This classic, easy vanilla cupcake recipe is soft and moist with a distinct vanilla flavor. No complicated ingredients and less than an hour from start to finish! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Why You’ll Love This Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
- Basic ingredients are best: a whole egg, regular all-purpose flour, all butter, and no oil. Buttermilk is as complicated as this ingredient list gets!
- Soft and moist texture with a buttery, distinct vanilla taste. A bit of brown sugar complements the vanilla amazingly and gives these cupcakes an unparalleled flavor.
- Pairs well with any frosting, like chocolate fudge frosting, strawberry frosting, salted caramel frosting, or even fruity pebbles frosting! I include a few more ideas in the recipe notes below 🧁
- Easily doubles if you need to feed a crowd! Or, make this recipe and my chocolate cupcake recipe for a little bit of both flavors.
- Carefully researched and tested. As with all of my recipes, this one went through rigorous trials and taste-testing. Scroll down for a sneak peek of the behind the scenes of one of the recipe testing sessions.
Every good baker needs a good vanilla cupcake recipe. While many people have converted my vanilla cake into cupcakes (and it works great!), I just wanted a dedicated, standalone cupcake for this space.
It took months of working to perfect this recipe, about 8 Google Doc pages full of notes, and multiple test runs past my taste-testers, but we finally nailed it. With its light, moist crumb, a buttery, vanilla-infused flavor, this vanilla cupcake recipe holds its own as one of my favorites many years later!
Today I’m re-sharing this classic with an updated frosting (the winning core recipe remains unchanged–it was perfect as written!). My favorite chocolate frosting still pairs just as nicely, but I’m changing things up with a vanilla bean buttercream today. I can’t wait to hear what you think!
Ingredients
My vanilla cupcake recipe uses all basic ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry:
- Butter. Often when making cupcakes I like to use oil for the best texture and a moist crumb. This vanilla cupcake recipe, however, was carefully crafted to be made with all butter and still be perfectly soft and moist with a light, flavorful texture!
- Sugar. We’re using both granulated and brown sugar today. The brown sugar enriches the flavor and makes the cupcakes more moist. Don’t skip it!
- Flour. I use all-purpose flour and recommend you do the same. You could substitute cake flour, but I actually don’t prefer the results (more on this below!).
- Buttermilk. Buttermilk is another key ingredient that helps makes these vanilla cupcakes tender and flavorful. If you don’t have buttermilk handy, my easy buttermilk substitute can work in a pinch, but real buttermilk is best.
- Vanilla extract. These cupcakes have a great vanilla flavor (but it’s not overpowering). We’re using a generous 1 ½ teaspoons for 12 cupcakes.
SAM’S TIP: Use room temperature ingredients! This helps your ingredients to combine properly when mixing. Ingredients of different temperatures could leave you with an unevenly mixed batter and dense cupcakes. I have a trick to quickly bring eggs to room temperature if you forget to set yours out ahead!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
Behind the Scenes: Recipe Testing
I rigorously tested many different variations of this vanilla cupcake recipe to make sure it truly was the best it could be. Here are notes on a few of the many versions we tried. Since readers often ask me if they can make changes I thought this would be helpful for those of you interested in substituting oil or cake flour or reducing the sugar, etc.
- Winning recipe: the softest cupcakes with best structure.They maintain their buttery flavor and soft texture well into the next day (and beyond!).
- Oil instead of butter: I expected these cupcakes to be softer and to stay softer, but they weren’t. The flavor also wasn’t as good as the winning recipe. If you were refrigerating the cupcakes, perhaps it would be softer, but I still recommend the winning recipe.
- Cake flour: this version had a tighter crumb and more cottony texture than the version made with all-purpose flour. It also seemed more dry than the others, which I attribute to the way the finer crumb melts on the tongue.
- Less sugar: using 2 tablespoons less brown sugar resulted in more domed, but also more dry cupcakes. It wasn’t worth the flavor or texture sacrifice for higher cupcake tops.
- Reverse creaming method: these tasted good, but they sunk and had a tighter crumb. I was surprised at how well they didn’t do, honestly!
How to Make Vanilla Cupcakes
Make the Cupcake Batter
- Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. This step is critical for the best light and fluffy texture, so don’t be shy about it!
- Stir in the egg and vanilla, making sure both are well incorporated.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually fold in about ¼ of the dry ingredients. Do not use your mixer for this–switch to a spatula!
- Fold in ¼ of the buttermilk until just combined.
- Repeat this process until you’ve added all the flour and buttermilk and your batter is completely combined. Remember, be careful not to over-mix!
- Divide the batter into your cupcake liners, filling ⅔-¾ of the way full. Do not overfill your liners, or you will have a mess on your hands. It’s better to discard any leftover batter versus trying to cram it into the liners.
- Bake until the tops spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs or clean.
SAM’S TIP: Over-mixing when adding the flour and buttermilk will cause your cupcakes to be dense and dry. You don’t want to under-mix (this is just as bad!), but do make sure you aren’t too overzealous either.
Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting
- Beat the butter until creamy, then stir in the salt. Gradually add the powdered sugar until completely combined.
- Stir in the vanilla bean paste until incorporated.
- Add the heavy cream as needed until you have a smooth frosting, then beat on high until fluffy.
- Pipe over your completely cooled cupcakes. I use the Ateco 848 tip for this!
SAM’S TIP: If you don’t plan to pipe your frosting as generously as I do here, you can halve the recipe. As written, it makes quite a lot of frosting!
Frequently Asked Questions
Frosted cupcakes will be fine at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days, but note that the fridge tends to dry out the cupcakes.
You can also freeze the cupcakes; just make sure to wrap them well and store in an airtight container. If you are trying to freeze frosted cupcakes, you may want to let the frosting firm up in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before wrapping and storing.
Yes! If you need 24 cupcakes instead of 12, feel free to double this recipe. You will need to double all ingredients (including the leavening agents and vanilla extract).
You could, and it’s even the basis for my birthday cake, but my personal preference for a classic layer cake is my vanilla cake recipe. It’s been one of my most popular recipes for years, so I think you will like it just as much as this one!
Note that if you do choose to make this batter into a cake, it’ll make a single 8″ or 9″ round layer, you will want to double the recipe for a two layer cake.
I shared an exclusive vanilla bean frosting recipe in the recipe card below; it’s the frosting shown in the photos and pairs beautifully with the cupcake recipe, letting the vanilla flavor really shine through the whole cupcake-eating experience. However, here are a few other great options:
Strawberry frosting
Cream cheese frosting
Chocolate frosting
Raspberry buttercream
Coffee frosting
Which frosting do you prefer on your vanilla cupcakes–chocolate or vanilla?
Enjoy!
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Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 large egg room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cup (167 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ¾ cup (175 ml) buttermilk room temperature preferred
Vanilla Bean Frosting
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 1-2 Tablespoons heavy cream as needed
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- Combine butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl — and use an electric hand mixer) and beat very on medium speed until well creamed and light and fluffy.6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar
- Add egg and vanilla extract and beat well.1 large egg, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.1 ⅓ cup (167 g) all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon table salt
- Use a spatula (not a mixer!) to gradually fold in about ¼ of the flour mixture until just combined.
- Add about ¼ cup of the buttermilk and use spatula to fold in until just combined.¾ cup (175 ml) buttermilk
- Continue to alternate until flour mixture and buttermilk are completely combined (I add the flour in 4 parts and the buttermilk in 3) — mix until batter is combined but be sure not to over-mix or your cupcakes could end up dense and dry.
- Fill cupcake liners ⅔-¾ of the way full with batter (do not over-fill, if you have any leftover batter discard it) and bake on 350F (175C) for 17-18 minutes or until tops spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs or clean.
- Allow cupcakes to cool in pans for 5 minutes before carefully removing to cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Vanilla Bean Frosting
- Beat butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Sprinkle salt over butter and stir again to combine.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, ¼ teaspoon table salt
- Gradually, about ½ cup at a time, add powdered sugar, waiting until each cup is completely mixed before adding more.3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar
- Stir in vanilla bean paste.1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- With mixer on medium-low speed, add the heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time until you have a smooth consistency. Once ingredients are well incorporated, gradually increase speed to high and beat for about 30 seconds.1-2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- Pipe or spread frosting over cooled cupcakes. Top with sprinkles, if desired. This frosting will be fine at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerated in an airtight container for about a week.
Notes
Doubling the recipe
This recipe doubles well; double all ingredients.Vanilla bean paste
If you can’t get your hands on vanilla bean paste, you can substitute 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract for a classic vanilla frosting.Frosting
This recipe makes enough frosting to generously pile the frosting on each cupcake (as shown in photos). If you want a modest amount of frosting, simply halve the recipe. Note that I previously used my favorite chocolate frosting to decorate these cupcakes instead of vanilla bean buttercream. Feel free to use that recipe if that’s what you prefer, or browse my frosting library for more options like:Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
I originally shared this Vanilla Cupcake Recipe 05/15/2017. Post has been updated and a video added. The recipe remains the same.
Michelle
I made these twice and both times the cake stuck to the cupcake liners. I measured my ingredients by grams and used everything at room temp. Any idea what I’m doing wrong or how I could prevent this? I used both paper and foil liners.
Sam
Hi Michelle! I am so sorry you are having this issue! I have never personally experienced this issue, could it be the brand of liners you are using?
Payal Maskara
What can we use instead of buttermilk?
Sam
Try my buttermilk substitute 🙂
Cheyenne
If you dont have heavy cream… what substitute works best
Sam
You can substitute with milk, you will need less because milk is thinner. You can also leave it out, your frosting will just be thicker.
Denise
Can I use white chocolate for this?
Sam
Do you mean for the frosting? If so that will work.
Elishah
These cupcakes were amazing! I forgot the brown sugar by accident, but the still came out beautifully. Thank so so much for this delicious recipe. Will try again soon!
Aku kara
Hello samy
Just wondering can I use Regular milk instead of buttermilk.
