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.
Hello,
What pipping tip did you use?
Hi Ali, please see the section titled “How to Decorate Cupcakes:” in the post above.
Hi Natasha,
Is the glass mixing bowl you used in the video 2.5 quart or 4 quart?
HI Ashley, that is a 4Qt bowl like this mixing bowl.
Hi Natasha,
I was wondering if I could use greek yoghurt in stead of buttermilk?
Gonna try this recipe on nye!
Chaya
Hi Chaya, 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.
Hi Natasha. I made these cupcakes yesterday without the frosting and it turns up super good. I added in some raisins and chocolate chips and my family loves them very much. One question, the cupcake was really soft on the 1st 3/4 of the cake but on the last 1/4, the cake becomes like thicker like part of the batter sinks to the bottom when baking. Also the raisins and chocolate chips sinks to the bottom as well.
Any reason why this happens?
Hi Cheryl, it is a really light recipe, so those additions may be the culprit and why they sank to the bottom.
Mmm, these cupcakes were absolutely delicious!!! I made them for my mom’s birthday and they were a total success! Do you think using cake flour might make these cupcakes even more light and fluffy, or should I just stick to all purpose flour?
Hi Audri, these already have a very soft crumb – they might be overly soft with cake flour. I haven’t tested it with this particular cupcake though.
Okay, I might try it out. Thank you!
Just made these with Gluten free flour (Bobs red mill all purpose), and baked them in the mini forms – turned out perfect. In the mini form baking time was exactly 20 min, I also made my own buttermilk from 2% milk and lemon juice. Delicious!
Very nice! Thanks for sharing that with us, I’m sure a lot would love to try that too!
Hi Natasha! What you think if I replace all purpose flour for gluten free all purpose flour or baking gluten free flour?
Hi Jenny, I haven’t tried gluten-free flour, but a 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.
hi as it say buttermilk, can I replace it to almond or lactose free milk instead? Also about the egg, can it be replace to flax seed instead? I did make that and it come out right.
Hi Sandra, I honestly haven’t tried substituting those ingredients using those but I think it’s worth experimenting with. If you try it, please share with us how it goes!
How can I get the older version of the recipe with oil? I strongly prefer oil based cakes and am devastated that this one was changed and the old one is no longer at least published on a different page or something.
Hi Trish, The best way to look at old versions of a recipe is to go to this site and paste the url of the recipe in the search bar. I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha, I was going to follow this recipe but I don’t have softened butter can I use oil instead? btw i love ur channel and u make everyone smile
Hello Nureen. Thank you so much. You might try extra light olive oil which is my go-to for baking and most of my cooking.
Hi Natasha!
I made your vanilla cupcake few tines but most of them always separates from the cupcake case after they were cooked. The taste was super amazing and may family and friends loved it. What else can i do to ensure that the batter sticks to the cupcake case?
Hi Christine, I haven’t had that experience? Do you mean it separates from the wrapper at the bottom? I’m not sure how that could happen.
Yes, it separates from the cupcake wrapper after i took them out of the oven. I am
Worried because whatever i do it fails. 😭.. at times i served the cupcakes without the wrapper and just apy the icing and decors on top when served at home. So far that is my dilemma with making the cupcake.
Typically when cupcakes separate from the liner, they’re not fully baked. Learned that the hard way.
Hi Natasha,
about 2-3 months ago, I made your vanilla cupcakes. They didn’t rise properly. And when I tasted them, it didn’t taste like vanilla cupcakes at all. But I know exactly why they didn’t turn outright. First, I only used 1/4 cup of sugar because I thought it was too much. Also, the type of buttermilk I used was not the right one. I also got the measurement on the buttermilk wrong. Anyways, do you have any other recommendations for the next time I make your vanilla cupcakes?
Hi Mariam, with baking being such a science, I do recommend not making changes. This recipe really relies on the sugar for volume. I hope you give it another try!
Hi Mariam, sorry to hear it didn’t go quite well the first time you tried this recipe. It is important to follow the measurements and ingredients for the recipe to work. Please check out my guide on How to Measure Ingredients I would also recommend checking out the comments below this recipe for more tips. I hope that helps!
I have never made such amazing cupcakes.
Thank you, Chloe. I appreciate your great review and feedback!
I taste a bitter flavor from the buttermilk is this normal can I use something else?
Hi Kristin, buttermilk is not normally bitter. I wonder if maybe yours was spoiled? Plain kefir would also work here but they would taste about the same.
I just made them and had no buttermilk. I added a teaspoon of vinegar to 2% milk and was perfect.
Just made these cupcakes! They are amazing! My kids loved them too! Thank you so much, Natasha, this will definitely be my go to recipe!
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
Hi Natasha,
I’ve heard that nonstick cookware could harm your health. Is this true?
Thanks.
I’m not an expert on this but generally speaking, Teflon is a safe and stable compound. However, at temperatures above 570°F (300°C), Teflon coatings on nonstick cookware start to break down, releasing toxic chemicals into the air. You may do some research on Google for more info on this so you can find more findings about it.
Hello, thanks for the recipe. My cupcakes turned out very dense. Any reason ? I suspect, flour being not fresh.
Hi Sampada, It is most likely due to changing the process of making the batter. It would be difficult to blend the butter and sugar the same way without an electric mixer.
Hi Natashia! Would it be possible to reduce the sugar from 3/4 to 1/2 cup? Thanks.
Hi Leo, these muffins rely on sugar for volume. A small adjustment may not hurt it, but a full 1/4 likely will. One of our readers wrote that they adjusted the sugar, and their cup cakes did not turn out.
Hi Natasha,
These cupcakes look amazing! I have a desire to make these, and I did tonight! Unfortunately, I don’t have any piping tips or piping bags. So I used a plastic bag instead with a hole cut in the corner (I hope that’s ok). However, after I frosted the first cupcake, it looked like a gloppy mess. The frosting is lopsided and it just look horrible! I should’ve bought a piping bag and tip. The cupcakes you posted in this blog post look so beautiful because you used a piping tip. Trust me, mine doesn’t look half as good as yours. What should I do?
Thank you!
Charlotte
Hi Charlotte, we definitely recommend a piping tip to make it look pretty, but also, I would make sure to follow all the steps for the frosting to make sure the frosting holds its shape.
I was wondering if you have the old cupcake recipe. My kids seemed to prefer that one more . This one is great too just seems to taste a little different than the old one .
Hi Tanya, The best way to look at old versions of a recipe is to go to this site and paste the url of the recipe in the search bar. I hope that helps!