Pin It
With Outrageously Rich Chocolate Indulgence Frosting.
AKA
The Mega. Extreme. Chocolate. Overdose. Cupcake.
Almost immediately after making the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes, I got the idea for a rich, decadent massively chocolate brownie batter cupcake, and I haven’t been able to get them outta my head since! This recipe uses a favorite chocolate brownie batter, my best chocolate cake ever recipe (just ask Google) and the most insanely ridiculously rich, fudgy, indulgent chocolate frosting you’ve ever had.
To all the chocolate lovers in the house… This is for you. XOXO.
It all starts with the brownie batter – this is seriously one of my favorite chocolate batter mixes ever. It calls for fat free sweetened condensed milk. You guys love me for that, right? Right back atcha.
It only calls for 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk though, and since I hate recipes that only call for a little bit of something in a can, leaving me wondering what the heck I’m supposed to do with the rest of it, go ahead and make this easy, no machine required homemade ice cream. You will definitely want some with these cupcakes! :)
Use your trusty 1.5 tbsp scoop to drop spoonfuls of brownie batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze overnight.
The next day, get ready to bake the best chocolate cupcakes ever.
This recipe calls for an entire cup of oil and an entire cup of sour cream. No wonder they’re good!
It also calls for 2 cups of mini chocolate chips, and if you want to help keep them from sinking to the bottom of your cupcake, mix them with a spoonful of the cake mix.
It’s tips like these that keep you coming back, I know.
Now using a large (3 tbsp) scoop, fill your cupcake liners about 2/3rds full.
Mmm, chocolate chips.
Grab your brownie batter from the freezer and press down into the cupcakes.
And when you pull them out of the oven…
You know how they say the muffin top is the best part of the muffin?
The best part of this cupcake is definitely this chewy, brownie batter top.
Think chewy brownie shell on top of an insanely gooey, soft chocolate cake.
Now these cupcakes are sho’ nuff good enough to eat just like this.
And this is coming from someone who basically only views cake as the vessel to getting frosting in her mouth.
But we’re not done here yet.
You know that rich, dark, fudgy classic chocolate frosting? The one that all chocolate frostings want to be when they grow up? The one that makes life worth living?
Here it is. This is what you’ve been looking for. Don’t be scared.
It calls for uh, quite a bit of butter. Can I promise you right now it’s worth every bite? I made four completely different types of chocolate frosting in one day – a buttercream, a sour cream, a ganache, and one that claimed to be fudgy, but wasn’t - looking for the perfect complement to these cupcakes. By the end of the day, I was so sick of chocolate, I never wanted to eat it, smell it, or get it all over my hands again. I didn’t even want to lick the bowl. It was bad. Until I tried just one more recipe. That’s all it took. I couldn’t stop eating it. By the spoonful. That’s how I knew it was perfect.
Exactly what I was looking for.
Move the frosting to a Ziploc bag, cut off the tip and pipe away!
So chocolaty. So dreamy.
Melt in your mouth delicious.
I think I’ll just stop talking now.
Brownie Batter Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes
with Outrageously Rich Chocolate Indulgence Frosting
BROWNIE BATTER
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup milk
1 (18.25 oz) box devil’s food cake mix
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 mins until well combined. Using a small scoop (about 1.5 tbsp) drop batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze overnight.
CUPCAKES
1 (18.25 oz) box devil’s food cake mix
1 (3.9 oz) pkg Jello instant chocolate fudge pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and line with cupcake liners. Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips into a very large bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 mins until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Using a large scoop (about 3 tbsp) drop batter into the cupcake liners, filling about 2/3rds full. Remove brownie batter from freezer and press into the cupcake batter. Bake for 22-28 mins. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
FROSTING
5 sticks butter, softened
8 oz powdered sugar
1.5 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa)
a pinch of table salt
1.5 cups light corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
16 oz milk chocolate chips
Melt chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring well every 30 seconds. Allow to cool for 5-10 mins. Combine butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in a food processor and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl as needed. Add the corn syrup and vanilla and process until just combined, about 5-10 seconds. Scrape the bowl again, then add the melted chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, about 10-15 seconds. You can use a mixer for this too, if you don’t have a food processor, just don’t whip the butter too much! :) Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated.
Makes & frosts 36 cupcakes.
Follow Amanda on 
206 Comments
I have no words. This is definitely happening in my kitchen this week.
