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 had changed the butter to solid coconut oil & instead buttermilk I used coconut milk , then the middle I put half of teaspoon of Nutella
That sounds delicious!
Can you use swerve sugar substitute instead of sugar?
Hi Janet, I have not tested that with swerve sugar to advise. If you experiment please let me know how you like that.
I love your baking style ..I have tried your recipes ..my concern is it would be helpful if you put the measurements in grams …little confusion arises in cup measurements
Hi Sabana, We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes but it is taking some time as we have to add them one at a time. Most of our recipes do have the metric conversion option highlighted in red on the printable recipe card. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help
I loved your old recipe and it turned out perfect for me every time I made it. This recipe is good too.. but the cakes turned out a bit firm and not as soft as the previous recipes.. is it possible for you to share with me the previous recipe.. I need to frame that up
Hi Farah, we haven’t had the experience of these being firm – they should be much softer than the previous version. Did you possibly do anything different than what the new recipe states (change ingredients, make substitutions, etc)? We only update when we feel lit would be a significant improvement.
Hi, could you help me with some cup cakes? I want to make like 12 but in different flavors like 2 vanilla, 2 chocolate, 2 lmon-blueberries, 2 carrot and 2 blackberries but just one mixture and then divided it and put the flavors
Can you help me please?
Hi Cecilia, that gets pretty complex, but the best way to do something like that would be to divide the batter into 6 even bowls and then stir different things into them like chocolate chips, sprinkles, blueberries, etc. It would be difficult to make completely different cupcakes out of a single batch.
simple,easy, and very YUMMY!
Thank you so much!
A keeper recipe indeed!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
Hello Natasha!Today I tried cup cakes. But my cup cakes are heavy and not a right texture. But taste is nice.Can you help me where am I wrong?
One more thing can we make a cake with recipe then what will be the ratio?
Hi Aisha, we have these notes in the recipe “Can I Use This Batter to Make a Cake? Readers have reported good results turning it into a cake. You would need to double the recipe for two 9-inch cake layers”. Did you change anything about the recipe? Also, did you possibly over-bake? I’ve had them taste more dense and almost cornbread-like once when I over-baked. Over-mixing could also cause this. I hope that helps!
I don’t need these until Friday, 3 days from now. If I don’t frost them until then, how do they do in the freezer?
Hi Lorraine, you could freeze or refrigerate them. If it is only 3 days, I would cover and store in the refrigerator.
Hi Natasha, thank you for sharing this recipe. I tried it out and everybody LOVED them! From now on, this will be my favorite go to cupcake recipe. Well deserved 5 stars!!!
I love it! Thank you for the five stars, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
These are amazing cupcakes!! So tender and moist.
I’m so happy you loved the cupcakes! Thanks for sharing that with me.
Hi Natasha, here in the UK I am struggling to find kefir or buttermilk. What can I use instead please?
Hi Vicky, check the post above where I mention how to make it yourself. You just need milk and lemon juice to make a quick buttermilk substitution.
First time I made it I stood speechless!!! My goodness they were INCREDIBLE!!!!!
I have a very important question: when I tried the next time to make a bigger batch, I put 2 pans next to each other, but they didn’t turn out well. They looked weird! I think it’s heat circulation issue.
What do I do if I want to make a bigger batch? Please help me!
Hi Yousra, If you are making more cupcakes than the recipe calls for, it may be best to make them in separate batches to be sure there are no measuring issues.
Just realized that I missed out the stars on my comment earlier. So here they are!
Thanks, I appreciate that!
Hi, Natasha. Can i substitute butter with margarine?
Hello Almira, someone else commented this “I substitute the butter for margarine (since my business is dairy free) and made my own buttermilk with vanilla almond milk and lemon juice.
These are the best cupcakes for decorating!”
Hi Natasha,
Can I substitute gluten free flower instead of regular flower?
Thanks
Hi Ania, I haven’t tried with gluten-free flour but few of my readers have reported great results using gluten-free flour for the cupcakes. Let me know how it works out for you if you experiment.
Absolutely tasty cupcakes and frosting! I missed the warning about over soft cream cheese, which resulted in a bit runny frosting but the cupcake and frosting combo was yummy anyway.
Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that! Thank you for the wonderful review!
hi natasha
made the vanilla cup cakes tonight , they rose beautifully , tasted amazing they were a big hit. thankyou so much for sharing
That’s so great Gillian! I so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for sharing that great review with us!
Hi Natasha,
I tried this recipe, but my cakes were dense and they got tunnels. I followed your recipe except I reduced the sugar amount a bit. I don’t know if my cupcake tins were a bit smaller than yours, but I got 15 cakes instead of 2. Is it possible that I should have reduced the oven temp? Thanks!
Hi Lala, if you made 15 smaller cupcakes, they would have baked up faster. Sugar can also make a difference in the texture. I always recommend making the recipe as written for the first time before trying modifications.
Is low fat buttermilk ok? Or should I look for regular at another store?
Hi Annabeth, I usually use low fat & I think it will be fine.
Hi! Great recipe. Wanted to check after my cupcake cooled off it went down… what’s the reason? What did I do wrong? Thanks
Hi Loveen, then do settle slightly once they are cooled but they should still have a rounded top. if it seems caved in, you might check your baking powder to see if it is still active.