These are the sort of cupcakes that are fantastic even without frosting! The cupcakes are moist, light, and almost melt in your mouth. They also are full of chocolate flavor. I air fry the cupcakes in ramekins. You can use the one-cup size ramekin, which makes larger cupcakes, or use a smaller ramekin that holds only half a cup of batter for more "normal size" cupcakes. Because my ramekin supply is limited, I usually use both large and small sizes and adjust the air frying time down slightly for the smaller size ramekins. The batter for the cupcakes mixes up in minutes and is about as easy as preparing a cake mix. You can add a little cinnamon and/or espresso powder to the batter if you like, for even more flavor (about 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of either or each). To finish the cupcakes, you can frost them as you wish or just dust the tops of the cupcakes with a little confectioner's sugar. Frankly, I like the cupcakes "as is" with a scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside. Enjoy!
Moist Air Fryer Chocolate Cupcakes -- Makes 8+
1/2 cup of canola oil
1/2 cup of hot water (from the tap, not boiling)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Powdered sugar or frosting, optional
Spritz 8-12 ramekins with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl whisk together well the oil, water, buttermilk, egg, vanilla, sugar, and cocoa powder. Make sure the cocoa powder is fully incorporated. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt (and cinnamon and espresso powder, if you wish) and whisk them into the mixture for a couple of minutes until completely mixed. Divide the batter among the ramekins. Put 2-4 ramekins (depending on the size of your air fryer) into the air fryer basket, put the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the batter at 320 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a pick inserted in a cupcake comes out with no wet batter attached (a few crumbs are likely and fine). Remove the cupcakes from the air fryer basket to cool in their ramekins for 10-15 minutes before turning them out of the ramekins to cool completely. While the first batch of cupcakes is cooling, repeat the cooking process with the remaining batter/ramekins. Dust the cupcakes with powdered sugar or frost them if you wish.
