Chocolate Cupcakes in the Air Fryer

A chocolate cupcake on a white plate with other cupcakes in the background.

5 from 1 vote

Chocolate Cupcakes in the Air Fryer

These Chocolate Cupcakes in the Air Fryer decorated with chocolate buttercream are any chocoholic's dream come true. The chocolate sponge is moist, rich and chocolatey, while the buttercream frosting is silky, smooth and intensely chocolatey. You won't even believe how quickly you can whip up these chocolate cupcakes, the sponges are out of the air fryer in just 12 minutes, and the buttercream takes no time to be ready. What a treat!

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: International

Servings: cupcakes

Calories: 352kcal

Author: Daniela Apostol

Ingredients

For the sponges

125 g plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
150 g granulated sugar
85 g butter
25 g cocoa powder
125 ml milk

For the chocolate buttercream

300 g icing sugar ( confectioners' sugar)
150 g butter, soft
25 g cocoa powder
2 tablespoon milk

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pour the milk into a pan set over a medium heat.
Cut the butter into cubes and add it to the pan.
Leave it to simmer until the butter is melted, then remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.
Add the sugar and eggs to a large mixing bowl, and use a hand mixer to beat them together until the eggs are have a pale yellow colour.
Sift in the flour and the cocoa powder, add the baking powder and milk mixture, and use a spatula to mix them into a smooth batter.
Divide the batter evenly between 12 silicone cupcake/muffin cases, and arrange them in the air fryer drawer - work in batches as they won't all fit in at once.
Air fry them for 12 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit) until the sponges are well risen and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Repeat the process with the rest of the cupcakes, then arrange the sponges on a cooling rack to cool down completely.
To make the chocolate buttercream, sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder and add them to a blender or kitchen aid together with the soft butter and milk.
Blitz until you get a smooth cream.
Use a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle to decorate each cupcake with the chocolate buttercream.

Video

Notes

Silicone cupcake or muffin cases are a must for the air fryer, I actually love using them in the oven too, even if I use a muffin tin, as the sponges pop out straight away and do not stick at all to the cases.
There is no need to grease and flour silicone cases either, and while the paper cases stick badly to the baked sponges, you don't have this issue with the silicone ones.
If you want to bake the cupcakes in the oven, the baking time will be a bit longer, I usually bake them at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 20 minutes.

Nutrition