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.
My cupcakes sunk in the center, any idea what I might have done wrong?
I didn’t have the correct flour so I just used regular all purpose flour and I also used the milk/vinegar substitute for buttermilk ( which I always do so I know it works just fine and that it’s probably not the issue). I am making these again on Saturday for my daughters birthday and I will definitely go get cake flour for it but do you think that is what caused the sunken centers or could there be another cause?
Thanks
By the way, the cupcakes were still delicious and fluffy 🙂
Was there anything else you could have done differently? These should still work with all-purpose flour although they won’t be as fluffy. Hmm… did you possibly put them in the oven before it was fully pre-heated? Do you live in a high elevation place? How did you measure your flour? Did you use dry measuring cups and scrape off the tops? I hope we can figure this out! 🙂
The cupcakes really are the perfect vanilla cupcakes! I made them and the frosting for a birthday party. They were a big hit! I have been looking for a vanilla cupcake recipe with a good texture and flavor. This is the best one I have made. Thank you.
Thank you so much for a great review! I’m so glad they were a hit at your party! 🙂
they worked perfectly! Made them twice now and the family loves them!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the cupcakes. It sounds like they are becoming a favorite? 😉 Thanks so much for a great review! 🙂
going to try these right now..ive been searching high and low for the perfect cupcake..fingers crossed
Oooh I hope you fall in love!!
ughh total fail!! they tasted amazing but I def did something wrong……they look flat and bubbly!! was I supposed to sift the flower? when u make is eggs room temp???
It’s really hard to say without being there in your kitchen. But I am so happy to troubleshoot the recipe and figure out what went wrong. Could you have put them in the oven before it was fully preheated? What kind of flour did you use? Sometimes baking temperatures have to be altered in different elevations. Do you live in a really high elevation area? I hope we can figure it out. I’ve made these cupcakes multiple times and they always turn out perfect. I’ve used room temp eggs or refrigerated eggs. I prefer room temperature eggs but that should not have made that kind of difference.
Thanks for the great recipe! I just finished baking the cupcakes and tried it right away! Not too sweet and light. The perfect one Ive been looking for quiet sometime. More Power!
“More power” eh? Ha ha thanks Sandra. I’m so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes! 🙂
These are amazing! It makes about 48 mini cupcakes. Thanks for the recipe! I used this for my alice in wonderland party, and they were perfect!
Thanks so much for sharing that. I bet it was a darling party!
Loved them, they are in the fridge as we speak…. Delicious along with the frosting you recommend. I think our cream cheese is a little different here in the uk, it’s very soft but I managed : )
Wow all the way from the UK?! That’s awesome that you enjoyed the cupcakes. 🙂
I made them today for my husbands brithday and everyone loved, thank you Natasha.
Woohoo!! That’s so great! Thanks for sharing that with me. I’m so happy everyone loved the cupcakes.
I agree, this recipe is perfect! I made some today and this is my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe. Not too sweet, but still light and delicious.
Linda thank you so much for a wonderful review! 🙂 I’m so glad you liked them. You should try either the chocolate cupcakes or the greek yogurt cupcakes and you’ll have 3 new favorite cupcakes 🙂
These are the best cupcakes!! I make them for every occasion now! Thank you for sharing, Natasha!! Have you ever tried making a cake with this recipe? Is it as good as the cupcakes?
I’ve thought about it but I haven’t put my thoughts into action yet 🙂 I think it should work. Most cupcakes and cakes work for either one. I just haven’t actually tested it.
What a lovely light cup cake, what an amazing recipe. This will be my “go to” cup cake recipe from now on. Thanks so much. I added lime to one batch , yummy!
Thanks for the great review Olivia :).
Love your recipe! I’ve made the cupcakes with frosting twice now, and I would make a couple of suggestions for other people: first, pour all the cupcake batter into tins at once, as it separates if you let it sit even ten minutes. Second, take them out and test exactly at the 12 min. time limit – don’t wait for them to become “golden.” These are REALLY delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Nancy! 🙂
Where has this recipe been all my life?! Just made these, iced with whipped cream they’re so soft and yummy it’s taking all my willpower not to gobble up every last one of them. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Thank you for a great review Mufaro, I’m glad you like the recipe. They really put your self-control to the test :D.