Seriously?? You’re killing me here! These look amazingly decadent and I can’t wait to try them. I made your cookie dough cupcakes and they were a hit! Thanks for sharing…(you’re making me look quite impressive when I have to take a dessert to family parties!!) Have a GREAT day:)
~Mary
Oh my goodness Amanda… the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ones were almost too much for me, but these look delicious too! I can’t believe how quick and easy these recipes actually are to make. Love it!
Oh my heavens!! I want one!!!
mouth waters in pain…must eat these
You know I am all over this recipe! It’s right up my ally for sure, Mmmmm! Wonder if the hotel in CA will have a little kitchen we could bake these at?! Lol! Yum!
I agree with everyone else, you are the best Amanda!!!!!! We will be making these fab looking treats this week. Yum, my mouth is watering and there is nothing I can do about it as I’m at work. AGH…….
Oh my gosh . . .can I please lick the spoon !!!!!
I think I overdosed on sugar just looking at the pictures. :oP Those look devilisly delicious though!!
one look and it made me hungry :)) i’m DEFINITELY making one of these~
Oh ya, I’m all over this one!!!!! Can’t wait to try them…YUM
I am dying over here. These look SO SO SO good! I want one for breakfast! Thumbs up:)
We had the pleasure of trying these on Saturday at the Auburn game. They are CRAZY good! Amanda has a standing invitation to bring dessert to our tailgate!!
I have absolutely no words for this……………..
How on earth do you stay so thin baking these? Do you just bake and give them away? Can’t wait to try them.
Ann
my heart just melted at the site of this post. there are no words!
These cupcakes look amazing, I will definately be trying this recipe!!!!
You are KILLING me here! Oh…my…goodness! These look absolutely AMAZING.
Oh my goodness Amanda! I don’t know how you come up with such amazing creations. I can’t wait to try this out!
i want one now! with a big tall glass of milk! these look super decadent! i must make these asap :)
I’m truly speechless! I’m off to the store to buy all these ingredients :)
Oh my gosh!! I might have to make these!! They look amazing! The frosting alone just looks awesome… MMMM Chocolate overload!
Amanda–
My God, girl, you’re killin’ me here! I absolutely am drooling right now, looking at these! I can’t wait to try them. Your posts are always gorgeous, whether it’s food, your adorable dogs, your travels, whatever. The photos are breathtaking–have you ever put any photography tips on your site? You are obviously a multi-talented girl.
By the way, I’ve been slowly making my way through all of your friend’s incredible blogs, too, and am loving them. Thanks for introducing me to such amazing ladies, not to mention, more delicious recipes! I have quite a list of them to try out. My husband is going to be very happy!
Debbie
Amanda not only does it sound delicious, the pictures are AMAZING!!! I am at work and I am drooling over these. I would LOVE to make these for my son’s Halloween party at school, however just by the looks of it, I do not think it will fit into the new wellness policy. Maybe I can sneak them in, the teacher does LOVE brownies. ;o)
Wow. This looks awesome. I haven’t tried the cookie dough cupcakes yet, (it prompted me to sign up for your blog) but I have been drooling ever since. Now I must drool twice as much. ; )
Wow! FUDGE brownie is right! These “over the top” cupcakes look AMAZING! Love the photos, especially the overhead shot in the muffin pan!
No licking the monitor … although they look yummy enough to dive right in there! Our family ~ all of us ~ are SERIOUS chocolate lovers and you keep helping us out with these fab recipes! YUMMMY-OOOOO
Thank you for sharing!
After tailgating with Amanda this past weekend in Auburn and trying one of these cupcake monstrosities, I can give a first hand account of how delicious they are! I don’t want to know how many calories are in each one, but they are worth it.
One tip though – have napkins handy. A lot of them!
Five sticks of butter? Yikes!! But you know what? It looks so good I’m going to try it. Thanks for the chocolate fix!
Oh my gosh! These look so yummy. I am trying to be a recoving choc-co-holic but not very successfully, especially with enablers like Amanda! LOL ~Ann
W-O-W! Those look phenomenal! Mmmm…Mmmm…Mmmm!!!
i think i just gained 5 pounds and all I did was read your blog post.
