These Vanilla Cupcakes will easily become your go-to cupcake recipe! These soft, buttery cupcakes are completely from scratch using the reverse creaming method. It’s the best vanilla cupcake you will ever taste!
Top these with my Perfect Buttercream for the perfect birthday cupcake!
Everyone Needs a Vanilla Cupcake Recipe That Always Turns Out Perfect!
Today we’re taking it back to basics! This vanilla cupcake recipe is one I shared many years ago, back in 2013 but I thought needed an update. The recipe remains the same, but I wanted to include some more tips and tricks for ultimate cupcake success. PLUS, I felt like they needed some pretty new pictures!
A classic vanilla cupcake might seem like a basic or no-brainer type of recipe to bake, but I will tell you that it took me many years to perfect! There was a lot of trial and error that went into this recipe to get the texture moist, light, and soft! So many recipes I have tried in the past have been too dense, or too dry, or too too oily. But this one is soft, buttery, and light in texture with the perfect dome.
How To Make The Best Vanilla Cupcakes
The trick I use in this vanilla cake recipe is the Reverse Creaming Method. I have used this in a few other recipes on my site, like my Confetti Cupcakes and LOVE how they turn out. Reverse creaming produces an ultra-fine crumb, which makes these cupcakes super tender!
What Is Reverse Creaming?
Reverse Creaming is when you mix the butter into the dry ingredients before mixing in the remaining ingredients and liquids. Generally when you bake a cake you cream the butter and sugar together to start and then add the dry ingredients in alternating additions with the wet.
Reverse creaming evenly combines the butter into the dry ingredients creating a coarse sand texture, coating all the dry ingredients with fat, and then add in the remaining ingredients. We’re always told when making cake batter NOT TO OVER MIX! because over-mixing batter can cause more gluten to form, creating a denser, less light and airy cake. BUT reverse creaming coats the flour in fat which minimizes gluten formation. This also creates smaller air particles being formed in the mixing, producing a finer crumb, and a perfect dome.
Ingredients:
- Cake flour
- All purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Kosher salt
- Room temperature butter
- Large eggs
- Milk
- Vanilla extract. I like to use pure vanilla to impart the most vanilla flavor. Adding vanilla beans or vanilla bean paste will really amp this up too!
Let’s get started, the process is super easy, but just make sure to follow a few quick steps to ensure perfection!
- Prepare oven and muffin tin. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add the cake flour, all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and stir together using paddle attachment for 1 minute on low speed.
- Add butter and eggs. With mixer still on low, drop in butter, a few cubes at a time, continuing until all butter is in and mixer resembles coarse sand. The add in the eggs one at a time until combined.
- Add milk and vanilla. With mixer still on low slowly pour in milk and vanilla. Turn the mixer to medium and beat for 2 minutes until batter is smooth, scraping sides of bowl as necessary, making sure batter is well combined.
- Add batter to cupcake tin and bake. Fill liners 2/3 full (about 1/4 cup batter) and bake for 15-20 minutes until centers are set and toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool and decorate! Allow to cool completely before frosting.
What Frosting Recipe Should I Use On Vanilla Cupcakes?
- Buttercream. Of course this is my go-to on vanilla cupcakes! It’s a traditional American Buttercream made with butter and powdered sugar/confectioners sugar and it’s what I have frosted on the cupcakes in the pictures featured here!
- Chocolate Frosting. A vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting is a classic, and my Creamy Chocolate Frosting Recipe is the BEST!
- Perfect Party Frosting. This recipe is a marshmallow buttercream with sprinkles INSIDE! It’s a fantastic recipe!
- Pumpkin Butter Frosting. This is a great recipe to give your cupcakes a fall twist!
- 2 Ingredient White Chocolate Buttercream. Creamy, decadent, with the perfect amount of sweetness, this recipe is silky and rich!
