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.
SO YUMMY!! THE BEST cupcake recipe! I just made these last night after using another recipe that was not very good. This was so much easier and extremely moist and light! Thank you so much for this recipe! This is a classic that will be made countless times. This beats all the commercial bake shops out there!
I’m so happy you loved it 🙂 Thanks Bodhi!
Hi ! Please help. Every time I make these cupcakes they taste like an yeast. Almost like there too much baking powder or baking soda. But i use the right amounts. And I use cake flour like suggested. Any idea what this is happening ???
I haven’t had that happen before, but are you using a fresh baking soda? If it’s gotten clumpy, sometimes you can taste it in the batter. Also, when you measure the soda and powder, are you using a measuring spoon and scraping off the top for an exact measurement?
I’m sorry but these are not very good at all. They are like sponge and the taste of egg is overpowering. Presentation wise, they looked beautiful coming out of the oven but sadly after trying one I realized there was no way I could serve them to anyone. Tossed the batch and need to start baking again. 🙁
I’m sorry they didn’t work out for you. They’ve never turned out spongy or overly eggy. I wonder – what kind of flour did you end up using? Did you change anything in the recipe – method or ingredients?
Worst recipe ever!
“Batter should be thin” …WHY?
If you know anything about cupcakes, you know that thin batter = sunken cupcakes!
What a waste of time!
It’s hard to say what could have gone wrong without being there with you. I’d love to help you troubleshoot though. Is there any chance that you live in a high altitude area? We have made these quite a few times and haven’t had any problems with having the center sink. Was there anything else that you may have changed in the recipe?
I use vanilla paste which gives a nice flavor, but they are so airy it’s not like cupcake, I tweak the and baking soda and powder waiting for the result.
I can’t tell you how much happy I am to have this unique,beautiful recipe !!!I followed your recipe exactly to make my cake and It was amazing
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks Naz 🙂
Я однажды была в Америке и пробовала капкейки, с тех пор мечтала еще раз попробовать. А теперь сама могу испечь! Очень понравились рецепты! Перевела почти все капкейки и буду пробовать делать! Из-за трудностей перевода вместо heavy whipping cream использовала butter! Но получилось очень вкусно! У нас продаются сливки только 33%, написано для взбивания. Скоро попробую с ними. Пока я использовала ванилин и хотела купить экстракт ванили, но в интернете прочитала, что ванильный экстракт разрушается при нагревании и его можно добавлять только в крем.
Спасибо вам! Жду еще интересных рецептов)
Sveta, thank you so much for writing in! I’m so glad you were able to recreate the cupcakes you love! I think the vanillin should work fine in the cupcake recipe 🙂
У меня еще вопрос. Можно использовать маскарпоне или рикоту?
Еще я слышала про очень вкусный морковный торт, может вы могли бы дать его рецепт?
Hi Sveta, You could probably use mascarpone, but ricotta would not work well. I do have a great carrot cake recipe: https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/09/10/the-healthier-carrot-cake-recipe/
Спасибо большое! Я почему-то не увидела этот рецепт) уже не терпится его испечь и съесть!
You’re so welcome Sveta 🙂
Hi Natasha! I speak inglish very bad) я могу писать на рсусеком?
Sveta, you can write in Russian (можеш писать на русском языке). 🙂
Will this make a cake and if so what size? Baking time? Thanks!
I have not tried making this into a cake but the original recipe author said that if you double the recipe you can make an eight or 9 inch round cake. It seems as though she kept the baking instructions the same
Hey! I was just wondering if using regular flour would work just as well as the other types?
Your cupcakes won’t be quite as fluffy but they will still work.
I just made these cupcakes, but they don’t turn out as well 🙁 The cupcakes have holes in them. Did I do anything wrong? Also they didn’t rise up as much as yours when I put a little over hall full in the muffin pan 🙁 Suggestions? TIA.
Hi Augustine, It’s difficult to say without being there but I’m always happy to help troubleshoot. It may help to sift the dry ingredients together to make sure everything is evenly dispersed. Did you change anything about the recipe? Also, did you make sure to use dry ingredients measuring cups and spoons to measuring out the dry ingredients? Finally, do you live in a high altitude area? For some reason, high altitudes disagree with this recipe.
Hi Natasha,
I made a second batch and it turned out perfect. I substituted the oil with applesauce. I guess it just doesn’t work for this recipe 🙂 Thank you!! I can’t wait to try more d your recipes! In one weekend I tried 5 recipes and they all were AWESOME!
Congrats on your newborn baby, by the way.
