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.
I made the cupcakes for my son’s party and they are delicious!! my only problem is that they came out flat I’m sure it’s a user error, any suggestion on what I’m doing wrong.
Hi Mimi, did you use standard measuring spoons and scrape off the top for an exact measure?
I usually don’t leave reviews, but this is the first recipe that worked perfectly for me! I am at a higher altitude so baking is harder, but I rose the oven temperature by 25 degrees and they cooked and rose perfectly! Thank you so much I will be using this recipe forever. They truly are the Perfect Vanilla Cupcake!
Dakota, thank you for such a wonderful review, I love getting comments like these 😁.
tried the cupcakes last night and they were really good and fluffy! tried other recipes before but this is thee best! good even without the frosting! keeping this recipe on my book! thanks for sharing!
I’m am so happy you loved it! Thanks so much for sharing that with me 🙂
Tastes too much like baking soda. You can add more baking powder and less soda to avoid that. It’s also a little dry. Otherwise it’s a good recipe.
Hi Ann, are you certain you did not accidentally switch the measurements for baking soda and baking powder? I’ve never sensed baking soda in this recipe and I don’t recall anyone mentioning that before. If you try making it with less soda, keep in mind you need more baking powder when replacing it since baking soda is 3 to 4 times stronger than baking powder.
Natasha, dear, first I have to tell you that I made these as cupcakes & it was amazing. Second, I turned it into a cake (2 batches, as 1 batch only makes one layer) and it was DELICIOUS. I paired it with a homemade caramel icing and ascended to heaven. Yes. I died and my death was deliciously gorgeous, lol. Your vanilla recipe is my go-to/base for EVERYTHING. 💜
Oh my goodness that’s quite a review! Lol. You know one of my readers just asked about turning it into a cake. Did you bake the layers separately and how long did you bake for?
I had to fight my friends away from this cake with a stick! Lol.
To turn it into a cake, I prepared two batches of batter in their own bowls instead of doubling the recipe. I poured both bowls of batter in their own 8 inch pan and placed both pans in the oven at the same time for about 28-29 minutes exact. It works very well in 9inch pans also.
I do suggest that if any of your readers are using springform pans that they line the pan bottom with parchment or wax paper (the batter is thin!) BEFORE they seal the springform around it. Make sure the ends of the paper are sticking out so that when you “release” the bottom you can easily lift the cake from the base once COMPLETELY cooled using those paper ends.
I also didn’t notice the star rating so, ahem, five big golden ones from me!
NOTE:
The temperature used for my cake worked because of the behaviour and temp of my oven. Oven temperatures vary so adjust your bake time accordingly, fellow bakers! <3
Great tip! thanks again! 🙂
Ha ha that’s awesome! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing how you turned it into a cake!
I’ve made these cupcakes (with your perfect frosting too) and they are fantastic. I’m going to be making some again for my daughter’s 1st b-day party in a couple of weeks. I was also debating about making a cake for her as well with this recipe. Have you made this as a cake before and if so how does that affect the cooking time?
Hi Heather, I haven’t tested it as a cake before but several readers have. You’ll need to double the recipe and bake in two 9-inch cake pans. I can’t say exactly on the baking time without testing it myself and I don’t recall anyone giving those specifics. Bake for the time in the recipe, then test with a toothpick. If it’s wet, add 3 to 5 minutes.
How far in advance can these be baked for a party and how would you store them. If you are making more than 15 would you double the recipe or just do each set one at a time? Thanks a million!
I think it’s best to make 2 separate batches. You can store them in the fridge frosted or unfrosted and covered for a couple of days.
This is the best recepie you can find! Amazing! Everybody loved it!
Hi Paula, I’m so glad you loved the recipe! 🙂
Everything looked good going in, but I pulled them out after 15 min. and they were still batter in the middle. I popped ’em back in, they came out overly browned but alright otherwise.
Hi Herman, Just to be sure, is it possible that you may have overfilled the cupcakes? Did you fill them half full and end up with 15 cupcakes?
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for awhile, but I was planning to use silicon cupcake liners. Do you think it will change the bake time or temperature at all?
Thank you!!
Hi Madi, I haven’t tried these in silicone but I think you may need to bake 2-5 minutes longer. make sure to do the toothpick test to check for doneness. I don’t use the silicone liners often because they tend to stick and if I’m lining them with paper anyways, I just use a regular cupcake pan.
This really is the perfect vanilla cupcake. I’ve been testing recipes for five or six years and none were even close to the flavor and texture of this one. As a bonus it also has a lovely crown.
I was careful not to over mix, in fact I stirred in the flour and buttermilk by hand and then ran the mixer only to smooth the batter. I also added 1/4 teaspoon of Wilton’s butter flavoring. I baked an extra minute to achieve slight browning.
Thank you, it is the only yellow/vanilla cake recipe I’ll ever need.
I am so happy you loved it and thank you for the wonderful review! 🙂
I need gluten free. Could I use my fav all purpose gluten free flour recipe and add the cornstatch? Do you work with GF at all? I am gong to give it a go and will post if it worked on here. I substitute for dairy too as I am celiac and dairy intolerant.
Hi Karrie, I haven’t tried with gluten free but 2 of my readers have reported great results using gluten free flour. Let me know how it works out for you! 🙂
I have made this recipe a few times and have had rave reviews each time. Thank you Natasha, having made quite a few different recipes yours is definitely my favourite!
Thank you so much for the wonderful review! 🙂
LOVE this recipe! I substituted a bit of the liquid with lemon juice and orange juice and cut some of the vanilla to make lemon and orange flavored cupcakes. They came out so moist and fluffy, we couldn’t stop eating them, and they were gone by the end of the day!
That’s awesome to know it works with the orange and lemon juice. Yum!! Thanks so much for sharing that :). Did you use the same frosting?
AMAZING fluffy not too sweet delicious cupcakes to die for my new go-to recipe using it every time
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
I just made these delicious cupcakes and they came out perfect. I live at 8500 feet in Aspen Colorado. The trick to high altitude baking is: reduce the baking powder by 20%, reduce the baking soda by 20%. Increase the canola oil by 2 Tbs. Increase the buttermilk by 2Tbs. Cook on convection bake.
Thank you so much for sharing that! I’m certain it will help others in the future 🙂
With picky eaters at home whether it come to desserts or anything,I gave this cupcakes a try.
AWESOME..
I’m so happy to hear that! thanks for the fantastic review 🙂
I’ve never posted a comment on recipe blogs before, but these cupcakes are so good I had to add my 2 cents.
I baked them for a baby shower on the weekend – used vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract, and iced with vanilla bean swiss meringue buttercream. They got RAVE reviews – several said I should be charging for them.
I’m about to try the recipe again, but use lime zest instead of vanilla for a lime-flavoured cupcake. Have you tried this?
I haven’t tried it but it sounds like a really good idea. Let me know how they turn out and thanks for the really awesome review 😀.
Update: I used the zest of three limes and the cupcakes turned out well! Fairly subtle flavor but definitely there.
Thank you, these turned out terrific! I used the cake flour, subbed coconut oil for the canola, and used vinegar/milk instead of buttermilk. This will definitely be my go-to cupcake recipe from now on.
Hi Jacquelyn, thank you so much for the awesome review! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Hi, I need to know for how long can I store them in the fridge before frosting and will the cupcakes still taste fresh.
Thank you
Niveshny
You can store in the fridge frosted or unfrosted for 2-3 days for maximum freshness but keep them covered so they won’t absorb odors from other foods.