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Easy semi-homemade chocolate cupcakes with the best ever buttercream frosting topped with Valentine’s sprinkles. A delicious treat for your “Galantine’s” or Valentine celebration.
How to Make Chocolate Valentine’s Day Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
These easy Valentine’s Day cupcakes are semi-homemade, meaning they start with a cake mix! Once you bake the cupcakes frost with homemade buttercream icing, and sprinkles and you have a beautiful and delicious treats to give to your family and friends!
Everyday is a good day to let the people in your life know that you love them. But Valentine’s Day is a day dedicated to show them. Store bought gifts are fine but a sweet treat baked with love is even better.
Semi-homemade Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients for Chocolate Cupcakes
1 package devils food cake mix
sour cream
butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350. Line cupcake pans with baking cups. Mix the ingredients in stand mixer. Pour batter into baking cups. Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes. Let cook then frost and decorate.
Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
2 cups softened butter
3-4 cups of sifted powdered sugar
1-3 tablespoons of milk, I used almond milk
2-3 tablespoons of vanilla extract
food coloring, pink
sprinkles, colored sugar
Directions
In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter for 3-4 minutes, you want the butter to be light and creamy, so be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically. Then add the sifted powder sugar and mix on low until incorporated, then turn the mixer on medium-high and beat until fluffy, for about 1 minute. Next, add the vanilla and the milk, and beat again. Check the frosting for taste, you might need to add a little more powdered sugar if you want it to be sweeter. The same with the milk, you can add a little more to get it to a more spreadable consistency. Be careful not to add to much milk. I like to divid the frosting into bowls and then mix in the food coloring by hand. If you are using gel coloring make sure to use a very small amount to start otherwise you will end up with some crazy almost neon colors(speaking from experience). You can then frost the cupcakes using a knife and or add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Once cupcakes are frosted decorate with sprinkles and enjoy!
Tips
If you are not a fan of chocolate you can make yellow or vanilla cupcakes. Not a fan of box mixes then by all means use your favorite from scratch recipe. If buttercream isn’t your favorite frosting than use the one you like .
You can customize these cupcakes anyway that you like.
The cupcake freeze well, I make extra and freeze them without the frosting.
These cupcakes are a scrumptious dessert for your “Galantine’s” or Valentine’s Day celebration, you could make extra to share with your friends and family or keep them all to yourself.
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Celebrating at home can be just as easy and romantic and fun as it is going out, bring out your fancy dress, dinnerware, glasses and your favorite food, add a special semi-homemade or homemade dessert and you have the perfect celebration. After all your family and friends are what is most important.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
I hope that you try these chocolate Valentine’s Day cupcakes!
Take care and thank you for spending part of your day with me. I will see you soon.
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I hope that you try these scrumptious cupcakes as well!
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Chocolate Valentine’s Day Cupcakes with the “Best” Buttercream Frosting Ever
Easy semi-homemade chocolate cupcakes with the best ever buttercream frosting topped with Valentine’s sprinkles. A delicious treat for your “Galantine’s” or Valentine’s Day celebration.
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 12-18 cupcakes 1x
Ingredients
1 Package Devils Food Cake Mix
11/2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350.
Line cupcake pans with baking cups, set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cake mix, sour cream, cooled butter, and eggs on low until just mixed, then turn the mixer on medium and beat for 2 minutes.
Then add vanilla and mix again to incorporate.
Pour batter into baking cups, do not fill more than 2/3 full. Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, check the cupcakes at 20 minutes with a toothpick.
Once the toothpick comes out clean remove from oven and cool a couple of minutes on a wire rack, then remove cupcakes from pan and finish cooling the cupcakes on the wire rack.
Frost and add sprinkles.
Equipment
Notes
Sour cream: When I made the original recipe which a friend gave me years ago it called for 16 oz. sour cream. I cut it down this time to 1 1/2 cups because it was all that I had and they still came out moist and delicious.
Buttercream frosting can be replaced with the frosting of your choice. Sprinkles are optional as well.
Depending on the size of your cupcake pan and lines you will get anywhere from 12-18 cupcakes.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Chocolate cupcakes, homemade cupcakes, buttercream frosting, Chocolate cupcakes from a box

Those look tasty!
These cupcakes look fabulous–thanks for sharing this! I have a question about the cupcake recipe (I’m not much of a cook!). If I wanted to use a strawberry cake mix instead, would I still use the sour cream? I’m assuming that helps make the cupcakes very moist, but just wanted to check before trying it. Thank you!
Hello Michelle, I have never used anything but chocolate, I am sorry. I cannot think there would be any difference. The sour cream does make it moist. Sometimes I add more than a cup of sour cream and sometimes I add greek yogurt too. When I have made them in the past I used 16 oz of sour cream but I cut it back because they seemed too tangy.
Good luck, let me know how it works for you.
Also, I will say that when I use mixes that have pudding in them, they are more moist than just a “regular cake mix.”
Thanks for replying & for sharing the ways you’ve made these. You’re giving me some ideas & I really want to try these. Fingers crossed!
These looks so pretty for Valentine’s Day! I’m all about making things easy and really like this recipe. I’m sure my granddaughter would love to make them! Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth!
These look beautiful. I would love to try one right now 🙂
Claire, I think you will love them!