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.
Love these cupcakes. Mom would make these, and we even made these for both mine and my sister’s weddings for the kids table. For half of the batter, we added cocoa powder at the very end, just until it looked dark enough lol. And same for your frosting.
Nelya,thank you for such a nice review and great job on improvising😀.
How many cakes can the doubled recipe make? I made the cupcakes yesterday and they were amazing! Now, a friend of mine wants a vanilla cake 🙂
Per the original recipe author, a doubled recipe will make one 9-inch (2-layer) cake. If you try it, let me know how it goes! 🙂
They came out perfectly and topped it with the frosting recipe you posted and everybody loved it! Thanks so much for sharing!
Samantha, thank you for the great review, I’m glad you enjoyed it 😁.
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. They were delicious with the only exception the top was a bit crisp, not burnt or overcooked, but more like a sugar crisp. Any thoughts?
I haven’t tried making this into jumbo cupcakes but it’s great to know it works! thanks for sharing that with me :). I’m not sure on the sugar crisp part since I haven’t seen that happen – maybe because you probably baked a little longer since they were bigger or possibly were they closer to the heating element?
Excellent recipe. Used regular flour and the milk/lemon juice substitution but it was still great!
I did follow everything step by step, so I’m wondering if the people who it didn’t work for were using the wrong equipment or just were mixing ingredients in the wrong order.
Nik, thank you for the great feedback, I’m glad you liked it 😀.
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. I’ve never had them turn out cornbread-like. I’m always happy to help troubleshoot. Did you measure everything out exactly (using dry ingredients measuring cups and scraping off the tops?) Also, what kind of flour did you use? Was your baking powder and soda fresh (here’s a good way to test it)?
If i use buttermilk powder, how many tsp should i add to 1/2 cup of water?
To be honest, I’ve never used buttermilk powder so I can’t say if that would work in this recipe. Regular buttermilk’s acidity activates the baking soda in the recipe. Is a buttermilk powder/water substitute equally acidic? Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Hi Natasha kindly mention the quantity of ingredients in grams or tablespoons for better understanding also plz tell what if we don’t add buttermilk in cupcakes?
Without remaking the recipe and re-measuring everything, I won’t be able to give you exact measurements that way. The recipe needs buttermilk to activate the baking soda, otherwise they won’t rise. The buttermilk also adds a nice flavor to the cupcakes.
Can I add a little lemon extract although with vanilla? I like the scent and taste of lemon in the cupcake
I think it would be ok with a little lemon extract with the vanilla in there. Without testing that combination myself, I can’t really tell you exactly how much to add. I’d probably start with 1/2 tsp and add a little lemon zest too. Let me know what you end up doing and how it turns out 🙂
hi,
I have just hit upon this recipe and after reading the reviews, have decided to make these cupcakes for a group of 26 people . I was wondering if these would freeze well?
I haven’t tried freezing them, but they should freeze well before adding the frosting 🙂 .
Hi Natasha,
I’ve made these cupcakes and they are to die for. I wanted to make this into a double layer 8 inch round cake. Will doubling the recipe be enough?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried that but the original recipe author said you should double it for a two layer cake. Let me know how it goes! I’m so happy you loved the cupcake recipe 🙂
I have tried many vanilla cupcake recipes. This is THE BEST, period.
That’s awesome and quite a compliment! Thank you Valentina 🙂
Hi Natasha
Um I wanted to know if it is really neccesary to put buttermilk in it, can I replace it with something else
Hi Zoe, The buttermilk activates the baking soda and without that acidity, the cupcakes won’t rise. I have a note under the ingredients at the top on substituting if you don’t have buttermilk.
hi natasha
I want to make these for thanksgiving for atleast than 30 people should I double the recipe? and also are they nice and moist after, not hard? bc every time Ive made homade cupcakes theyve always ended-up hard.
Yes, double the recipe and make it as 2 separate batches. You don’t want the batter to sit out too long while the first batch is baking so I’d recommend making 2 separate batches. These aren’t hard. You can leave them at room temperature overnight on the counter, covered with plastic wrap or in a large tupperware container or if you frost them, refrigerate and bring almost to room temperature before serving. I have found that when I bake cupcakes with butter, they harden, but oil keeps them softer.
If I want to do it for 5 people what do I don’t to the ingredients??
I think you could cut the recipe in half and make 7 or 8 cupcakes but you can’t really cut it into 1/3 to make 5 cupcakes – it would be challenging with the eggs and you’d end up with some really awkward measurements :).
Hi i really want to make these as a xmas cupcake, can you please tell me how much allspice i need to add for these measurements? Do i subtract some vanilla? Thanx xx
I really have not tried adding allspice to these, so I can’t really advise on how much to add. Sorry I can’t be more helpful, but if you try it, please let me know how it works out.
Hi Natasha,
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. I would like to use this recipe to make a marble cupcake. How much cocoa should I use?
Hi Sarita, with baking being so much a science, I really couldn’t guess without testing it. Generally, for every Tablespoon of cocoa powder that i add, I subtract a Tablespoon of flour.
Hi Natasha – I’m going to make this recipe tonight for a baby shower at work tomorrow. Can I icing the cupcakes tonight and leave them on the counter or should they be refrigerated? Thanks in advance for your response!
Once the cupcakes are frosted, they should be refrigerated if storing overnight since it is a dairy frosting. I probably wouldn’t let them be at room temp longer than 4 or 5 hours since it is dairy.
My daughter wanted vanilla cupcakes for her 10th birthday. We have now made these twice this week and we may have to make another batch tonight. They are the best vanilla cupcakes EVER! We made our own cake flour as directed and made the super yummy cream cheese icing as well. I can’t wait to go home and eat another cupcake 🙂
I’m so happy you love the cupcakes. Happy birthday and many blessings to your daughter!!
Hi Natasha,
Thank you so very much for this wonderful recipe. So vanilla cupcake recipes are dense and dry. This one is perfect. I did not have buttermilk handy, so I substituted sour cream instead. This likely made the batter a little thicker than what you are normally used to, but it turned out wonderfully moist with a nice crisp top. This will be my go to recipe from now on.
Thank you for the awesome review! I’m so happy you enjoyed the cupcakes 🙂
Wow Natasha, this was the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe! I’ve been trying out different recipes for cupcakes this year, and I’ve really been struggling with taste/texture, but this one created the perfect combo! Exactly how a cupcake should be – light, moist, not too dense, not too crumby. You don’t even need frosting, the cupcake itself is so good. Mine didn’t come out looking perfect and smooth like the tops of yours in your pictures, but man were they delicious. I made these for work, and everyone loved them! Thank you so much! Definitely saving this recipe.
Hi Vicky! thank you for sharing your great review. I’m so happy you liked the cupcakes 🙂