*DING*DING*DING*….let’s get ready to rumble! I’m here with another Pinterest Tested challenge. This time I chose to compare two popular chocolate cupcakes recipes – Pinterest Tested: Chocolate Cupcakes vs Dark Chocolate Cupcakes. Being summer, I’m looking for simple and special treats for the kids and will be comparing several recipes during the summer months. I chose to compare Chocolate Cupcakes from Add A Pinch and Dark Chocolate Cupcakes from Sally’s Baking Addition because of the difference in ingredients and batter.
Pinterest Tested Battle of the Chocolate Cupcakes
Chocolate Cupcakes from Add A Pinch
Robyn at Add A Pinch posted this recipe on February 2013 and it’s been pinned almost 4 thousand times. It also has an overall 4.8 star review from 77 people, which is another reason I decided to give this recipe a try. That many people can’t be wrong…right?
I had my youngest daughter help me make this batter and the first thing I noticed was how thin it was. At first, I thought she made a mistake in the measurements because it had the consistency of chocolate water – it was super thin.
Since the batter was so thin, my daughter had some difficulty pouring it into the cupcake liners and had some spills. However, when the cupcakes came out of the oven, I was actually pleasantly surprised that the batter produced wonderful cupcakes.
These cupcakes were super moist, fluffy, and had a nice chocolate flavor. The cupcakes had just the right amount of sweetness and moistness, which meant you didn’t need any frosting…that is a great thing in my book because I don’t care for frosting.
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes from Sally’s Baking Addiction
Sally at Sally’s Baking Addiction was first posted in July 2013 and then again in August 2013. The first post was under Death by Chocolate Cupcakes with a chocolate frosting and was pinned over 61,000 times. The second time it was posted under Chocolate White Chocolate Cupcakes with a white frosting recipe and was pinned over 21,000 times. This recipe didn’t have any ratings, but there was mostly positive feedback in the comments.
The recipe for this cupcake has a very thick and creamy batter. You need to make sure you don’t over mix this one and just mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet mix.
These cupcakes had a totally different appearance than the first recipe. This recipe produced a cupcake with cracked tops, had a drier appearance, and was a denser cupcake.
These were not as sweet as the first recipe and I think would be better with some frosting. Sally’s blog has tons of frosting recipes that you could add to these.
Pinterest Tested Final Thoughts
This Pinterest Tested: Chocolate Cupcakes vs Dark Chocolate Cupcakes challenge had a clear winner. The Chocolate cupcakes from Robyn at Add A Pinch was the perfect cupcake for our family. It was a moister and lighter cupcake with just the right amount of sweetness…WINNER!
| Comparison | Chocolate Cupcakes | Dark Chocolate Cupcakes |
| Ease of making? | Very easy to make. | Very easy to make, just has a few more steps since we didn’t have buttermilk. We had to make our own using the recipe directions. |
| How much does the recipe make? | Makes about 12 cupcakes | Makes about 12 cupcakes. Make sure you don’t overfill your liners or you won’t have enough batter. |
| Recipe ingredients | Uses espresso and boiling water. | Uses buttermilk and both white/brown sugar. |
| Overall Taste | This recipe produced a light and moist cupcake. It had just the right amount of sweetness and didn’t need any added frosting or topping. | This recipe produced a denser and drier cupcake. It wasn’t as sweet as the first recipe and would be better with a frosting. |
| What changes did you make to the recipe? | The only change I made to the recipe was to use crushed instant coffee grounds, which I increased to 1 tsp. I think using the espresso would’ve given the cupcake a richer chocolate flavor. | The only change I made was to make my own buttermilk. |
| Which ones did the kids prefer & hubby prefer?*Four kids (two boys – 17yr. & 12yr. two girls – 14yr. & 10yr.) | Kids and hubby ate this up in one day. | Kids didn’t care for this recipe and it took them 2 days to eat all the cupcakes. |
| Would I make this again? | YES, but if I were to add frosting, I would definitely cut back on the sugar in the recipe. I will be trying this with espresso powder the next time I make this. | No. While the recipe tastes good, the first cupcake recipe was a better fit for our family. |
Do you have a favorite chocolate cupcake recipe or are you still searching for the right one?
Love seeing the comparisons! Now I need a cupcake! Thanks for linking up to The Creative Exchange Linky Party!
I too have always preferred ‘milk chocolate’ to dark chocolate. Thanks for linking up at My Favorite Things Saturdays!
Great choices of cupcakes to compare, these comparisons you do are great. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!
Thanks Laura. My kids enjoy tasting the results…lol.
I have to say I will never skip frosting on a cupcake. Ha ha. But the cupcake still has to be moist and flavorful. Dark chocolate cupcakes are definitely ones that seem to be hard to nail.
I know…I guess I’m just weird that way. I don’t know why I’m not a frosting gal.
It’s good we have you out there testing 🙂 My hubs is not a big fan of frosting either. I have to go light on the frosting if I’m making it for him specifically. If not, he’ll scrape it off.
Thanks for sharing your findings 🙂
These both look awesome! I love your pinterest tested idea, it’s always fun to see your comparisons. I want some cupcakes now…
Thanks for sharing your comparrisons, though I have to say I think anyone who doesn’t like frosting is suspect… 😉
Lol…I like frosting if it’s not too sweet, like fresh whipped cream frosting. The heavier frosting are just not for me.
I am totally with you, if a cupcake is perfectly moist then I would rather skip the frosting altogether. I like frosting and I don’t, but I prefer when something is good enough you don’t have to add more to it. Now I want one! 😀
Love this!! I would have picked the chocolate cupcakes, but it is interesting because as I look at the dark chocolate with the buttermilk, etc, I thought they would have been better!! Glad to know. Thanks for sharing and posting, Erlene.
Sometime you can tell the difference by reading the ingredients.
Oil vs. butter – Oil makes the cupcakes lighter, as butter makes them more densed
And as much as I like butter (and I DO) I prefer using oil
And I personally don’t like much dark chocolate,
So I actually agree with your winner 🙂
What a great idea to compare recipes. Even though I am a dark chocolate fan, I liked the first recipe the best.
Dark chocolate everything, please! Though I wouldn’t through the other one out of bed. Enjoyed my visit!
Thanks for stopping by.
I tried about 4 different double chocolate cupcakes for my niece’s grad party. I forgot which one I settled on, but I had a hard time finding the most heavenly cupcake I ever wanted to eat! Good review!
I know right. Really good cupcake recipes are hard to find. Most are just so so, but I really like the first recipe. It’s very light and fluffy.
Love the idea of a pinterest tested segment! I have difficulty finding dark chocolate recipes that are as sweet as I liked, your outcome kind of confirmed my suspicions haha. Can’t wait to see the next taste test!
I really liked the first recipe and I think with the added espresso powder you’ll really enjoy the recipe.