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Cream Cheese Frosting
Feel free to get creative with your frosting. I used a Wilton 1M tip for the swirls in these photos, and it’s my go-to piping tip! And of course don’t forget the sprinkles!
Print
My Favorite Vanilla Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 24 cupcakes 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This vanilla cupcake recipe is easy, soft, and moist! The perfect birthday cupcake topped with a tall swirl of frosting!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup cake flour
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup butter, room temperature, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare oven and muffin tin. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add the cake flour, all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and stir together using paddle attachment for 1 minute on low speed.
- Add butter and eggs. With mixer still on low, drop in butter, a few cubes at a time, continuing until all butter is in and mixer resembles coarse sand. The add in the eggs one at a time until combined.
- Add milk and vanilla. With mixer still on low slowly pour in milk and vanilla. Turn the mixer to medium and beat for 2 minutes until batter is smooth, scraping sides of bowl as necessary, making sure batter is well combined.
- Add batter to cupcake tin and bake. Fill liners 2/3 full (about 1/4 cup batter) and bake for 15-20 minutes until centers are set and toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool and decorate! Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Notes
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 168
- Sugar: 15.2 g
- Sodium: 90.9 mg
- Fat: 4.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 28.5 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 31.2 mg
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Can this recipe be turned into a cake? If, so how long would it need to be baked?
I believe it would work, yes. I would bake it for 20-25 minutes. But check with a toothpick.
Hi!
I’ve been looking for a go to Vanilla cake recipe and I want to try yours.. But one question, how can I make Cake Flour or can I substitute it with something?
Thanks!
Here’s a recipe for making cake flour… http://www.food.com/recipe/how-to-make-cake-flour-424532
These look great but like Jillian I was wondering if you use salted or unsalted butter?
I always use salted, but it’s a matter of taste preference.
I’ve just done this, it’s so delicious, so amazing, so adorable. Thanks so much for sharing this :X:X:X
FAB U LOUS!!!!!!!!!!
BTW – a double batch fits in the KA.
A double batch made a 10″ (7 ish cups batter – yes I measured in a 3″ high pan) and a o8″ (3 1/2 ish cups in a 3″ high pan) Also got 4 cupcakes…bonus!!!!!!!!!
What would be your favorite buttercream for under fondant?
Can’t wait to try your other recipes!
I was wondering about the butter….did you use unsalted, or salted butter? I know with baking it’s usually best to go with unsalted, but I just wanted to make sure first. I can’t wait to try these! Thanks!
Ha ha – this is too funny and SO true! If you can’t do a basic vanilla cake then what kind of baker are you?! Can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend.
This recipe is PERFECTION! I’m so happy I found it after a disastrous cupcake attempt last weekend, these came out light and fluffy and delicious. Like Tammie, my domes shrunk slightly as they cooled, but nonetheless, what a great recipe. It will be my go-to vanilla cupcake recipe from now on. Thank you!
Hi,
These cupcakes look amazing – exactly the texture I’m looking for. I’m sure it can be made into any size cake…correct? Is it sturdy enough for fondant?
Thanks so much – I’m looking forward to checking out your site!!!!!!!
Absolutely you could use this for fondant!
Have been searching for THE vanilla cupcake recipe for awhile and thought I’d give these a try. The mixing method was almost too easy and I was skeptical. After taking these out of the oven I was impressed with how beautiful they looked – perfect domes! Let them sit for 5 min and checked on them and the perfect little domes fell. 🙁 So sad. I thought, “we’ll back to the drawing board.” Then I took a bite… Oh sweet heaven! Perfect taste and ahhhhmazing texture! Best texture ever! Total forgiveness on the domes! They’ll be covered in frosting anyway. 🙂
Thnx so much for sharing this recipe!
Tammie–Exact same thing happened to me! Took them out of the oven with perfect domes then they shrunk! But, the taste and texture is amazing! Did you figure out why that happened? Will definitely make again! Thanks for sharing!