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 was able to sub out my red mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour for the regular flour and didn’t have keifer or buttermilk so I used a bit of vanilla yogurt and water, and these worked out perfectly. I was looking for the betty crocker fluffiness of a boxed cupcake while using gluten free substitutes and I think this recipe nailed it. I added lemon buttercream icing to give them a nice spring flavor.
Hi SJ! That’s great to know. Thank you for sharing that with us. So glad you liked the recipe.
The cupcakes were a little to dry and taste more like a bread. They break loose at the bottom too. Thank you anyways. 🙂
Hi, did you possibly overbake or over mix the batter? They normally should be fluffy and soft and uniform throughout. It may help to watch the video tutorial to see where things started to look different. Also, consider if any substitutions or changes were made to the recipe.
Hi
love this cup cake recipe they are so soft and moist so delicious .
love watching your videos
Thank you
So glad you enjoyed this recipe and my videos too!
This truly is the best vanilla cupcake recipe and I’ve been using it for years. My only question, is what is the best way to alter this recipe for an eggless vanilla cupcake? Thank you for sharing this Natasha!
Hi Sabrina! I’m so glad you love it. I have not tested an eggless version to advise. I do have an eggless chocolate cupcake recipe HERE.
The vanilla cupcakes are amazing! I made one batch for my sons family then made a cake and used the leftover frosting. This cake is spectacular! Thank you!!
You’re very welcome! Happy to hear that it was a success.
hi! I made these yesterday and they taste ok but they also had an eggy taste. i put five stars because ive tried this recipe before and it turned out amazing i think i did somthing wrong? i did some research and i think it was to much paking poweder
Hi Peyton, we’ve never had that issue before. Be sure to measure your ingredients correctly by viewing this tutorial.
Ended up with pretty obvious domes after baking and found them dry. My oven was calibrated to the right temp. After 20 The weren’t done so I left two extra minutes (two too many?)
However, the flavor is very good and so is the crumb.
Hi Sarah! Did you measure the flour correctly? Using too much flour can also result in dry cupcakes. This is how I measure my flour HERE. I hope that helps.
I just wanted to comment on a way to eat cupcakes without getting frosting up the nose. Split the cupcake in half, then place bottom portion on top and smooth! It’s like a cupcake sandwich!
Great tip! Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
Hi Natasha! Im struggling with my cupcake recipes and I always overmix my batter. Can you please tell me how to avoid overmixing?
Hi Courtney! Watch my process in the video so you can see how I do it. Also, you may find this article helpful HERE.
Going to make these for Easter and try my hand at piping the frosting. What brand of cupcake liners do you use?
Hi Karen! There isn’t a specific brand I use but the common ones you can find ar the store are the Wilton brand. I also like to use parchment liners. I hope you love the cupcakes.
Hi Natasha, This recipe looks so good and delicious, but do you think it will be good for a bake sale?
Hi Sham! I don’t see why not. The only thing to watch for is to use a frosting that is more stable, like my vanilla buttercream recipe HERE. If the frosting has heavy cream or cream cheese, then the cupcakes would need to be refrigerated but this vanilla buttercream frosting that I linked is stable at room temperature 1-2 days (away from direct heat).
Hello! I am a huge fan of your recipes!
I am a neophyte baker so I am prone to make a lot of mistakes. When I made these cupcakes they got a crusty top, they were dry, and dense.
I noticed the batter looking strange when I added the eggs. I wait until an egg is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
I believe I may have overmixed the batter.
Any tips will be highly appreciated. Thank you!
Hi Alejandra! Watch my tutorial on how to measure your ingredients HERE. Often times this is a result of using too much flour. I recommend watching my video so you can see my process of how I mix my ingredients. Over-mixing can cause dense and gummy cupcakes. I hope that helps.
Can this recipe be doubled and can I bake it in a 24 cupcake tin?
Hi Tina, 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.
IDK how this recipe is rated so high. Waaay too much butter, greasy and very heavy, almost like a cornbread muffin instead of a cupcake.
The flavor is decent, but probably because I used vanilla bean. Which sadly was wasted in this heavy handed recipe.
Hi Heather, are you using the correct amount of butter? 1/2 cup = 8 Tbsp of butter. Also, make sure it’s softened and not melted. It could be the mixing if that is the only thing that was changed. I haven’t had that experience where the liner turned out greasy.
Hi, I love this recipe.. I even use it as a whole cake recipe.. However, I found that sometimes, and only sometimes with the whole cake there are patches where its dense… Baked but dense… Any ideas on why?
Also, my cupcakes dome on top… Any advice would be very appreciated 🙏😁
Thanks in advance
You’ll have to be careful not to over-mix the batter because it can result in gummy and dense cupcakes. You want to mix just enough that all the ingredients are incorporated well.
I’ve noticed that one time I did not let the butter and sugar go long enough to become light and fluffy, and the cupcakes turned out dense. Maybe this is what happened? Try beating the butter and sugar longer and maybe that will help!
Hi Natasha i have just made these and they were perfect! but when they cooled the cupcake wrappers all came away from the cakes! I allowed them to cooling the tin for a while then transferred them to a cooling rack. Do you have any tips ,or cupcake liners that you can recommend that I purchase to prevent this from happening? Thank you.
Hi Diane! This usually happens because of moisture. It could be because of how long they were left in the tin to cool down but it could definitely be the quality of the liners as well. I like to use these parchment liners.
Would this be a good base you can add strawberry reduction and diced strawberries to?
Hi Melissa! I am not sure about the reduction. If it has a thick consistency like a filling, that should work. These cupcakes would be great to fill. If the filling is thinner and runny, you may consider my sponge cake recipe. You can add vanilla extract for flavor.
Have you ever made mini-muffins and if so how long to bake? They are absolutely delicious as regular muffins but I would like to make them as mini-muffins.
Hi Chris! I have not, but it should be ok. You’ll just need to watch them in the oven because they will get done a lot faster. When a took pick comes our dry, you’ll know they are done.
Quick question can i use cake flour instead of all purpose flour?
Hi Visha, I have not tested it but one of my readers said, “ I used cake flour instead of all-purpose flour the cupcakes turned out very dense, but still very delicious.” I don’t know if the cake flour had something to do with it. I hope that helps.
Oh my gosh!!!! These are absolutely incredible!!!!!! I have made batch after batch and they turn out perfect every time!!!!! I am Natasha’s kitchen obsessed! I love how joyful you are in your videos too!!!!!! I love everything you make! Thank you for everything!!!!!
Hi Annie! That’s wonderful. I’m so glad to hear that. Thank you for sharing.
Hello,
These cupcakes are so delicious!!
I need 60 of them ready by Friday.
How much sooner can I make them and keep them in fridge so that they are ready for Friday morning and taste just as good?
Thanks !
Thank you! Once cupcakes are at room temperature, cover and keep at room temperature overnight or refrigerate if storing for longer (I have only tried a few days ahead). After the cupcakes are frosted, refrigerate until ready to serve. Cupcakes are great served chilled or at room temperature because they don’t harden with refrigeration.
Oh….my….goomba! Delicious, delicious, delicious! These are the best cupcakes I have ever made, both in texture and taste. Simple to make, with guaranteed success. (For anyone wondering, your buttermilk substitute works wonderfully. I’m going to add some almond flavor with the vanilla next time just because…I look forward to trying the chocolate cupcakes and the carrot cupcakes. Your recipes are all hits, and your videos are not only informative but entertaining as well, which makes the process fun.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Peg! It sounds like you have a new favorite!