixing bowl and placing the other half in a separate bowl.
- Add a few drops of Leaf Green gel coloring to the frosting in the mixing bowl and beat it to mix the color well. Keep adding Leaf Green, if necessary, to make a rich green color. Then add a couple of drops of Kelly Green gel coloring and beat until the frosting is a vivid green color reminiscent of Frankenstein or St. Patrick’s Day green. Move the finished green frosting from the mixing bowl to another bowl and set it aside for piping later. (Be sure to get as much of the frosting off the beater as possible.)
- Add the other half of the white frosting back into the mixing bowl. Do not wash the mixing bowl or beater because the chocolate will cover any green frosting. Add dark chocolate cocoa powder and beat until well mixed. Add black gel food coloring (or charcoal powder) to the buttercream and mix. Keep adding gel coloring or charcoal (it takes a lot) until the frosting is black. You can use gel coloring and charcoal powder to dye the frosting black. Beat in a little extra cream if the frosting is too stiff.
Assembly
- Place the star tip into a piping bag with the end snipped off. Use a frosting coupler with the piping bag to make it easy to change the star tip to another color. (See note below for a link on how to use a coupler.) Fill the bag with green frosting. Pipe green frosting onto half of the cupcakes. Spoon the sprinkles over the buttercream of each cupcake as you finish frosting them. If you frost all the cupcakes before you add the sprinkles, the frosting will crust slightly, making it hard for the sprinkles to stick. Tap down any loose sprinkles.
- Change and wash the tip and set up another piping bag. (Or use another Wilton 1M tip.) Add the black buttercream to the bag. Pipe chocolate frosting onto the other cupcakes. Spoon sprinkles over each cupcake, pressing them into the frosting if necessary to make them stick.
Notes
Buttermilk
Buttermilk can separate while sitting. Be sure to shake it before measuring it to mix it well.Measuring Powdered (Icing) Sugar
Use these tips to prevent adding too much sugar to the frosting:- Use a spoon to fluff the sugar before measuring it for the buttercream.
- Do not pack the sugar in the measuring cup.
- Use a knife to level the top of the sugar in the measuring cup.