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 substituted regular sugar with monk fruit, thinking this is the reason my cupcakes came out dense and dry. Are these cupcakes only moist and fluffy the day you make them? I made them in the evening and the next morning is when I tried one to find that it was dense and pretty dry compared to the box mix that always comes out moist and fluffy and does not turn dense and dry. I baked them in the middle of the oven at 350F for 20 minutes so slightly less than the recommended 22 minutes. I believe I did not overmix the batter but I certainly cannot rule this out. Suggestions?
Hi Regina! I have not tested monk fruit so I am not sure if that was the reason. In general, cupcakes are best on the day they are made, they do start to dry out. But I have enjoyed these for a few days without an issue. Be sure to keep them in an airtight container. A couple of things that could help as well, make sure you are not adding too much flour, you can see our tutorial on how to measure your ingredients, HERE. I also recommend an internal oven thermometer to check that your oven is heating properly and not over-baking your cupcakes. Lastly, I like to bring my cakes and cupcakes to room temperature before I eat them. I’ve noticed it makes a difference. I hope these tips help.
Anyway you can share previous recipe? It was the best! I regret not saving screenshot of it…..
I was worried these would be a little dense & dry because they had extra eggs and all butter. Unfortunately I was right. They aren’t horrible, just not a light cakey texture. More comparable to a pound cake texture.
Hi Crystal. I’m sorry you had that experience. These cupcakes have excellent reviews. Cakes that use butter are generally denser than those made with oil, however, we have had these be moist and fluffy with a soft crumb. Over mixing the batter and using too much flour can cause them to be dense and dry, and over-baking can dry them out. Be sure to watch our tutorial on how to measure your ingredients HERE. I hope these tips help.
Hi Natasha, I love how spunky you are on your videos and they’re just fun to watch. I’ve made these cupcakes a couple of times and I really like them! I plan to make them for my son’s 1st birthday on Sunday too! I have a couple of questions for you. Would it be possible to use the same batter for making a cake? If so, how much of it should I make for a 9″ 2 layer cake?
Second question, when I store these overnight, they tend to get denser. Is there a specific way to store them to avoid this? I have left them on the counter covered by towel for one night and they got denser.
Hi Betty, you might put them into an airtight container once they have cooled to room temperature. Being exposed to the air without being frosted will dry out a cupcake. Also, great news, I have a Vanilla Cake recipe that we made from this cupcake recipe.
I’ve made these vanilla cupcakes a few times to take to a birthday luncheon with tennis friends. They always get rave reviews. Even my friend who claims she doesn’t like sweets loves them! I might try your blackberry icing on them next. Thanks for a great recipe!
That’s so great, Joanne! Thank you for your kind review! I bet the blackberry icing will be great on these cupcakes!
I have been making many of your recipes for about a year now and have loved them all. I have had an irrational fear of baking cupcakes. But these magnificent morsels I made for the first time at Christmas. Spectacular. I haven’t stopped thinking about them and will be bringing them to my daughters for dessert tonight.
Hi Sally! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. Thank you so much for sharing.
Is there a reason you don’t use weights in you recipe?
It makes getting it as close to yours as possible. Thanks
Hi Jerry, If you scroll down to our printable recipe card, most of our recipes have a metric conversion option on the printable recipe card. We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes, but it is taking some time to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help.
BEST cupcakes I’ve ever had in my entire life 😁. This was my first time making them as my daughter wanted to bake something so we decided to make cupcakes. EXCELLENT recipe 👍 with basic ingredients.
Great job too for achieving excellent results! Thanks a lot for trying out this recipe and for sharing the results with us.
When I made these cupcakes, they cae out thick and moist. I don’t know if it was the butter or any other ingredients, but thank god it didn’t taste bad!
Hi Lily! By thick, do you mean dense? This is often due to using too much flour or overmixing the batter. Be sure to check out my instructions on How to Measure Ingredients.
Thanks! I remade the cupcakes and they came out perfect! I made them for my neighbors graduation and I got so many compliments!
Hi Lily! That’s great, I’m so glad that was helpful and you were able to remake them and have good results. Thank you for sharing.
I’m making your cupcakes for my sons open house and I really wanna try this frosting but I’m worried cause it’s about 80° out is the frosting gonna melt off the cupcakes??
Hi Debbie! This frosting is whipped with cream cheese and heavy cream, it will not be as stable. If they are refrigerated and get served and eaten right away, it shouldn’t be a problem. But, if they need to sit out, I would recommend using my vanilla buttercream frosting as it holds up better in heat. They still should not be in direct sunlight and it would be best to eat within 1-2 hrs. I hope that helps.
Hello I was wondering if you need to use buttermilk? I don’t have any and I need to make cupcakes now!!! Can I just use the milk and butter for substitute? Thank you!
Hi Lucy, you can make your own buttermilk if you have milk and lemons at home. The ratio I used to make buttermilk was 1 cup to 1 Tbsp fresh lemon. So you will be 1/2 cup of the buttermilk mixture if the recipe calls for 1/2 cup 🙂 I hope that helps.
