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 suspect this may be a dumb/rookie question, but would you do anything differently to use this recipe for a layer cake or sheet cake?
It should bake in about the same amount of time and at the same temp. Use the toothpick test and make sure it comes out clean. You would probably need to double the recipe for a cake if it is going to be two layers.
This recipe worked out really well for me! They taste like light, fluffy french vanilla cake, so I decided to add a cinnamon almond vanilla buttercream and they are beautiful! Thanks for posting this!
Awesome, thank you for the good report Libby :).
Nummy nummy in my tummy
I would have to agree 🙂
hey, love your cupcakes and your famous icing amazing!!
made them for a baby shower turned out awesome. thanx 😀
You are welcome Matthew :D.
Hi Natasha.
I wan to try this recipe but I only have pans that make 12 cupcakes. Would that still work?
Yes it would work Lisa :).
These cupcakes were my lifesaver I made them at 4 in the morning after a failed attempt of a 4 layer cake they were for my daughters graduation party everyone loved them
Phew!! That’s always scary when a cake goes askew. That’s why I always include lots of pictures with my cakes so if anyone is questioning, “should my batter look like this?,” they can see it right in front of them. Thanks Haleemah I’m glad it worked out for you! 🙂
I left them out on the counter uncovered until they cooled down completely. The recipe didn’t mention anything about covering them up.
There is no need to cover them when cupcakes are cooling down, you did everything right :).
i tried this 4 times already,,,my mother inlaw love this,,and i tried also adding 1 tsp of lemon zest to it,,,what do you think about adding lemon zest is that ok?
Oh I think that’s a brilliant idea! I’m so glad you like the recipe 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I just made these cupcakes and they looked perfect out of the oven and tasted great even without the frosting while they were warm, but once cooled they were a bit dry. I used all the ingredients without any substitutions. What could be the reason? Are they meant to be moist or more on the dryer side, only soft?
They are still supposed to be somewhat moist. I think the frosting seals in the moisture. Did you keep them covered after they cooled down or leave them out on the counter for awhile?
Hello natasha,
just loved ur cupcake dear..can u plz tel me how to make cake flour
I usually buy cake flour but if you would like to make it at home, use the steps from this site :). Hope this helps.
Thats funny, I was about to leave a comment to say how lovely these cupcakes turned out (thank you!) even with the substitutions I had to make. I didn’t have any cake flour yesterday when I realised I had to do some last minute baking and since I live in Australia, I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on Canadian Flour. I used the AP flour/cornflour substitution. I also didn’t have any buttermilk but had seen sour cream used in other recipes so decided to give that a try since I had some in my fridge. These were definitely the best cupcakes I’ve ever made by far and our guests thought they were delicious. Thank you so much!
I’m so happy you loved the cupcakes! That’s so great! Thank you for sharing your alterations; I’m sure someone else might have the same questions and thank you for the awesome review!
Can I ask what cup measurements you used? Our cups are different here in Australia. 140g per cup of flour rather than the 125g in USA.
Hi Nathasa,
These cupcakes look amazing! I’m just about to make them with the frosting but I wanted to know if the cupcakes need to be refrigerated after being frosted?
Thanks!
Yes unless you are planning to serve them in the next couple hours. Definitely refrigerate overnight. I hope you love the recipe!
I love your pictures! Those are so cute.
I read on the original Glorious Treats website that these cupcakes turn out fluffy like cake mix. If that’s the case (if you agree), do you have any suggestions for how to make them a bit more dense? Perhaps substituting some of the cake flour with AP flour?
Thanks so much!
I thought they were fluffy but had just the right amount of fluffiness; they aren’t overly fluffy. I thought they were perfect. I think the best way to make them more dense would be to use all purpose flour.
Just made these and they’re beautiful! Very fluffy and soft. Will be trying to make your icing now. This will be my go-to Vanilla Cupcakes. Thank you so much for sharing and the very detailed instructions.
I’m sure you’ll love the frosting just as much 🙂
Hey Natasha, I tried this with cupcake recipe and they came out perfect! How do you think this would work with a round pan? I need to make a cake!
I think they would work deliciously in a round pan. I’d put the batter in 2 separate round pans and make a double layer cake. According to the gal that I got the recipe from, it can be turned into a cake. You should double the recipe for an 8 or 9″ cake. I haven’t tried it personally myself, but I don’t see why not 🙂 Yum!
my batter seem REALLY thin……………… is that ok 🙂
Did you follow the recipe? It’s hard to say without seeing it. Did you change anything up?
Hi. Natasha
I made vanilla cupcakes and I love it. so moist and my girls love it! that frosting is soooooooooooo good too. I made double that recipe for frosting and still have alot left over. How long can I keep the frosting in the refrigerator? Can I put in the freezer too?
Love your blog! I love baking I just came across while trying to find a good vanilla cupcake recipe ..pictures are awesome and so real you want to make them right away. You are so right about cake flour its gives better texture and taste. I will be making this recipe for my friend’s daughter’s birthday hope it comes great like yours…Mel
I know you’ll love it! 🙂 Yes, the other flour works but cake flour is recommended
Another Thinggg… can I colour the cupcakes with food colouring?
Yes, just use small amounts.
Hey I don`t ahve any Canadian Four or Cake Flour and theres a bake sale tomorrow! I don`t have time to go out or anything so is All- Purpose Flour okay still? Like, will they still turn out like the picture? Thanks 🙂
It might still work but won’t be as fluffy. Have you considered the chocolate cupcakes?
Hi, I have been looking for the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe since I don’t know when. Thanks to this recipe, that I don’t need to search any further. I tried them twice and they turned out perfect both the times. I just have a small query. I would like to substitute oil with butter. How much of it should I use in this recipe? Thanks a lot!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes! I haven’t tried substituting them so I’m not sure how it would change the recipe.
Oh okay!! Thanks for the prompt reply anyway 🙂