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.
Hi Natasha,
Should the flour be sifted? I’ve noticed such a difference in the fluffiness of cupcakes when I sift the flour but your recipe doesn’t specify that…. Sorry if this is a silly question! I am making these for my sons birthday and want them to be perfect 🙂
Hi Drea! No, I don’t necessarily sift my flour but yes, you definitely can. Watch my process here on how to measure correctly to ensure you end up with great results! 🙂
The cupcakes came out great – so fluffy. The only issue I had was the size of the cupcakes. I didn’t know how much batter to put in each well or what size the wells should be. The recipe says it will yield 12 cupcakes. I needed 24 cupcakes, so I doubled the recipe. I actually ended up with only 16 cupcakes. Also, the cupcakes sunk in the middle after I took them out of the oven. But I repeat, THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!
Hi there, Do you happen to live in a high-altitude area? For some reason, this recipe doesn’t bake up as well in high altitudes. Also, did you measure the baking soda and powder exactly? I ask because my sister’s came out sunken once and she admitted that she “eyeballed” the ingredients. lol. I’m not saying you would, but it’s the only other thing I could think of.
Hi Natasha. How would I go about making 24 mini? Do I half the time and how many tablespoon in each mini cupcake liner? Thanks so much
Hi Yuliya, I have not tried that but one of our readers shared this “Made them mini cupcakes and baked for about ten min 💯🙌🏼
Also added sprinkles for a confetti look 🎉 Thanks for the best recipe!!” I hope that helps.
tomorrow is vanilla cupcake day! i’ve made these for work with orange frosting. they are light and tender. i used my vanilla paste instead of extract. they are beautiful and buttery.
Good to know that you enjoyed our cupcakes recipe!
Hi Natasha,
Hope you are well? Do you have the original recipe (with the oils and baking soda)?
We were such fans of that recipe:)
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. 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!
Great cupcake. Would this recipe work for chocolate if I add cocoa powder?
Hi Sammie, I recommend my chocolate cupcake RECIPE instead.
Me again! 2nd attempt and they came out PERFECT!!! A+++++ recipe!
Ok, so I commented originally on October 2nd, 2022 that I loved the taste of the cupcakes, but that the cupcakes turned out very dense. I “thought” I followed the recipe correctly, but I read the post about “how to measure ingredients” that was provided by Natasha and I found my mistakes.
The first time,I scooped my measuring cup into my flour. This second time, I spooned/sprinkled it in and then leveled it with the flat side of a knife as noted her post. Wow….what a difference it made! I’ve been home baking for a long time, so I can’t believe I hadn’t read that before! 😊
I also realized that the first time I didn’t cream the butter/sugar long enough and also my new oven bakes MUCH faster than my old one used to! I started checking the cupcakes at 15 minutes and they were 100% done at 16 minutes! I didn’t start checking them the first time I made these until 20-21 mins.
I highly suggest everyone take Natasha’s advice to have an oven thermometer because over-baking by 5 minutes like that will make any cupcake dense!
So Natasha, your recipe truly is absolute PERFECTION and your post about how to correctly measure was just what I needed! The first attempt’s dense cupcake issue was 100% my own doing! Ha!
Thanks so much! I love your site and have been having fun going through all your recipes! Can’t wait to try more! 🥳
Glad that suggestion helped! Thanks so much for sharing that with us.
Disappointed! My husband and I were excited to try these. Bought the ingredients and followed the recipe exactly and we didn’t care for the texture – Way to dense/heavy for us.
I’m sorry to hear that Michelle! These cupcakes turn out great and have had excellent reviews. Dense cupcakes are usually due to using too much flour or over-mixing the batter. Watch my tutorial on how to measure ingredients HERE.
1 tip and 1 question
Tip: Watched your video on measuring where you state to scoop the flour in the cup and the risk of adding too much if you scoop it directly from the bag. It is best to actually weigh the flour vs. measuring to ensure you have the exact amount you need.
Question: My cupcakes (after baking) shows are fluffy on the outside but dense the center. I am guessing I have to bake at lower temperatures and longer (I am guessing my type of oven makes the difference). I am trying to skip a number of trial/error attempts here with this question. What do you recommend?
Thanks for your videos and recipes. You’re awesome!