I saw where you said this recipe was updated switching out oil for batter wish you had shared the old recipe as well because I prefer making cakes using oil.
Hi Nicola, You can always view previous versions of a recipe on this handy internet archive site: https://web.archive.org/web/20191119070343/https://natashaskitchen.com/perfect-vanilla-cupcake-recipe/, just scroll back at least to 2019.
Thanks for a great recipe. I loved it. Can I replace the butter with oil?
Hi Nicola, you might try extra light olive oil which is my go-to for baking and most of my cooking. I haven’t tried that specific substitution here though, so I can’t speak to that. Substitutions may hinder the recipe outcome.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Can I replace plain kefir with vanilla kefir.
Hi Mikki, I havne’t tested that myself. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Didn’t feel like making cupcakes and wanted a cake so I used this recipe and made a sheet cake then layered it with the icing between the layers and it is so good. Icing was perfect. I put whipped cream in refrigerator till I was ready for it.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Beverly!
Wish the original recipe was left up. With substituting the canola oil in the original with a healthier oil they were AMAZING! These are good but definitely can only eat the day you bake since they get dry and crusty the next day. My kids always ask for the original ones over these.
Hi Natasha! I would like to decorate these but need a flat top cupcake. What do you recommend so that I don’t get a slight dome shape? Maybe a lower temp?
Also, I suspect the person who said that she saw 1/2 a stick in the video instead of 1/2 a cup was confused by the appearance of the brand of butter that you bought. When I buy Trader Joes butter the sticks are wider and shorter but when I buy Land O Lakes, the butter sticks are more narrow and longer.
Thanks!
Hi Meghan! Thank you for the feedback. As for the cupcakes, I have not personally tested this to advise. Generally baking at a lower temperature for longer can help get flat cupcakes, however, this can also result in a denser, dryer cake. You’d have to experiment with it and it really also depends on the way your oven bakes. Good luck! Let us know your results.
Good Day!
How do you do?
A question from a beginner if that’s okay? If I want to make a batch of 1&½ cup flour (combination of oil and softened butter)
Would 1&½ tsp baking powder (or ¾tsp / 2tso?) + ¾ cup Laban instead of buttermilk (not available here) be okay?
50g softened butter
¼ cup oil
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1&½ cup flour
1&½ (?) tsp baking powder
1tbsp vanilla essence
¾ cup Laban
Are the amounts okay I would be thankful for your help! Apologies for the bother!
HI, I really haven’t tested that combination so I am not able to advise on that.
I was very excited to try this recipe based on the reviews. I doubled the recipe for my daughter’s high school graduation. They came out very dry & dense. I looked back over the recipe to see if I missed something. I noticed that the recipe is written for 1/2 cup softened butter which would be one whole stick. After watching the recipe video I see that she only used half a stick of butter for the recipe but referred to it as 1/2 a cup. If that is the case I used 1 extra stick too many when I doubled the recipe. If it does actually call for only 1/2 a stick of butter please update the written recipe. That is the only thing I caught that wasn’t accurate. I followed everything to a t.
Hi Jennifer, I’m not sure where you saw 1/2 stick of butter, I re-watched the video and I added a full stick of butter or 1/2 cup in the video and also said 1/2 cup of butter. Can you let me know where you saw half a stick written out so I can correct it? 1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter is correct. Did you add the ingredients in the order listed, alternating the liquid ingredients as directed? Also, make sure to double the leavening as well and make sure that baking powder isn’t expired. One tip for troubleshooting is to watch the video and see where your batter started to look different. Also, make sure to bake on conventional mode and not convection oven mode which would overbake them with the same timings. I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha,I’ve tried many of your recipes they were amazing so I tried these and they were perfect they are so easy that I,a 12 year old made 70 of this for my school bake sale but there was just one problem it had really pungent egg scent even though I didn’t cook it in a outdoor draft area.So,next time I make it is there any way I can avoid it and is there a egg substitute.
Hi Karina, I haven’t had that experience. Did you possibly have the cupcakes cooking in a 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?
I absolutely cannot stand baking, but bit the bullet to make freeze-ahead cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday party. These were so easy. I quadrupled the recipe and ended up having to add extra buttermilk to thin the batter, but they turned out perfectly.
That’s wonderful, Sarah! Thank you for sharing your experience.
Great tasting cupcakes, do they freeze well without icing as it doesn’t mention that option in storage ?
Hi Kathy, you could freeze or refrigerate them. If it’s up to 3 days, I would cover and store it in the refrigerator. I haven’t tried freezing with the frosting, though, so I’m not 100% sure on how that works, but I would store them in the freezer in an air tight container or or a ziplock freezer bag. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes.
I made these for my son’s 3rd birthday….and we’ll just say that it’s only lunchtime and they’re halfway gone!! They turned out perfect, and I topped them with your buttercream frosting. I don’t normally keep buttermilk in the fridge, so I just substituted milk and vinegar. Yummy and super easy!
That’s awesome, so happy to know that the recipe was a huge hit! Thank you for sharing that with us.