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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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.
Seriously THE BEST cupcakes. So moist, melt in your mouth. DELICIOUS!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that, Heather! That’s so great!
Hi Natasha!
These look so yummy!! Would this frosting recipe work for a cake? Also could I use butter instead of cream cheese? Do you know if it would still taste good if I added butter? Also I love your videos and all of the food to make looks SO good! 😋
Hi Lisha, yes it would. In fact, I have a vanilla cake recipe too.
Hi Natasha, I was don’t see the recipe for the frosting. Thank you!
Hi Savannah, We have it linked in the second paragraph of the recipe. YOu can also find it HERE.
finally found the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe!
That’s so great! I’m so glad you found a new favorite!
Hi! I only have salted butter, can I use that?
Hi there, that should work too. You may reduce or omit the salt in the recipe if you’ll be using salted butter.
Hi Natasha , Instead of butter milk or kefir, can I use plain yogurt ? I am unable to find here. Thanks
Hello there, I haven’t tried that modification, so I can’t really say how that would affect the recipe. If you try that, please share with us how it goes.
Thank you so much.
Looks delicious!
A great addition to them is to add a filling in the middle of them like a raspberry filling or another favorite filling flavor. Oh my my!!! Soooo delicious!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Kathryn! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Hey Natasha
Can I use cake flour instead of all purpose flour?
Hi Raynella, these already have a very soft crumb – they might be overly soft with cake flour.
Hello. I love the recipe. The cup cakes turned out super moist and fluffy. The only issue I had is the cakes shrunk and went flat on the top just a couple of minute after removing The tray from the oven.
I did reduce the sugar a bit as I am in a tropical island as i use cane sugar. I reduced the sugar to 125 Grams. I would love to have a nice soft done on top of the cupcakes. Thanks for your help.
Hi Tej, with baking being such a science, I do recommend not making changes. This recipe really relies on sugar for volume. I hope you give it another try!
Hi Natasha, I’m a big fan I follow you on FB. So I did this cupcake recipe once before and they came out perfect. I tried it again this weekend and every time I added the egg (one at a time at room temp) it separated. the only difference was the mixer is new and my first time using it& I felt that the lowest speed was way too high. Is it possible the speed was a factor? I did a second batch and the same thing, so the 3rd time I mixed it by hand. help!
Hi Laura, I haven’t seen that with adding the eggs especially if they are at room temperature. Make sure to cream together the butter and sugar first. The butter should be creamy and not lumpy (which could mean your butter is too cold). I would beat a little longer with each egg addition until the egg is incorporated.
It’s probably because your eggs are cold. When you add cold eggs to room temperature creamed butter, it “curdles”, or more specifically, the butter seizes. Once you add the flour, it’ll come back together.
I’m going to make these cupcakes tomorrow and I noticed that the frosting recipe makes enough for 24 cupcakes but the cupcake recipe only makes 12. Can I freeze the extra frosting?
Hi Carol, I haven’t tried freezing this frosting so I’m not 100% sure. I think it would work to pipe it onto cupcakes and then freeze, but it might not be the ideal consistency to pipe after it is thawed. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes.
Hi Natasha,
You can freeze traditional buttercream in a sealed conatiner for up to 3 months. To defrost, simple bring to room temperature and rewhip with a mixer or by hand. Still delicious!
Anne
Thanks for sharing that with us, Anne!
Hello! This is a wonderful recipe, my first time making cupcakes from scratch and they tasted really good! The texture of the cup cakes seem dense and on the dry side. Perhaps I over cooked them? Or over mixed the batter?
Hi Cindy, did you change anything about the recipe? Also, did you possibly over-bake? I’ve had them taste denser and almost cornbread-like once when I over-baked. Also, be sure to measure by fluffing the flour first with a spoon, then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup and scrape it off the top. If you push your measuring cup into a flour bin, you will get up to 25% too much flour. Also, do not tap the flour down in the measuring cup.
Good morning,
Thank you for getting back to me. I didn’t change the recipe, however I did take the measuring cup and push it into the flour bin and then leveled It off, I probably had too much flour. The texture did remind me of cornbread, though still very tasty and no one had a problem eating them, lol. I did not know to fluff the flour first, I will do that the next time I make the cupcakes. What color should the cupcakes be when taken out of the oven?