Hi Dave! Thank you! Yes, measuring by weight would be the most accurate however, not everyone owns a scale so this is the way that allows those without a scale or those who run out of a scale battery to still get the best results. Regarding your cupcakes, over-mixing the batter or letting the batter sit too long before you bake it could cause dense cupcakes. I also highly recommend using an internal oven thermometer to see how your oven heats. Every oven bakes differently and you may need to make some adjustments. I hope this helps!
Hello! I have a question…I’m doing 12 cupcakes but I’m doing it with 3 different flavors, so it would be 4 of each flavor and I was thinking to do this recipe and separate the batch and just add cocoa powder, almond extract and vanilla of course, but I was wondering if it would still taste good if I use this recipe and just add cocoa powder?
Hi Kendra. The almond extract would be fine but for a chocolate cake, you should use a recipe specifically designed for that to get the best results. Cocoa powder can change the structure and texture of the cake so you’d most likely have to make some adjustments to the recipe if you used a vanilla cake recipe.
Can I make the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe in 2 -6 inch pans or 8”? Thank you , Suzanne
Hi Suzanne, I haven’t tested this in 6-inch pans, but we did convert this to a vanilla cake recipe here.
These were absolutely amazing. As a beginner cook and baker, I had trouble selecting a cupcake recipe that looked airy, light, fluffy and used all-purpose flour instead of cake flour which I didn’t have. I also didn’t have buttermilk but I used some lemon and mixed it with 2% milk first before starting to prep. I took them out a little early as my oven is hot so I learned to adjust 1-2 mins less than the minimum suggested time. I worry when making any adjustments to recipes as a novice but these came out great. Thank you!
Hi Naomi! I’m glad they turned out great! Thank you for the review.
I was wondering, if you cater? I love your recipes, but I need 60 cupcakes.
Hi Arush, I do not but I’m sure you can do this at home too! Just practice before the event.
I just made this recipe for a 10”cake, I doubled it and made a double layer cake for my friend’s birthday. Everyone raved over it!!! Look no further, this is the best recipe!!!
Love it so much! Thank you for sharing, I am so glad that I saw this feedback. I hope you’ll enjoy all the recipes that you will try.
I always loved cupcakes when I was a kid, but I could never get it right when I baked them myself. So I gave up for a few years and stuck to muffins. I decided to try this recipe and I’m so glad that I did!! This is the best vanilla cupcake recipe ever!! Thank you for sharing a great recipe.
Aaaw, thank you for your awesome feedback!
Love this recipe! Got a ton of compliments, along with your vanilla buttercream recipe! Definitely my go to!
Could I use this exact recipe to make a 3 layer 6in cake? Or would I need to double it?
And how long would I need to bake it for?
Thank you!
Hi Kelly! I’m glad you loved this recipe. Follow my vanilla cake recipe HERE for instructions on making this into a cake. It makes 2- 9” pans, you’ll have to experiment with the baking time if you use smaller pans because the cake will bake faster. I do not have the exact amount you’d need for 6” pans but you may find this articlecake pan conversions helpful.
Loved the cupcakes. But I wanted to know if I could make the cupcake batter ahead?? I have have a muffin tray of only 12 cupcakes. And I need to prepare 36 cupcakes.
Hi! I’m glad you loved them. I have not let this batter sit long to know how this could affect the texture of the cake crumb. If you experiment, let us know how it turns out.
hellooo! I really like this recipe and I plan to make it tomorrow but I have two questions:
1.Can I replace buttermilk with milk itself? Cuz I don’t have lemon or vinegar
2.Can I use low gluten flour?
Hi Chello. I have not tested either of these to advise but some of my readers have made these with gluten-free flour successfully and others have reported using milk and even kefir in place of buttermilk. Let us know how it turns out if you experiment.
I thought this might not work out for me too given that it didn’t work for some of the people. However, this turned out AMAZINNGG!! They were extremely soft and delicious. Thanks alot for sharing this as it was really helpful!!
I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you for your great review!
Cupcake texture was excellent but it was way too sweet. Will reduce the sugar by 1/3 in the future. Pairs well with the cream cheese frosting
Hello, could I make these cupcakes beforehand and put them in the fridge 1-2 days before frosting them for an event?
Hi Renee! That should be fine if you store them well in an air-tight container. These will be the moistest when they are fresh but we enjoyed these a couple of days later too.