Thank you so much Augustine and I appreciate that you reported back after using the oil :). I love it when applesauce works for recipes, but it’s good to know that it doesn’t work in this one. Thanks for sharing that with me 🙂
I had a question.
My sons first birthday is this Sunday and of course I am dying to try your cupcakes for his “BubbleGuppies” theme birthday party. However, with the whipping cream and the lightness of the frosting, will it hold up to food colouring gel? It’s a sea colour I am going for so not much is needed to obtain the colour desired but I am still worried of making it flat or runny. If you have tried it already and it worked, let me know. thanks so much!!
This frosting can withstand small amounts of food coloring and I would recommend the gel food coloring and to keep it from getting too runny. Another recipe that works well with food coloring is the one I used for hydrangea cupcakes. Here’s the link https://natashaskitchen.com/2014/03/17/hydrangea-cupcakes-and-giveaway/
Thanks so much!
Would this recipe work for a regular vanilla cake too?
I have not tried it as a regular cake, but the original author said you can double the recipe and make an eight or 9 inch layered cake.
May i request the amount of flour, oil and milk in grams and litres?
I generally don’t offer those measurements because it would really increase the amount of time I spend measuring and weighing it out for every recipe. I’d recommend searching for specific measurements that you are looking for via google. Otherwise, without re-making the cupcakes and re-measuring everything out, I’d hesitate to give you those measurements just guessing.
No worries,that’s understandable.
Thanks anyways though!
I made these yesterday and they were delicious. Very moist and I made cream cheese frosting to go on them…perfect!!!
HI Elaine, I’m so happy you enjoyed the cupcakes. Thank you for a great review 🙂
I like how moist it was, however i didn’t like the CANOLA OIL smell of the cupcake, could i use butter instead and how much would i need????
I’ve used extra LIGHT olive oil with great results but I haven’t tried butter. I prefer oil in cupcakes because they stay softer even after refrigeration, but I just haven’t tested butter with this particular recipe. If you try it, do let me know how you liked them.
I’ve been looking for a good cupcake recipe for quite some time, and experienced flat , unappealing cupcakes. I stumbled on this recipe and finally made the best homemade cupcakes! They were moist , soft , and puffy. I topped the cupcakes off with butter-cream frosting that I added strawberry preserves and it tasted heavenly. Everyone that had one said they tasted very good. Thank you for ending my cupcake search!
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit for you :). That frosting sounds so amazing!
Hi Natasha! I just want to say THANK YOU for these great cupcakes. I have a small buttercream cupcake and cake business in Sydney Australia and this recipe is the go-to one I use for all my vanilla cupcakes and layer cakes after trying so many over the past 2 years. It is excellent!!! I find it works best when I froth the eggs for 1 minute and the eggs + sugar for 1 more minute and then the eggs + sugar + oil for another minute. The batter gets a lot of volume and the texture of the cupcakes is excellent. I also don’t use cake flour, but instead add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the flour mixture. I also don’t use buttermilk but instead add white vinegar to full cream milk and let it sit for a 1/2 hour before using (ratio = 1 tablespoon white vinegar to 1 cup milk). Great success with this recipe. In fact just made a 4 layer tiramisu cake with it. Cheers!
Thank you so much for sharing your great tips for success! I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe 🙂
These are so wonderful !! My go to recipe for cupcakes (: The icing is to die for as well
I’m so happy you loved them! Thanks Charolette 🙂
These cupcakes are delish..soft.out.good even without any frosting. any tips on storing them..should they be in refrigerator for next day use.
You can refrigerate them before frosting them or leave them at room temperature covered with a tea towel or in a large Tupperware. Either way will work fine. 🙂
Do they freeze very well? They would only be in there a few days.
To be honest, I haven’t tried freezing them. I think it could work, but I can’t say for certain without testing it myself.
Hi Natasha,
This recipe looks really good. My daughter cannot have dairy so would you use soy milk, almond milk or rice milk? Might try it with coconut oil. What about the lemon? Have to try to find a different icing, too without dairy. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Rose
Since baking is so much a science, it’s really difficult to say without experimenting myself whether or not those substitutions would work. I think the coconut oil would work well. If you omit the buttermilk, you need something acidic like lemon in the cupcakes in order for the baking soda to be activated and make the cupcakes rise properly. If it helps, I do have a very good dairy free chocolate cupcake recipe here: https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/01/23/moist-chocolate-cupcakes-with-prague-frosting/, but you would have to figure out a different glaze – I don’t know any dairy free frosting recipes but if you are thinking about a glaze – try mixing maple syrup and powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency – that would be very tasty. I hope that’s helpful. I’m sorry to hear about the allergy :(.