LOVED the flavor but my cupcakes totally fell. I’m wondering if there are adjustments that need to be made for high altitude?
I’m not really familiar with high altitude baking. I wish I had some great advice for you… I haven’t had any issues with the cupcakes falling. Maybe another one of my readers might have an idea. What altitude are you in?
4600 feet. I’ll keep working on it – this batch was a test run (taste test comparison to several other recipes) in preparation for my son’s eagle scout court of honor. The taste of these were hands-down the winner so I’ll keep at it. I saw another reviewer post that cake flour doesn’t measure out the same as Canadian flour. I’ll do a little more research on that issue.
Thanks for the update, let me know what you discovered :).
I didn’t want to give up on this cupcake – the flavor is so great – so I did a bunch a research. Probably the best article I found was:
http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2011/09/high-altitude-baking-tips-for-cupcakes.html
So, using the suggestions in this link, I substituted sour cream for buttermilk, reduced the baking powder to 1/3 of this recipes requirement and used half cake/half all-purpose flour. I increased the temperature to 365. The tops weren’t well rounded after baking but the cupcake didn’t fall either and frosting will hide the flat/slightly rounded top. The flavor is still there but it isn’t as super light and airy of a cake like you’d get by following the recipe exactly … But at high altitude, that’s what works and this time they didn’t fall. I’m going to try increasing the baking powder a tiny bit next time and use 1/3 all-purpose and 2/3 cake flour to see if I can get it back to the super light texture. Way to go, Natasha!
Thanks so much for sharing that! I’m sure there are others that have or will have the same question. You’re awesome!! Way to go YOU!!
Mine fell too. I just got a new gas convection oven so I thought it was maybe just because I used the convection so I made a second batch and baked them w/out convection but they still fell. I’m going to try the tips that you give in the other comment. Thanks for doing that! I loved the flavor of these and how moist they were so I hope they work!
Is there any chance you live in a high altitude area? That could be the culprit – this recipe doesn’t agree with high altitudes.
I used Mexican unbleached flower, and they were fine. Canadian flower is just the same as all the rest. It’s not like Canadians use anything special.
All-purpose flour does work in this recipe and I have made them before, but they are a little softer with the other flour. Thanks Ralph! 😉
Hey Natasha was wondering if you could use veg oil instead as there is an allergy here
Yes! You can use vegetable oil instead 🙂
Hi Natasha not sure what I did wrong but when they cooled off they got all bubbly on the top and mine now look ugly I covered it up with icing but I’d like to know so it doesn’t happen again
It’s hard to guess without being there. I haven’t had any turn bubbly before. Could you have taken them out of the oven too soon? Can you think of anything you might have done differently from the recipe?
Hi Natasha,
I love these cupcakes!! I have made them for my son’s birthday and just the other day. My husband and my boys almost finished all of them while I was making the frosting.
I was wondering if this recipe can be turned into a cake and be covered in fondant? Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes.
That’s funny about the cupcakes getting eaten up while you made the frosting. My boys are the same way! 😉 I think it could be a wonderful cake frosting. To be honest, I haven’t worked with fondant. Do you follow a good recipe or do you buy it?
i made those cupcakes they came out perfect … just wanted to know if i can some chocolate chip to them as the batter is thin ???
I’m not sure if they would stay put in the batter or sink to the bottom. I would have to test it, but it is a good idea! I bet chocolate chips would be amazing in my chocolate cupcakes!! 🙂
These baked perfectly! So fluffy and rounded on the top. They were a dream to decorate and none were sunken in. However, they were a bit bland for me and the guests I made them for. Although, the icing you mentioned saved the day. Thanks for the recipes! 🙂
I generally don’t like my dessert to be overly sweet. There is only 3/4 cup of sugar in this recipe and I think you could up it to 1 cup if you like things on the sweeter side 🙂