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.
These were delicious, and I already had all the ingredients — double win! (I used oat milk because it’s what my husband and I drink, and I can report that these still turned out great!). The batter was thick and silky and the cupcakes are dense but moist and soft. Extra tasty with strawberry buttercream frosting!
Perfect timing! Thanks for sharing your experience trying out this recipe, we appreciate it!
I just turned 10 and I made these cupcakes with my mom for my birthday party. They are the best cupcakes I’ve ever made! Thank you for the amazing recipe!
Happy Birthday, Cora! I’m so glad you loved the cupcakes. Thank you for sharing that with me.
My husband and I made these and as he is a diabetic, we used 1/2 Splenda and 1/2 sugar. Our cupcakes turned out dry. Could that be why? The batter looked like the picuture and we baked for 22 minutes. We are new to scratch baking so am curious why they are dry. Any advice?
Hi Keely. I have not tested Splenda in this recipe to know if that could be the cause. The most common reasons for dry cupcakes is using too much flour and overbaking. Be sure to measure your ingredients using this tutorial. I also highly recommend using an internal oven thermometer to check the accuracy of your oven temperature. I hope that helps.
Quick comment – I followed the recipe exactly, and my cupcakes overflowed. I used large sized muffin tins.
Hi Jan, that shouldn’t happen, but I am always happy to help troubleshoot. Did you bake 15 of them and fill them half full? If you overfill them and don’t give them room to rise, they can overflow. Also, if you filled them correctly, are you certain you didn’t switch the baking powder and baking soda measurements? Baking soda is much stronger than baking powder and that could cause a similar situation. I hope that helps for next time!
I made these for a 50th birthday party. Everyone loved them. I was asked to make these cupcakes for a wedding reception. Not all recipes turn out if doubled. Would you recommend doubling this recipe?
Hi Lycreica. That would be fine, I make a double batch of these for family gatherings. Just be sure to use a bowl that is large enough and make sure the ingredients incorporate well without over mixing your batter.
I made these tonight for work tomorrow. I really didnt think they would turn out because the batter was so thick but they turned out great. So light and moist. I doubled the recipe for 24 cupcakes. I was looking for a vanilla cupcake recipe for so long that i really love. This is it! Thank you Natasha
I’m so glad you found this recipe, Penny! Thank you for the review.
I was craving vanilla cake and chose this recipe because I love buttermilk in baked goods. The only change I made was to swap out the vanilla extract for 1 tablespoon of my homemade vanilla bean paste.
Cake itself is light and fluffy with the finest crumb. Thanks for sharing it.
You’re very welcome, Allie! I’m so glad you enjoyed this cake. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks from an 🇮🇹 italian granma. My 4y grandoughter asked me cupcakes: never did it. I immediately looked out in the web for a real american recipe and chose yours. I made buttermilk with lactose free cooking cream and lemon and added finally whipped egg whites. 👌 really perfect dough
That’s wonderful, Linda! Thank you for sharing that with us. 🙂
What type of butter did you use? For the baking powder did you use 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp?
Hi Elizabeth, I always use unsalted butter unless I state it otherwise. For the baking powder, I used 1 and 1/4 tsp, or 1.25 tsp. I hope you love the cupcakes!
if you use salted butter you might as well just not add salt.
I have tried this recipe several times over the past few weeks with my grandchildren. it’s the best cupcake recipe quick and easy.
That’s wonderful, Pauline! So glad it’s being enjoyed! 🙂
I was trying to make an Ube cake last night and I tried 4 recipes, ran out of ube jam and burned ube powder while trying to hydrate it and I am 7 months pregnant with twins so I was feeling done and sick and tired. So I decided to look up a vanilla cake recipe and just add ube extract and purple food coloring and call it a night and this recipe was amazing for my needs! I tried two vanilla cake recipes, swapped out vanilla for ube extract and I put oil instead of butter because I wanted to save my butter for my frosting. Anyways this recipe came out perfectly purple and dense enough to use for cake and it was such a relief to have found it. Thank you.
Hi Ashley! I am so glad you came across this recipe. Thank you for sharing your experience.
These cupcakes are unreal!! So good!! I just tried one once it cooled and it was so perfectly moist. Only thing I changed is I lowered the temp to 345 and baked for 20 minutes. In the photo, the bottom looks a little dark for my liking so I figured lowering the temp might remedy that. They were perfect, inside and out.
That’s great! Thank you for the feedback and review.
These cupcakes were delicious, I followed the recipe exactly. Baking time in my oven was only 18 minutes!
Glad you enjoyed them, Sherry!
My job has been understaffed for a bit and I’ve been getting a lot of decorating videos on my feed so I decided to treat my coworkers. No feedback from them yet as my second batch is baking right now but these check all the boxes. Simple recipe, easy to make, and delicious. The fun part will be decorating them, but these make the perfect flat tops for something delicate yet intricate.
Hi Shelby! Thank you for the review and feedback. I hope that your coworkers love the cupcakes.
Perfectly most, light, and fluffy!!
Made them mini cupcakes and baked for about ten min 💯🙌🏼
Also added sprinkles for a confetti look 🎉
Thanks for the best recipe!!
Great feedback, Evelyn. Thank you for sharing. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂
Thank you for the information about mini cupcakes and baking time!! 🙂
Baked these for a friend today, put the mix in the pans and then pushed a few choc chips in some of them. The rest, I waited until baked and put a small slit in the top to hid a sour jelly bean! Topped them all with condensed milk frosting.
Hi Sandra, that sounds wonderful!
Followed the recipe.
The only thing I didn’t let set to room temp were the eggs. Turned out dense and a little dry.
Glad I baked them the day before to test them out!
Hi Brittney. This is often due to using too much flour. Be sure to measure your ingredients correctly by viewing this tutorial.
I was looking for a good vanilla cupcake recipe. I tried this one and I LOVE it. I ended up making a second batch and added sprinkles to the batter for a funfetti cupcake. Turned out fabulous. Thanks for the easy and delicious recipe 😊
Hi Cheryl, thank you for your good comments and feedback. Happy to know that you loved these cupcakes!
Been looking for the best vanilla cupcake recipe. Finally got the very best, tried this recipe and it’s everything i love about vanilla cupcakes. Thank you Natasha!
Sounds like you found a new go-to! That’s so great, Amty! Thank you for your wonderful comment!
I was wondering if you have the measurements in grams instead of cups? I prefer to weigh my dry ingredient-much faster! Thanks.
Hi Charis, 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.
Hi what is buttermilk? and what is the amount in milliliter?
Great!! They came out absolutely delicious! They were insanely fluffy and the perfect light, airy, cakey(?) Consistency, however, I did have to bake them for about 25 minutes, so a bit longer than it said but still perfect! I put cherry vanilla swirled buttercream on them after they were done, my whole family loved them! Which is quite rare so 10/10 for me! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hi Kayley, love the awesome review! Thank you for sharing that with us and for giving this recipe a perfect rating!