Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cake Mix

Chocolate pumpkin cupcakes are easy to make with the help of a cake mix. They are the perfect mix of pumpkin spice and rich chocolate cake. The best part is they only take a handful of ingredients to make and they taste delicious.

This chocolate pumpkin cupcake recipe couldn’t be easier to make. The cupcakes are so moist and delicious. They are perfect for a fall party or just because.

These cupcakes really do have something for everyone. They start with a chocolate cake mix, so they are crazy easy to make.  

Even people who consider themselves “not a baker” can bake these. There are so few ingredients and steps, it would be hard to mess them up!

The texture is fabulous. Sometimes chocolate cake can be a bit dry and bland. There is nothing worse that looking forward to chocolate goodness and being disappointed.

That is not going to be an issue with these. They are moist and flavorful. They have a perfectly soft crumb that begs you to take another bite.

There is just a bit of cinnamon spice to them which really adds something. It lets you know this isn’t just any chocolate cupcake, this is more!

MiMi has been mixing cake mixes and cans of pumpkin for years. She almost always used a yellow or angel food cake mix though.

She also baked them in a 9×13 and we always enjoyed it. If I remember correctly, sometimes she did a little drizzle of glaze or a bit of streusel too.

Made plain, it really doesn’t get any more simple. I figured if it worked so well for her, I could put a spin on it and make a chocolate cupcake version!

Cupcakes are always so much fun and they are easy to serve at a party. Everyone can just grab one when they are ready, there’s no messy serving to be done.

We also strayed from the 2 ingredient recipe. While only using two ingredients is easy, the cake can sometimes be a bit dry.

These cupcakes give you full flavor and a moist crumb. It is worth the extra 30 seconds to go ahead and add a few more ingredients.

A few eggs and tablespoons of oil helped keep them moist, and gave them structure enough to hold those perfect cupcake domes. Under that dome is the softest chocolate cupcake!

Frosting Suggestions

We have enjoyed our cupcakes with whipped sweetened condensed milk frosting on top. The super airy vanilla frosting was a nice foil to the spiced chocolate pumpkin cupcakes.l

We have also topped them with chocolate ermine frosting. Don’t worry though, you don’t have to make a cooked frosting if you don’t want to.

These cupcakes would be delicious with so many frosting options. Just imagine them with a schmear of cream cheese frosting!

So put a chocolate cake mix on your grocery list and plan to make a batch of these this fall. Your family and friends will thank you!

Tips and tricks

• Want a more true chocolate flavor? Leave out the cinnamon and nutmeg!
• Want them even more chocolaty? Stir in 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips 
• Don’t want cupcakes? Just bake the batter in a 9×13″ pan, using the directions on the back of the box to estimate the baking time.
• Want to eat them for breakfast? Leave off the frosting and call them a muffin! 😉
• Of course you could substitute a vanilla cake mix in for the chocolate for a tasty and easy pumpkin cupcake.