I have to be repetitious….but you are killing me! I should not look at your food ideas when I cannot go right to the kitchen and start working on it. These cupcakes look to die for. I can’t wait to make it for my next ladies get together. You know it’s not a get together without chocolate. Thanks a bunch for sharing Amanda (and for taking one or two bites of chocolate for the cause)! :)
It’s lunchtime but I haven’t been able to break away from work yet. And now I’m literally DROOLING at my desk! Those look simply marvelous.
Oh my geez!! These seriously look delish!!
rach
Oh WOOWW- These look Incredible.. and that really deep, rich chocolate color is perfect for Halloweeeeen!
Actually! These could be really cute graveyard cupcakes with added Oreo crumble on top with a Pepperidge Farm Milano RIP Tombstone like these!
http://www.dessertdarling.com/tasty-tuesday-videos/
These look yummy. I’m going to give them a try. My cookie dough ones weren’t a hit. I’m not sure what I did wrong or if it’s the recipe, but my kids didn’t particularly care for the cookie dough inside (not sweet enough) and I think I overcooked them so not so gooey in the inside. They loved the cookie dough frosting. I’m going to give them a try again with maybe a different cookie dough recipe, because outside of the center, they were good. :)
fabulous, as always… and the mix the chips with batter tip? genius!!
One word………YUM!!!
Sweet Heavenly Father, those look delicious! Can you just bring me one? :)
Ohhhhhh Amanda. Oh my. I…I am speechless. And I think my heart just fluttered.
These should be called “PMS” brownies. LOL. These would be hard to share with anyone. Thanks for sharing the recipe and photos.
Yum! Yum! I have to try these…. but, I think I’ll halve the recipe as it would take forever to eat 36 cupcakes by myself!!
OMG! Amanda these look devine! I just LOVE your blog and especially your fabulous giveaways! I would love for you to check out my blog and give my giveaway a shout out! From one blogger to another (and one Amanda to another), keep up the great work!!
http://mysweetlittlesteinerfamily.blogspot.com/2010/10/mug-cozy-giveaway.html
XOXO,
Amanda
YUMMY!!! I’ll start my diet next week.
Omg THis is a chocolate lovers dream come true. I cant wait to eat some. It ll cost a fortune to buy all the ingredients. That is ok. My Dad owned a candy factory and we had chocolate every day.Yum
OMG! These look amazing! Great post!
NOW THAT IS JUST MEAN…. I’M TRYING NOT TO EAT THAT KIND OF STUFF….MY ARM HURTS WHERE YOU TWISTED IT. IT LOOKS WONDERFUL
Amanda, I’m LOVING all the cupcakes! Please keep them coming!!!
These look so yummy :) Can’t wait for an excuse to try them out !
Your recipes, pictures, and emails are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing them.
:)
Susan M.
Amanda you are evil!! No you’re not- I luv you (; I’m 36 weeks along and ALL things chocolate and fat sound SOOOOOOOOOOOO up my alley. Hopefully I can resist… if not, hopefully I’ll be able to lose this baby weight (;
your pictures are AMAZING. but 5 sticks of butter??? really??!!!! can you say heartburn/indigestion instantly?! :) man, i’m getting old when that’s the first thing that comes to mind after looking at your recipe… it sounds soooooo amazing. i may have to make them – for a friend, not me!! :)
my jeans will never fit just right again if i make these…. but i know i won’t be able to resist!
Those cup cakes are E-V-I-L evil!!!! Lucky my oven isn’t working cause I’d blow my diet tonight! Will have to make them one day… Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Amanda,
I am now in total love with you!
Nancy :)
*DROOOOWL*
PS. I appreciate your dedication to finding the PERFECT frosting for these! I’m a frosting girl, too :)
Hey Amanda!
I LOOOVED the tip about dusting the cake mix over the chocolate chips to keep them from sinking! You are absolutely right that- little tips are one of the (MANY) things I love about your site. I would love for you to check out my blog!!! http://anaeffort.blogspot.com
Abby :)
OMG I thought my German Chocolate Brownies were chocolate indulgence to the max but these just blow them out of the water! I think I might need to make these for a Halloween party this weekend :-)
these are making my mouth water!! they look DELICIOUS.
I think chocolate should be an official “food group” all to itself. These look amazing – I’m going to have to think of a special event to bake them for.
WOW…these look amazing and I’m sure they taste even better :-).
One thought, how about a vanilla version with Blondie batter? Use a DH Butter cake mix and substitute the oil for melted butter? What ya think?