Can you please let me know ..
Sam
You could but the cupcakes won’t be as moist. I recommend using my buttermilk substitute if you can:
Alyssa
Hi! I was wondering if you could help me figure out what I’m doing wrong. I made the recipe the first time and they came out really odd and grainy and shrunk into themselves. I thought maybe I undermixed the batter so I tried the recipe a second time and made sure to mix it longer. Weirdly, I got the same result. I’m going by the grams measurements and measured everything exactly. I even tested my baking soda and powder to make sure they were still active and they are. I’m at a total loss. I’ve never had issues like this and bake all the time. Hopefully, you’ll have an idea! I love your recipes and really want this one to work!
Sam
Huh, that is really odd! I definitely have not had this happen with these cupcakes and if you’re using grams it’s obviously not an issue of over/under measured ingredients… I’m going to have to do some testing/troubleshooting to see what the problem is and I’m sorry you’re having this problem!
In the meantime, I know a few people have made my vanilla cake recipe as cupcakes with success (I haven’t made them as cupcakes myself) if you wanted to try that out.
Alyssa
Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I was just so confused! I have used the vanilla cake recipe for cupcakes several times and really enjoy it. I just wanted to give these a try too 😉 Let me know if you are able to figure anything out! Maybe I’ll try them again measuring regularly (without the grams).
mymbee
hey, I just tried this recipe and my cupcakes have become concave. what did i do wrong?
Sam
The batter may have been undermixed or they may have not cooked enough.
Jessie
Amazing! My sister and I are not big fans of vanilla anything, but these were so delicious we both were coming back for extras. Our cupcakes did look sightly different than yours, as ours had a nice, crispy, layer on top. Overall you definitely deserve more credit for this recipe. 🙂
Jessica
My 9 year old daughter and I just made these cupcakes and frosting. We do A LOT of baking and I have to say that there wasn’t one thing I would change about these. The cupcakes we moist and springy and the frosting was out of this world! I love how it tastes just like semi-sweet chocolate chips. We will be coming back to your recipe for years to come!
Sam
So thrilled to hear this!! Thank you for coming back and letting me know how you both enjoyed them, Jessica!! <3
Brittany Miller
Forgive me if this gets posted twice.
I am making these on Thursday and wanted to know if they would dry out before Saturday. It doesn’t sound like they would, but wanted to double check.
Thanks!
Sam
Brittany I’m so sorry I didn’t see this sooner! I think they would be fine, did you happen to try them? I’d love to know how they worked for you.
Karly
These are actual perfection. I mean come on, that cake is what heaven is made of an the frosting looks absolutely DIVINE. I need these in my life and soon!
Sam
You are so sweet, Karly, thank you!!
Dana F
I made them as soon as I got the email! I put cream cheese frosting on instead and they were devoured!
Mikaru86
Those look very delicious. Would the recipe also work as a larger cake? I’m looking for a light, fluffy vanilla cake recipe for my cake this weekend. And how would this scale to a 37×24.5cm (14.57×9.64″) pan?
Sam
Thanks! I hate saying this but I’m not 100% sure because I haven’t tried it that way, I would definitely recommend doubling the recipe for that size pan and I definitely *think* that it would work for a cake but since I haven’t tried it that way I can’t really say for sure, I’m sorry! If you do try it that way please let me know, and if I have some spare time this weekend/next week I will try it that way myself.
Mikaru86
Well, they seem firm enough that the recipe could be adapted to a cake, but I’m planning on baking the cake in one layer and then cutting it in half horizontally (like I did with the chocolate birthday cake: http://imgur.com/a/SxBJQ ), so I’m not entirely sure either.
Do you have any other light and fluffy vanilla cake recipes you would recommend? I’ve tried both the coconut cake (with and without the coconuts) and the Funfetti cake in the past and they were great, but not entirely what I’m looking for with this one.
Sam
Hmm I do think it would work if it were allowed to cool completely and maybe placed in the freezer before cutting/assembling. I’m sorry I don’t have a definite answer. :-/
I don’t have another vanilla cake that I’ve tried that I can recommend (sorry, that goes back to me pretty much exclusively seeking out chocolate recipes!), but my instinct is to refer you to Sally’s Baking Addiction: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2015/05/27/funfetti-layer-cake/, her recipes are phenomenal and here is a yellow cake that looks like it would suit your needs, I think? Does that help at all?
Mikaru86
Thanks!
I think I’ll give it a try with this recipe. I usually bake my cake layer(s) a day in advance and let them sit in the fridge over night anyway (and I plan to do so this time again). So I’m pretty confident that it should work. I might split the batter into two portions and bake the layers one at a time instead of baking one larger layer and cutting it in half, depending on how much time I have (I only have one of the large rectangular pans, so I would have to wait for the first layer to cool enough to take it out of the pan without breaking and then bake the second).
I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Sues
Yesss! I used to only like chocolate desserts, but now I’m SO into vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting. These ones look perfect!
Sam
Thank you so much, Sues! It was so nice meeting you at the conference!!