Vanilla Cupcakes
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These light and fluffy vanilla cupcakes are packed with rich vanilla flavor and topped with your choice of frosting.
When my kids were little, I started a baking business specializing in cakes and cupcakes, mostly for children’s birthday parties. Before I launched it, I spent weeks testing every type of cake recipe under the sun, often baking into the middle of the night. My husband, Michael, would wake up to find the kitchen overflowing with every flavor of cake and cupcake imaginable. He thought I’d lost my mind—little did he know I was discovering my passion for developing recipes, which eventually inspired me to start this website.
These are the vanilla cupcakes that won me over. They’re light, fluffy, and full of rich vanilla flavor. Top them cream cheese frosting, vanilla buttercream frosting, or rich chocolate buttercream.
“Amazingly light and moist. Got rave reviews! I was even told I had to make someone’s wedding cake after eating these!”
What You’ll Need To Make Vanilla Cupcakes
You’ll need cake flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking soda, buttermilk, vanilla extract, eggs, and unsalted butter.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Whisk the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.
Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Step 3: Add the butter and part of the buttermilk mixture. Add the soft butter and half of the buttermilk mixture and mix on low speed until moistened but still a little crumbly, about 1 minute.
Step 4: Add remaining buttermilk. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the remaining buttermilk mixture,
Step 5: Mix. Increase the speed to medium and mix for three minutes.
Step 6: Fill the pan. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pans, filling the cups almost full.
Step 7: Bake and cool. Bake the cupcakes for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Step 8: Frost the cupcakes. Spread your icing of choice over the cupcakes and store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
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Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2¾ cups cake flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off (see note)
- 2 cups sugar
- Heaping ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pans
- Vanilla buttercream frosting, cream cheese frosting, or rich chocolate buttercream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. Lightly grease the top of the muffin pans with butter so the cupcake tops don't stick.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Set aside. (Note that the mixture will start to look curdled as it sits; that's okay.)
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds to combine. Add the soft butter and half of the buttermilk mixture and mix on low speed until moistened but still a little crumbly, about 1 minute. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the remaining buttermilk mixture, then increase the speed to medium and mix for three minutes, stopping once to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The batter should look pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again, making sure the batter is evenly mixed.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pans, filling the cups almost full. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, switching the pans from top to bottom and back to front midway through. Remove from the oven when the cupcakes are set, lightly golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean (note that one pan may finish cooking before the other). Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Frost the cupcakes and store in an airtight container until ready to serve. The cupcakes are best served fresh on the day they are made, but they will keep nicely for up to 2 days.
Notes
- Cake flour gives the cupcakes a fine texture. All-purpose flour can be substituted, but the cupcakes will be a bit heavier. In a pinch, you can make your own cake flour by whisking together 2½ cups all-purpose flour and ¼ cup cornstarch.
- Freezing Instructions: The cupcakes can be frozen without the frosting for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely, wrap them individually in plastic wrap, and then in foil. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving. (Wait until the cupcakes are defrosted to ice them.)
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi, is it ok to just cut the ingredients in half to make 12 cupcakes or will it alter the outcome of the cupcakes? Thanks!
Sure, Kristy – that’ll be fine.
Hello, Im planing to make 3 dozen of cupcakes for my kids party. My younger one asked for pink frosting. Instead of adding food coloring can i add strawberries to this frosting? Thank you.
Hi Dorota, In order to achieve a pink hue, you’d need to puree the strawberries and add them to the rest of the icing ingredients. Because you’re adding that, you may need to play with the amounts of the other ingredients in order to achieve the right texture. Hope everyone enjoys!
Do these cupcakes freeze well?
Hi Louise, yes, these freeze nicely, but wait until you’ve thawed them to frost. Hope you enjoy!
The cupcakes taste wonderful. I am surprised that they are dense and heavy because the batter was so very light
Can I add a color to the frosting and is the frosting good to use with decorating tips
Hi Robin, Yes on the color but, unfortunately, this is not a great frosting to use with tips — it’s a bit too soft.
I’ve tried so many of your recipes. It’s like you can’t fail! This was so easy to make. I made it for my neighbors as a thank you a few days ago. Everyone is asking for the recipe. Thanks for making me a neighborhood sensation. 🙂
🙂
Your recipe sounds delicious! I need to make some chocolate cupcakes too. Do you have a chocolate buttermilk cupcake recipe?
I do! Here’s a link to the recipe. Hope you enjoy!
Hi! Love your site! I want to try this but where I live they don’t sell vanilla extract at all, only vanilla essence (I’ve looked everywhere, believe me when I say they just don’t sell it). So I was wondering if I have to change the amount to get the right flavor but I worry it will affect the texture?? HELP! lol
Hi Laura, so glad you like the site! You could use vanilla essence in place of extract, but because it’s less potent, you’ll need double the amount. Some other options are maple syrup (and the ratios are the same as vanilla extract) or vanilla beans (the ratio for beans is 1 vanilla bean = 1 teaspoon extract). Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn
Can I add corn syrup light to keep bright white) For cream cheese?if yes how much?
Thanks again for help!
Hi Fanny, It’s the butter and vanilla that make the frosting off-white in color — unfortunately, there’s no way to avoid that with this recipe.
Fabulous- just finished making these for my twin 17 year olds’ birthdays.
A gigantic hit…I tasted just the **tiniest** bit of frosting ( following a ketogenic diet, very low carb ) and it was creamy and delish! The boys loved the springy texture and flavor of the cakes. It was quite an easy recipe as well, so extra thanks to you!