White Cupcakes

White cupcake that's been unwrapped to show a snow white crumb.

My white cupcake recipe makes beautiful, snow white cupcakes with a fluffy and tender texture. Top them with my whipped vanilla buttercream, or use your favorite frosting!

Recipe includes a how-to video!

Course cupcakes, Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 17

Total Time 32

Servings cupcakes

Calories 183kcal

Author Sam Merritt

Equipment

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60 ml) neutral cooking oil avocado, canola, or vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons clear vanilla see note
¼ teaspoon almond extract optional
1 ½ cups (172 g) cake flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk room temperature preferred
3 large egg whites room temperature preferred
½ batch vanilla frosting (see note) or your favorite frosting

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
Place butter in a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) and use an electric mixer to beat the butter until smooth and creamy.
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Add sugar and oil and beat until creamy and well-combined.
¾ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup neutral cooking oil
Add vanilla and almond extract and stir until combined.
1 ½ teaspoons clear vanilla, ¼ teaspoon almond extract
In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
1 ½ cups cake flour, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
Add a portion (about a third) of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and use a spatula to gently fold into the batter until just combined. Add about half of the buttermilk and fold again using a spatula. Repeat, gently mixing by hand until all of the flour mixture and buttermilk have been added and the batter is just combined.
½ cup buttermilk
In a separate mixing bowl (see note), use an electric mixer to beat egg whites on low-speed, gradually increase to high speed and continue to beat until stiff peaks form (batter will be thick, voluminous, fluffy, and the peak that forms when you remove the beater from the mixture will hold its shape and not fold in on itself).
3 large egg whites
Use a spatula to gently fold the egg whites into your batter. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so all ingredients are thoroughly combined, but take care to not over-mix.
Evenly divide the batter into the prepared cupcake tin, filling not more than ¾ of the way full.
Bake in center rack of 350F (175C) preheated oven for 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Allow cupcakes to cool completely before decorating with frosting (I used my vanilla buttercream frosting).
½ batch vanilla frosting

Video

Notes

Vanilla flavoring

Clear vanilla flavoring, rather than pure vanilla extract, is used here to give the cupcakes the most pure-white color possible (real vanilla is brown and can color the cupcakes). If that doesn’t concern you, feel free to substitute real vanilla extract.

Cake flour

I recommend cake flour for best, lightest results. All-purpose flour could be substituted in a pinch (you would use 1 ⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon or 175g) but the cupcakes won’t be as light and fluffy.

Egg whites

I recommend avoiding store-bought egg whites (the kind sold in cartons) as readers have reported mixed results when attempting to whip these to stiff peaks. When separating your eggs, make sure to separate the whites into a clean, dry, grease-free bowl and make sure not even a little bit of yolk is mixed with them.

Note for egg whites mixing bowl

Use a completely clean, dry, and grease-free mixing bowl and beaters. I recommend avoiding silicone, plastic, or rubber when beating egg whites as well.

Doubling

This recipe doubles well for 24 cupcakes.

Storing

Store in an airtight container at room temperature (frosting permitting) for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. These cupcakes may also be wrapped and frozen for several months.

Vanilla Frosting

For the cupcakes in these photos and in the video, I made a half-batch of my favorite vanilla frosting but substituted clear vanilla for the extract. I piped the frosting with the Ateco 846 tip (you can find all of my favorite cake supplies in my Amazon shop).

Nutrition