Hi Cindy, that is most likely the culprit. The color should be golden as shown in the photos.
Thanks so much!
Replace ap flour with cake flour and just mix until combined 🙂
Hi, I was wondering if we can make this recipe into chocolate cupcakes. Is that a possibility?
Hi Ruth, I imagine that is possible but I haven’t tried that yet to advise. I also have a recipe for chocolate cupcakes, you can also check it out.
Thank you for the suggestion 🙂 I did see your chocolate recipe but I’m not fond of coffee. I’ll try to work with the vanilla receipe.
Thank you for sharing your recipes… they are easy to follow and they always turn out delicious.
the best chocolate cakes and cupcakes don’t require butter. butter makes them to dry and dense. only use oil and sour cream for really good over the top chocolate cupcake
Hi Natasha, I was considering making these as mini-cupcakes. Any advice on how long to bake? I am guessing around 12-15 minutes? Thanks!
Hi Rachel, that should work. It will make 36 mini cupcakes from one batch, just be sure to fill them only halfway and bake mini cupcakes for 10 minutes.
Hi Natasha. My batter quite runny, unlike yours which is thick, so my cupcake turns out to be quite dense. I followed the instructions and used the your measurement method to measure the ingredients but I am not able to get a thick batter like yours. Any advice?
But, the cupcakes still taste good with the runny batter.
Hi Cheryl, the batter should be thick and not runny. Did you make any modifications or substitutions in the recipe or method? I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to see where things started looking different. Also, check that your leavening has not expired.
I did not make any modifications to the recipe. I followed exactly the ingredients and used the measurement method from your video. I made it twice and it still has that runny batter.
I notice that when you beat the butter and sugar, it turns out to be thick but mine is quite runny. I used softened butter at room temperature but I’m not able to get that butter sugar texture like yours.
Hi Cheryl, make sure to also follow the same order of ingredients, and also the creaming butter and sugar stage is important. Could your butter have been too soft or partially melted? I suggest watching the video tutorial to see where your process started to look different.
Hi Natasha. My batter is quite runny and not thick like yours. I followed the instructions and followed your ingredients measurement video but the batter is still runny. I tried to add additional 4 tbsp in the batter to make it thicker but it still did not thicken. Any advice on this?
BTW the cupcake still taste good even with the runny batter. But would definitely love to have that soft and fluffy texture like yours.
Hi Cheryl. Make sure to use the proper measuring cups for wet and dry ingredients. Watch our video on measuring ingredients to ensure great results every time.
The beat cupcakes ever!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Natasha! This recipe looks really good and I plan to make it this week! I’m 11 and I really like to bake, but I don’t have a lot of ingredients in my pantry. Is there a substitute for buttermilk? I don’t have sour cream, lemon juice, or cream of tartar. If there’s a substitute, could you tell me the measurements for it? Thank you so much! I’m a big fan by the way!
Hi, I found that white vinegar also works. I’m not sure how much to put in the batter, could you tell me how much milk and vinegar I should put? Thank you!
Hi Yemo, I think buttermilk works best, but see the section titled: “Can I Substitute the Buttermilk?” You can also use vinegar instead of lemon juice.
yemo idk if ur still wondering but what i always do is add one cup of milk with 1tbsp vinegar it should make a nice sub for buttermilk <3
Thank you so much for sharing that, Andrea!
Hi Natasha! My gosh I love to see you cook! and love your kitchen of course! With Australian ovens, they are electric and have weirdo settings. Betty Crocker recipes are normally on Fan Forced setting and we use Celsius. Should I use Fan Forced?
Hi Carolina, most of our recipes call for conventional oven settings (not convection which would need modifications). Also, our recipes are written in Farenheight so they would need to be converted to Celcius.
Hi! I made this recipe & it was good! The only problem I had was that the frosting did not come out as light & fluffy as I expected. Is there something I did wrong? Possibly over mixed? Can that happen? Thank you!
Hi Kenia, the most likely culprit is using ingredients that are too soft. Cream cheese should be at room temperature for about 1.5 to 2 hours max. If it’s too soft, it will make the cream runnier. Also, make sure to use heavy whipping cream and not regular whipping cream.
Thank you!