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.
These are wonderful immediately after baking, great taste and texture. However, even if they sit for 9 hours they turned dense and a tad bit dry (stores covered). Again really great if serving immediately but to sit and serve later they still taste good but the texture completely changed.
I love these cupcakes, if I am serving them right away, the taste and texture are perfect. However, when I make them the night before, cover and serve the next day, they tend to get sort of dense and a tad bit drier. Not really sure why, have never had that happen before but again if served right away they are fantastic.
Best vanilla cupcakes ever. I bake these all the time. My daughter just love them. Thank you Natasha for this awesome recipe.
That’s wonderful to hear! I’m glad this is your go-to recipe for vanilla cupcakes, thank you for sharing.
Hi this is my favorite cupcake recipe but the other day I made and they turned out very eggy any tips on how to avoid that?
Hi Gemma, I haven’t had that experience. Did you possibly have the cupcakes cooking in an outdoor drafty area? Some people (like myself) are bothered by an amplified eggy smell when baked goods cool in outdoor draft, although that is usually more with sponge cakes and meringues that are mostly egg-based. Did the cupcakes bake long enough?
Can i use self rising flour? If so how will that change the recipe?
Hi Allie, I haven’t tested self rising flour so I can’t really say without trying it first. I do know it works well with Canadian all-purpose flour and cake flour. I have an easy tutorial linked in this post for how to make cake flour; all you need is flour and corn starch.
I did this last week, and am about to make another batch in a few minutes! I used self rising flour, salted butter, and omitted the baking soda and salt. It came out great and there were less steps to keep track of.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Renee!
Perfectly moist, fluffy and melts in the mouth. The best vanilla cupcakes recipe I’ve come across after trying a whole bunch that simply always lacked something. Thank you so much Natasha my search stops here!
That’s wonderful, Kay! Thank you so much for sharing.
I made these twice, they were sooo dry I refused to gift them to people!!!
Hi Carolyn, I’m sorry to hear that. These cupcakes have excellent reviews. Common reasons they can be dry are overbaking and using too much flour. If you’d like to attempt them again, I recommend watching our tutorial on how to measure ingredients. You may also check your internal oven temperature with this thermometer, if your oven runs hot, you may need to adjust the temperature or baking time. I hope this helps.
They were probably the best batch of cupcakes I have ever tastes they came out so evenly and I am only 11 and make them on my own!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Aubrey!
I made these for the son’s second birthday and they came out amazing. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! Happy Birthday to your son!
My god I accidently did a bit of mistakes, but these cupcakes are delicious. Thanks for helping.
Oh no, what happened? I hope you’ll be able to still make it work.
Hello,
This may seem silly to ask but is the buttermilk cultured? I am not familiar with it and working on my grocery pickup order.
Thanks!
Courtney
Hi Courtney. buttermilk is a fermented dairy and most buttermilk is cultured. If you have trouble finding this, you can make your own buttermilk using 1 tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk.
Is there a recipe for frosting? I couldn’t find it on this recipe, and I really would like frosting for this treat
Hi Renegade, we have this frosting recipe linked in the recipe, but you can also find it HERE.
Yes there is, here’s the Cupcake Frosting Recipe.
Definitely the most delicious cupcakes ever! Thank you so much for sharing 💜
Love if, thanks for the awesome feedback!
Could I successfully double this recipe?? I will be making 24 cupcakes at a time
Yes, you may double the recipe. If doubling the recipe, I would recommend using the same ingredients without substitutions, otherwise, it’s a guessing game and needs testing.
Will all of these cupcakes turn out good if i turn up the recipe to 24 cupcakes instead of 12? Or will it mess the cupcakes up?
This recipe makes exactly 12 cupcakes, you will need to double the recipe to make 24.
Can I add lowfat 1% buttermilk? Can’t find the full fat at my grocery store.
Hi Haiqa, I haven’t tried this with 1% buttermilk. Any substitutions may hinder the outcome of the recipe. If you happen to experiment with this, please let me know how you like that.
Amazing!!!! So light and fluffy. My mom loved it, deserves a five star rating.
Awesome! Thank you for the five stars and great feedback.
The best cupcakes I’ve ever eaten! I was bored at home with my friend and we didn’t have much stuff to bake with. So we decided on a classic. Vanilla Cupcakes! We searched the web for recipes with basic ingredients and good reviews and we decided this was the best one. I never thought the best cupcakes I was going to eat would be the ones I’ve baked.I used Betty Crocker Vanilla Icing, I was scared it would ruin the cupcakes. but it also tasted amazing with it. And we didn’t have buttermilk so we just added some lemon juice and it was amazing! 100% making this again.
Hello Suki, nice one! I’m glad it turned out great, thank you for sharing that with us.
Look so yummy! Does the frosting tastes more like cream cheese or can you taste the vanilla?
Hi Lilth, the taste is just right. Not too much of the vanilla and cream cheese. I hope you can try this!
Best cupcakes ever!!!
Light, fluffy, moist. Can’t get enough. Thank you thank you
Love from South Africa
Thank you for the awesome feedback, Jenny!
Can we omit the egg yolk to make the cupcakes white not yellowish
Hi Saosan, I have not tried that to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
hi there , i was wondering do you have to use buttermilk ?
i making these for easter and i only have whole milk will this work ?
thanks so much.
Hi Elsie, the combination of softened butter and buttermilk creates an amazingly soft cupcake crumb. You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tbsp white vinegar to 1 cup of milk.
Driest cupcake I have ever made in my 5 years of baking. I was looking for a new recipe to tweak for my cupcakes, and have a different for cupcakes vs cakes. And this is by far the driest ones compared to my novice baking days even
I’m sorry you had that experience. These cupcakes have excellent reviews. Dry cupcakes could be a result of using too much flour or overbaking. Be sure you are measuring your ingredients correctly. I also recommend an internal oven thermometer. Your oven may run a little hot causing them to bake faster and dry out so you may need to adjust your oven temperature or baking time.