Everyone loves cupcakes! This is the only vanilla cupcake recipe you will need. They are super easy to make and the texture is light, fluffy, and melt-in-your-mouth good.
Watch the video tutorial below and you will be a pro in no time. We love these with our Cupcake Frosting because a cupcake isn’t a cupcake without frosting.
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Watch Vanilla Cupcakes Video Tutorial!
These cupcakes are perfect for birthday parties and baby showers and they always disappear fast which is why I always make a double batch for gatherings. They are quick and easy to make and homemade cupcakes taste way better than boxed cupcake mix.
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 amazingly 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 will be making bakery-quality cupcakes in no time.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a second bowl (or bowl of your stand mixer), beat together softened butter and sugar on medium-high speed 5 minutes until thick and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs 1 at a time, mixing to incorporate with each egg then blend in vanilla and scrape down the bowl.
- Reduce mixer to medium speed and add the flour in thirds, alternating with adding the 1/2 cup buttermilk and beating well between additions.
- Pour batter into 12 lined muffin tins, filling 2/3 full. Bake in the center of the oven at 350˚F for 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool 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 keep your batter an even consistency.
- Alternate Adding Flour and Buttermilk – this keeps the mixture uniform and well blended. If you add in all of 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 – be sure to use the proper measuring cups for wet and dry ingredients. Watch our video on measuring ingredients to ensure great results every time.
- Don’t Overfill – Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full or they will overflow and cause a muffin top. If you divide evenly between 12 cupcakes, you should have exactly enough batter. 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 is a great vanilla cupcake base for just about any kind of frosting and toppings. We pipe frosting on with a pastry bag and our favorite Wilton 1M Tip. We have so many frosting options so pick your craving:
- Vanilla Cupcake Frosting – our go-to cupcake frosting
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream – well worth the extra effort
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting – whipped and decadent
- Blackberry Frosting – you’ll love the flavor and color
Common Questions:
Can I Make Cupcakes Ahead? Once cupcakes are at room temperature, cover and keep at room temperature overnight or refrigerate if storing for longer. After cupcakes are frosted, refrigerate until ready to serve. Cupcakes are great served chilled or at room temperature because they don’t harden with refrigeration.
Can I Use This Batter to Make a Cake? We’ve had great results turning it into a Vanilla Cake. You would need to double the recipe for two 9-inch cake layers.
Can I Substitute the Buttermilk? Plain kefir will also work well instead of buttermilk. You can also make your own buttermilk at a ratio of 1 cup whole milk to 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice. Combine and let it sit 10 minutes to curdle then stir and use.
How Long to Bake Cupcakes? Bake until the tops are springy and a toothpick inserted int the center comes out clean. These were perfectly baked at 350˚F for 22 minutes in a conventional oven.
More Cupcake Recipes:
Who can resist a cupcake? They’re just so cute and easy to love. We enjoy getting creative with cupcakes and they are one of the easiest desserts to make. These are our top-rated cupcake recipes:
- Moist Chocolate Cupcakes – this is a great base and so easy
- Pumpkin Cupcakes – with a marshmallow-soft frosting
- Honey Cupcakes – with a cherry filling
- Dark Chocolate Cupcakes – with white chocolate frosting
Perfect Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
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 the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/4 cups flour, 1 1/4 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Set flour mix aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed 5 minutes until thick and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition then scrape down the bowl. Add 2 tsp vanilla and beat to combine.
- Reduce mixer speed to medium and add the flour mixture in thirds alternating with the buttermilk, mixing to incorporate with each addition. Scrape down the bowl as needed and beat until just combined and smooth, and don't overmix. Divide the batter evenly into a 12-count lined muffin or cupcake pan, filling 2/3 full.
- Bake for 20-23 minutes at 350 °F, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature before frosting.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
This recipe was first published in June 2012 (below is the original photo). After testing countless batches, we improved the recipe, swapping out oil for softened butter and took out the baking soda to create a super soft crumb. Everyone agrees, these are the best cupcakes. Just read the reviews!
P.S. Thank you all for trying this recipe and sharing it with the people you love.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
The cupcakes came out so dry. Maybe it was the buttermilk? I’m not too sure. I was so sad though.
Hi Dulce! It’s definitely not the buttermilk, it actually adds moistness and makes your cake crumb tender and soft. Dry cupcakes are usually due to over baking or using too much flour. Be sure to measure your flour correctly. I have a tutorial on How to Measure Ingredients (Wet and Dry) here.
Absolutely 💯 a keeper 👏. That frosting is perfect and not too sweet. My daughter had a blast licking the spatula. Thank you.
You’re very welcome! So glad you love it.
Hi Natasha! I have made these before normally (came out great), and am wondering if I can substitute the flour for gluten free flour.
Hi Ciara! I have not personally tested GF flour but several of my viewers have left comments below stating they had good results subbing in 1:1 GF flour. I hope that helps!
Can cake flour be substituted for ap flour
Hi Tony! I have not tested it to be able to advise. But one of my readers said, “ I used cake flour instead of all-purpose flour the cupcakes turned out very dense, but still very delicious.” I don’t know if the cake flour had something to do with it. I hope that helps.
This recipe is amazing… The cupcakes turned out light and fluffy. I used your buttercream recipe on top and the two paired well together. Thank you.
Hi there,
This recipe Bakes for me and tastes great but the cupcake heavilybsticks to the case pulling it apart upon opening, I have swapped several different cases and even paid for stupidly expensive ones, could you advise as to what could be causing this issue, it can not be the liners I’ve tried so many different ones for that to be the issue.
