Best Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe
Everyone loves cupcakes! This vanilla cupcake recipe is the only one you’ll ever need. They are super easy to make and have a light, fluffy texture that melts in your mouth.
Ingredients for Vanilla Cupcakes
This recipe makes exactly 12 cupcakes and requires simple ingredients: all-purpose flour, butter, sugar, eggs, buttermilk, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. The combination of softened butter and buttermilk creates an incredibly soft cupcake crumb that just melts in your mouth. Also, if you haven’t tried our (2-ingredient) Homemade Vanilla Extract, it will take your baked goods to the next level.
How to Make Vanilla Cupcakes
These cupcakes are easy to master, and you’ll be making bakery-quality cupcakes in no time.
- Prepare the Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a second bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), beat softened butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 minutes until thick and fluffy.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then blend in vanilla and scrape down the bowl.
- Combine Ingredients: Reduce mixer speed to medium and add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with 1/2 cup buttermilk, beating well between additions.
- Fill and Bake: Pour batter into 12 lined muffin tins, filling each 2/3 full. Bake in the center of the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips for the BEST Cupcakes
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Eggs, buttermilk, and butter must be at room temperature to ensure even consistency.
- Alternate Adding Flour and Buttermilk: This keeps the mixture uniform and well-blended. If you add all the flour or buttermilk at once, it can saturate the creamed butter and cause the mixture to separate. Mix well between each addition.
- Measure Correctly: Basically, watch our video on measuring ingredients to ensure great results every time.
- Don’t Overfill: If you divide the batter evenly between 12 cupcakes, you should have just enough. Indeed, a trigger release ice cream scoop makes portioning easier.
How to Decorate Cupcakes
Once your cupcakes are cooled to room temperature, it’s time to decorate. This vanilla cupcake base works well with almost any kind of frosting and toppings. We pipe frosting on with a pastry bag and our favorite Wilton 1M Tip. Here are some frosting options to match your craving:
- Vanilla Cupcake Frosting: Our go-to cupcake frosting.
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Worth the extra effort.
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting: Whipped and decadent.
- Blackberry Frosting: You’ll love the flavor and color.
Common Questions
Once cupcakes are at room temperature, cover and keep at room temperature overnight or refrigerate if storing longer. After frosting, refrigerate until ready to serve. Cupcakes can be served chilled or at room temperature as they don’t harden with refrigeration.
Accordingly, you would need to double the recipe for two 9-inch cake layers.
Plain kefir works well instead of buttermilk. You can also make your own buttermilk by combining 1 cup whole milk with 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice. Let it sit for 10 minutes to curdle, then stir and use.
Bake until the tops are springy and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. These cupcakes bake perfectly at 350°F for 22 minutes in a conventional oven.
More Cupcake Recipes
Who can resist a cupcake? They’re cute and easy to love. We enjoy getting creative with cupcakes, and they are one of the easiest desserts to make. Here are some of our top-rated cupcake recipes:
- Jam-Filled Cupcakes: A great base and so easy.
- Red Velvet Cupcakes: With marshmallow-soft frosting.
- Perfect Vanilla Muffins: With a cherry filling.
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Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk or plain kefir room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat and Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 minutes until thick and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then scrape down the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine.
- Combine Ingredients: Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the buttermilk. Mix to incorporate with each addition, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat until just combined and smooth, being careful not to overmix.
- Fill and Bake: Divide the batter evenly into the lined muffin or cupcake pan, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool: Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool to room temperature before frosting.
Thank you forbsharing the recipe…
Thank you for this amazing recipe.I will learn how to bake.Thanks alot
Thanks looks nice will try