Yummo! I love brownies and now this?? Are u kidding me? I will be making these asap!
Thanks for the amazing and creative recipes!
Yum! I’m trying these now with plain old from-the-box mixes, because it’s still an awesome idea. I can’t wait to try them!
Amanda, this came in on Monday, which was my son’s 10th birthday. After spending 2+ hours in the dentist office because he broke his front tooth Friday night, I didn’t know if I would have time to bake his cake…not only did I find the time to make just a plain chocolate cake, I added your frosting recipe…OMG! Is is better than my Hershey Syrup frosting recipe! And I didn’t think that one could be topped! Hubby and I just fought over the last piece of cake…I got the cake and he licked the plate with all the leftover frosting! I am making the cupcakes Friday for family that is coming into town for the weekend. I will be the “favorite” child again! :p
Very nice n make me hungry… sent me one?! hehehe
Good Lord, woman, the whole post is just a giant dose of food porn!
If I was not in love with you before, I am now. I cannot wait to try this recipe! Mmmmmm…. I think I am going to go dream about these cupcakes now.
OMG, these look and sound divine, heavenly, and devilish at the same time. And I don’t even usually like sweets. But chocolate is my weakness and my one true love. Well, after my husband, of course! :)
Seriously Amanda?! I hate you for this one. I was just perusing a couple of my favorite blogs looking for a good cupcake recipe to try out this afternoon (not feeling well, is there a better home remedy than cupcakes?) and came upon this little gem. Excuse me while I lace up my shoes to dart over to the grocery store! I’ll let you know how they turn out. Thanks a million!
Perfection for a chocoholic like me!!! Thank you!!!
jen at The Gifted Giver
Can hardly wait to make these…especially the frosting. It looks like the best frosting EVER.
Oh my gosh – I think these are the most amazing cupcakes I have ever seen!!
they do look good, but you lost me at 5 sticks of butter for the frosting. Hello clog my arteries. lol
I’m kind of dying a little. I want/need these… though I can’t decide which. Oh my lord… they’re gorgeous. And just the picture of that frosting owns my soul.
Amanda, I just wanted to let you know that I posted this recipe and one of your photos to my recipe blog, here:
http://thegreenworldrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/10/borrowed-brilliance-brownie-batter.html
I put your name and link all over it, but if you have a problem with me re-posting your recipe, just shoot me an e-mail and I will happily remove the post! I just wanted to pass on the deliciousness. :)
Thank you again for sharing!!!
Can you help me?? I am in the midst of making these delicious looking cupcakes but I only had Low Fat Sweetened Cond Milk not Fat Free! Is that going to be alright??? Please let me know as I don’t know if I can sleep tonight wondering if I am going to bomb making these:) Thanks!!!
Amanda:
Just finished making these cupcakes….they look beautiful on your blog and yummy!….but….mine fell.:( Where you put the brownie batter in the oven looked so beautiful, took them out of the oven and fell in the middle. What did I do wrong?! How do you know when they are done? Should I have compensated for high altitude? Please let me know.
Thanks, Lisa
Seriously I saw the first few pictures and I swear I could SMELL chocolate. Those look absolutely delicious.
I see the “in pratice” comments have started :)
Being not American I have some, too.
If I can’t get the Jello pudding mix can I make some…thing myself? Or substitute it with…?
Like Tiffany asked, if I can’t get Fat Free condensed milk can more fat still do it?
And how much butter is in a stick? We don’t use stick as a measurment over here :)
I hope I don’t have to settle for your gorgeous photos!
Hi Mia! You can leave out the Jello pudding mix and definitely any type of sweetened condensed milk will work! :) I googled butter conversions and got this:
1 stick of butter = 1/4 pound
1 stick of butter = 1/2 cup
1 stick of butter = 8 tablespoons
1 stick of butter = 4 ounces
1 stick of butter = 113 grams
Good luck!! :)
ohhh my goodddddd… I really don’t have any words to convey the… DECADENCE that’s oozing out of these pictures. The correct name for these is something explicit and pornographic. It just HAS to be! I’m thinking of making these anonymously for our next church get together and seeing if I can induce an orgy…
I made these today and everyone L-O-V-E-D them!! They looked all pretty when I first took them out of the oven, but then as they cooled they collasped :( but no one knew the difference because I just filled the hole with frosted lol !! Thanks for the awesome recipe!!