Many thanks
Rosie
Hi Rosie, its so hard to say without being there, but I have not had that experience. I would recommend ensuring you do the toothpick test to be sure if comes out clean, if the cupcakes are not fully baked they make get stuck. Also, is using a silicone or other material for the cupcakes, you may need to adjust the bake time. I wish I could be more helpful from afar.
Thanks for the reply, I’m dumbfounded by this issue myself as the bake and flavour are great
I love these cupcakes but can you add food dye?
HI Vanessa, you could – I would suggest using a gel food coloring so it doesn’t affect the texture of the dough or frosting too much and add just a little at a time until you get your desired color.
Hi Natasha
Can I make my own buttermilk
You can also make your own buttermilk at a ratio of 1 cup whole milk to 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice. Combine and let it sit 10 minutes to curdle then stir and use.
Hello Natasha,
Does the milk need to be heated?
Hello! It doesn’t need to be heated. It requires room temperature milk.
What I don’t understand is how you use more homemade buttermilk versus the amount you use if it’s store-bought. In the recipe you recommend a half a cup of butter milk but in your recipe for making buttermilk with milk you recommend 1 cup of milk and a tablespoon of lemon and then you basically say use all of that so if you make it homemade do you use double the amount then if you bought it at the store?
Hi Dana! That’s just a standard ratio for making your own buttermilk to use in recipes. You would use that formula to make however much you need for the recipe that you’re making. So for this recipe you would use 1/2 cup milk mixed with 1/2 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice (both will work).
Although they taste delicious, they are more like a mix between biscuits and muffins… they are VERY dense. The flavor is great and we’ll be eating them with some jam for breakfast, but definitely not a cupcake😢😅
Hi Samantha! I’m sorry to hear that. What you’re describing sounds like there was too much flour. Did you measure it correctly? Be sure to fluff the flour and spoon it into your measuring cup then level it off, don’t use your measuring cup to scoop it out.
Hi! Can you make these in advance and freeze them? Thank you
Hi Kimberly, If you keep them in an airtight container, they will keep well in the freezer.
I do your cupcake recipe it was awesome, taste and smooth. We admire your talents and the way you are with people. You’re #1 in our family hearts.
Please send me to my email the correct recipe.
I would like to do a cake using only corn flour for a cake. I don’t want to use corn grain. It is to celebrate December anniversary.
Can I use too all purpose flour without gluten?
Please share a recipe to do thank you and God bless you.
Let me know if the ingredients are correct , please let me know. I want to do it.
1 1/2 cup corn flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup oil
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp vanilla
Hi Geth! I am so glad you’re enjoying the recipes. I haven’t tested anything like that to be able to advise or give you a recipe. Several of my viewers have reported using 1:1 gluten-free flour in this recipe without any changes and had good results.
Could I use cream that has soured instead of buttermilk?
Hi Delane! If the cream is safe to use, i think that would be fine. You may try diluting with water since it has a higher fat ratio.
Also- you can use plain milk with 1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice to make your own buttermilk.
I made these twice thinking I must have done something wrong as the ratings were so high. Both times they came out heavy and dry
Hi Debra! Be sure to measure your flower correctly, by fluffing and spooning it into your measuring cup, and then leveling it off. Do not dip your measuring cup into the container to scoop it out. I have a tutorial on How to measure ingredients here. Also be careful not to overmix the batter as this can cause it to be dense. I hope that helps.
Hi!! I was wondering if it is possible to swap the butter for vegetable or canola oil? Or will that ruin them?
Hello Aubrie! Yes that will work, hope you’ll enjoy the cupcakes!
Honestly, I was disappointed with this recipe. I made the original recipe years ago and they were perfect. These were super dense and lacked flavor. I was meticulous in my measurements and making sure everything was at room temperature. I also noticed that some of them bubbled out of the cup and had some raw flour spots. I may try the recipe one more time and also make the original to see if there’s a difference.
Hi April, if they bubbled out of the liners, that could point to possibly an accidental swap of baking powder and baking soda. I haven’t seen that happen but is usually due to too much leavening.
Can I swap unsalted butter to the salted butter and skip the salt from the recipe?
Hi TZ! I prefer to use unsalted because it allows control over the salt level, but that would be fine.
Thank you. I volunteered to bake cupcakes for my daughter’s class. I had a couple of recipes to test out they all failed. In the end I used a box cake mix. I was so frustrated that I didn’t have a homemade recipe. I read many of these comments of people who had given up on homemade cupcake recipes. I went ahead and decided to make your recipe with high hopes and low expectations. Wow I am throughly surprised at how simple and delicious it was. Thank you so much for this perfect recipe! I did not change a thing and am excited to have a go to recipe.
This is amazing and you are so pretty. I can double it and just keep it like that
Hi Katya! Thank you so much. Yes, you can double the recipe!
Hi! I was curious, could I use a jumbo cupcake pan for this recipe? Thank you! I love your recipes!
Hi Lori, I haven’t tried this as jumbo cupcakes, but one of my readers mentioned they have and here’s what they said: “I made jumbo Rainbow cupcakes out of this recipe. Divided batter into 5 bowls with added betty crocker gel dye, mixed and spooned each one onto the liners. A batch made six cupcakes, baked them for 18 minutes”I made jumbo Rainbow cupcakes out of this recipe. Divided batter into 5 bowls with added betty crocker gel dye, mixed and spooned each one onto the liners. A batch made six cupcakes, baked them for 18 minutes.” I hope this is helpful.