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.
That’s really good is but is there anyway that I could change the cream cheese to something else because I’m lactose intolerant
Hi Emmerson! You could look through my frosting recipes HERE to find one that is more suitable. 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I love all of your recipes and have been using this one for years. I did notice, not sure why but, when I use buttermilk instead of kefir (what I always use) the cupcakes do not turn out as light and fluffy. Strange because they are normally interchangeable.
I’m so glad you love my recipes, Britinias! Thank you for sharing your experience, that is odd, but I have never tested kefir in this recipe.
Hi! I was just wondering if I could substitute the buttermilk for regular milk, or should I make the buttermilk from home by adding white vinegar?
Thanks,
Hi Jen, I recommend using buttermilk. If you don’t have one, you can make your own buttermilk with 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.
Twelve perfect cupcakes!
Thanks! 👌
Luv the sandwich tip!
You’re welcome!
hi
Is the cupcake nutrition facts for cupcakes with icing or without?
Many thanks
Hi Ruby! Yes, just for the cupcakes.
I’m not sure what happened but I made 3 recipes for cupcakes because I need it for an event and this vanilla cupcake recipe failed. It bursted open in the oven and splattered everywhere. Not pretty. The other 2 recipes for different flavors I made from other authors went amazingly. I’m disappointed in this outcome.
Hi Liz! I’m sorry to hear that. This has never been my experience with the recipe. Some of the issues that come to mind are, your oven was too hot, leaving agents were incorrect or the ingredients did not mix well. I have doubled the recipe before with no issues. Look over my process and recipe again to see if you missed anything. I highly recommend the use of an internal oven thermometer. Also- watch my tutorial on how to correctly measure your ingredients.
I love this recipe n have made it before but I need to make an egg-less version, is there a substitute I can use?
Thank you!
Hello Sue, I have not tried any substitution for egg to advise.
Natasha you saved me yesterday with you cupcake recipe. I made a different recipe that turned out terrible and I had 2 hours to fix my situation before a potluck. Ran to the store and got some buttermilk and made the best cupcakes ever. They were a hit and everyone (especially the kids) loved them.
Hi Natalie! That’s awesome! I’m so glad you were able to use this recipe. Thank you for the review.
I love this recipe especially the vanilla frosting. My kids love it. I followed all your tips about the frosting and turned out perfect. I made 24 cupcakes for baby shower with baby rattle design. Thanks, Natasha.
That is the best when kids love what we parents make. That’s so great!
Didnt work for me. 😭.
Would you please define room temperature in your country? Bcs in my country, it could be 30s C.
I remember, a chef from other country mention (their) room temp is abt 25C .
I put the butter when the meringue is not hot anymore. It was glossy. I put butter, it is liquid now….
Butter is at room temperature when you can gently press it and make a small indention with your finger. The average room temperature is typically around 20°C, or 68 degrees Fahrenheit. This recipe does not use meringue. Are you referring to the swiss meringue frosting?
I used your recipe and we loved the flavor and texture. Wondering if I can multiply the recipe by 4 and prepare one big batch ? Thank you
Hi Fatima! You can scale up the recipe if you have a large enough bowl to mix the ingredients well without overmixing the batter. Also, it’s best to bake these right away the not let the batter sit for too long so if you’re oven can handle that many at once then it should be fine.
I made these today to take to my son’s preschool. They turned out delicious. However, I made one batch and only got 8 cupcakes.
I’m so glad these were a hit, Julie! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Followed the recipe with butter. I did add a bit of orange zest to batter thinking it would pair well with the blueberry vanilla goat cheese frosting…it did. Not sure what I did, the batter was fantastic but the cakes did end up a bit dense. Tasted fantastic. I did put it on the IG. The frosting I need to work on but that is a different recipe.
Hi Charles! That sounds like an amazing combination! Dense cupcakes can be a result of using too much flour, over-mixing the batter, or expired leavening. Watch my tutorial on how I measure my ingredients HERE. I hope that helps with your next attempt. Also- be sure to let your ingredients come to room temperature as recommended in the recipe notes. This helps them incorporate and mix together well so you have an even cake batter with a good texture.
Thank you so much!! My guess is over mixing the batter. I weigh all ingredients and I did take care to bring all ingredients to room temperature, I did catch that note. Thank you again, they were delicious!
You’re welcome, Charles! 🙂
Perfect! Simple! Easy to follow! Great for people who are not the most confident bakers. They Came out perfectly. Made these for my daughter’s birthday party. Her and her friends had an amazing time decorating them.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Kristie!
I added 1 tablespoon of sour cream to this recipe and it turned out so moist! Definitely recommend.
That’s a great idea and thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing!
May I ask if you used baking soda along with the sour cream ?
I just made these and they’re fantastic 🙂 Not overly sweet, which is perfect because that’s what frosting is for! I followed the recipe exactly. Definitely will make again! Thanks!
Nice to know that you liked the results!
Just made these tonight for a birthday party tomorrow. They are delicious and fluffy and one of the best vanilla cupcakes I have made!! I only baked for 18 minutes and they are perfect!
That’s wonderful! I’m so glad to hear that. 🙂
I would love to try this recipe!
Just wondering if I can reduce the butter and add oil instead? If this works , what is the best ratio? Thank you
Hi Fatima, we find that using butter instead of oil and removing baking soda, yield better results. 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.
Hello!
I am very excited to try this cupcake recipe. I noticed the note saying since further testing you replace the butter with oil and take out the baking soda (but the recipe reads powder).
Just want to clarify, you meant take out baking powder, correct?
and replacing the butter with oil would change this method from creaming to blending method, correct?
Thank you!
Forgot to ask as well, following the new and improved recipe, would you still alternate between dry and wet? or since there is a lesser likelihood of separating, you do not need to alternate?
Hi Emily, I would suggest following the recipe as written for best results. I hope you love it!
Hi Emily, I was previously adding baking soda and now I don’t. The recipe card is correct as written using baking powder and butter.
Could I bake ahead of time than freeze in plastic wrap each individually than thaw night before and add frosting on top?
Hi Julius! Yes, you can freeze these in an airtight container.
The cupcakes were dry. Baked for 20 mins in a regular oven. Any suggestions
Hi Bonnie! It could be that you used too much flour or baked too long. I recommend using an internal oven thermometer to check and see how your oven heats.
Also- be sure to watch my tutorial on how to measure your ingredients HERE.