Oh my gosh!!! I almost want to lick the computer screen, LOL!!! GOtta make these. :)
This has got to be the most amazing and wonderfull thing I’ve seen all day. Boston Terriers and Chocolate! you guys are currently my favorite people ever!
my oh my….i’ve never seen the devil in a cupcake before but there he is plain as day!!! omg thank for sharing…stumbled here…
I want to make this, I really do. Why so many instant mixes though? I don’t have access to them in my little crappy country :(
Oh well, I’ll just drool at the pictures I s’pose…
I made them. They fell. But I filled them with the frosting!! They were the best chocolate cupcakes I’ve ever eaten!! Yummo!!!!! Thanks for posting the recipe!!
Very tasty! I made these for my husband’s aunt who just got out of the hospital from major surgery and she loved them too. Hey, and idea, you could probably make peanut butter cup cupcakes too using the same method. Like make peanut butter balls like people do for Christmas, freeze it, and insert it in the middle of the chocolate cupcake. Or the peanut butter center like made for homemade peanut butter cups. I’ll pry try to make that for my dad, cause he loves peanut butter cups. Thanks again for the tasty recipe! God bless!
The peanut butter ball idea is awesome!! I have the stuff on my list to get to make the choco. cupcakes but I know I want to do the peanut butter ones! Hmmm…maybe I’ll do both! lol
I did that exact thing! I made the original recipe, which was amazing. Then I tried it again with peanut butter. To change the brownie batter, I used a box of yellow cake mix and added 1/3 cup of peanut butter – didn’t change the milk. I made the cupcake batter the same way as the original. For the frosting, I used 1 cup chocolate chips, and 1 1/2 cups of peanut butter chips (my dad said there wasn’t enough when I used just 1 cup!). I also added 1/3 cup of peanut butter to the frosting. Those were the only changes I made – and they turned out delicious!
made these for an office party! There were such a hit and truly amazing thank you!!
O.M.G.!!! I don’t even like chocolate all that much but I think I HAVE to try these, they look sensational!!!
Hey I made these for my aunt after she had had surgery and she really loved them and asked for the recipe, so I gave her this URL. Thank your for posting a recipe that helped to make her feel better.
I am in class right now and sooooo loving this post!! Thank you so much for curbing my hunger for the next few minutes.
<333
Wow, those look amazing! Stumbled!
Thanks for all of the great recipes and the AWESOME photos to go along with them! I made these cupcakes over the weekend and also wondered about the cupcakes “falling” in the center once you took them out of the oven? Did you just fill the divot with icing? Also, I used my 1.5T and 3T scoops, but only yielded 25 brownie batter scoops and then 31 cupcakes (6 without the brownie batter). Next time, I’ll adjust and not use full scoop-fulls, but didn’t know if this is also what you did to yield 36 cupcakes?
OMG this is chocolate porn!
Death by Chocolate!!!!!!!!! Added some instant coffee granules to the cupcake batter for more depth and complexity of flavor. Makes 2 dozen, not 3 dozen. Outstanding!!!!!
I made this today and they are DELICIOUS!! Oh my goodness, the chocolate overload is exactly what I have been looking for! And the best part is that they were super easy to make. THANK YOU! I have to say that I cheated a little and used store bought chocolate frosting instead of your frosting recipe (the 5 sticks of butter scared me). I am totally in love with these cupcakes and can’t wait to share them tomorrow at our superbowl party.
I made this frosting for a birthday cake using a different cake recipe. OH DEAR ME, was it ever amazing. The gooey fudgy awesomeness left over in the bowl didn’t stand a chance, even though I usually throw out left over frosting. I ate it all. oops :P
These look INCREDIBLE.
I can’t wait to try them out. I’m going to make them along with this amazing recipe I found for my friends cupcake themed party
http://www.fourgreensteps.com/community/recipes/dessertsagoodies/espresso-fudge-cupcakes-with-chocolate-cream-cheese-icing
I just made the frosting recipe, and oh, my goodness!!! Incredible! So rich and chocolatey. Beautiful. Thanks!
I am now worshiping these cupcakes. And thank you for the picture of the ingredients! I wasn’t sure what condensed sweetened milk was. :P
If ever I am part of a bake sale or need that many cupcakes I will be sure to use this recipe. :)