These moist mini cupcakes with an unbelievably tender crumb are a crowd-pleasing dessert for your next gathering. Top with a classic vanilla buttercream, or change it up with different frosting recipes. I like to add colorful sprinkles for a pop of color, but you can also garnish with fresh fruit or crumbled candy.
Feel free to make a double batch of mini cupcakes and store them unfrosted in the freezer to have on hand for your next gathering. They freeze well for up to 3 months! And for more cupcake recipes, try my vanilla cupcake recipe, chocolate cupcake recipe, or strawberry cupcakes.
Ingredients
Flour — cake flour gives mini cupcakes a super light, delicate crumb. If you don’t have this in your pantry, you can easily make my cake flour substitute!
Baking powder — baking powder helps the cupcakes rise and turn out fluffy.
Sugar — granulated sugar sweetens the cupcakes.
Butter — melted and cooled unsalted butter adds richness to the cupcakes and makes an easy stir-together batter. You can swap this with vegetable oil, if preferred.
Egg — an egg helps to bind the ingredients in the batter.
Vanilla — use good vanilla extract, not vanilla essence or flavoring, which is synthetically flavored.
Milk — whole milk adds moisture and richness.
Vanilla buttercream — you need unsalted butter, a pinch of salt, confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract whipped together for the vanilla frosting.
How To Make Mini Cupcakes
1. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the granulated sugar, cooled melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract.
3. Whisk vigorously until the mixture thickens slightly and lightens in color.
4. Add the milk and whisk to combine.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until all the flour is moistened and the batter is smooth.
6. Line a 24-cup mini muffin tin with mini cupcake liners. Fill the liners about two-thirds of the way full with a tablespoon of cupcake batter. Bake at 350°F for about 12 minutes. Let the mini cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
7. Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and salt until creamy. Sift in the confectioners’ sugar and add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream and the vanilla extract. Beat on low speed just until combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes until the buttercream frosting is fluffy.
8. Transfer the vanilla buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe about 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of icing on top of each cupcake.
Don’t Overfill The Cupcake Liners
Only fill each cupcake liner two-thirds of the way, using about 1 tablespoon of batter per cupcake. This gives the cupcakes room to rise without spilling over onto the pan, which can cause them to stick to the pan and burn the edges or break when you try to remove them.
Decorating Ideas
- Use your favorite frosting: You can’t go wrong with a classic vanilla buttercream frosting, but chocolate buttercream and strawberry buttercream are also delicious. For a slightly tangy flavor, you can use cream cheese frosting or even chocolate cream cheese frosting instead of buttercream.
- Add sprinkles or candies: For pops of festive color, top the frosted mini cupcakes with sprinkles (nonpareils or jimmies both work very well), crumbled candies, or chopped up chocolate bars. This is a great way to customize these mini desserts for occasions like birthday parties, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, or Christmas!
- Garnish with fresh fruit: For a fresh element, press sliced fruit like berries, kiwi, and citrus into the frosting.
Flavor Variations
- Add citrus zest or extract: To add a bright, citrusy kick, add 1 tablespoon of citrus zest or ½ to 1 teaspoon of citrus extract to the batter when adding the vanilla.
- Make mini chocolate cupcakes: Simply swap ¼ cup of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-processed).
- Add sprinkles to the batter: Stir 2 tablespoons of sprinkles into the batter at the end of step 4.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Weigh the flour. To avoid using too much flour, weigh it with a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff the flour in its container, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level off the top with a knife.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Set the egg, milk, and butter (for the frosting) out in advance. They are easier to incorporate with other ingredients if they are not straight out of the refrigerator.
- You can use all-purpose flour in place of the cake flour if that is what you have. Cake flour makes perfectly fluffy cupcakes, with a delicate crumb, so it’s preferred, but they will still be delicious when made with AP flour.
- For extra moist cupcakes, use 2 tablespoons of sour cream and 2 tablespoons of whole milk instead of ¼ cup whole milk.
- If you don’t have a 24-cup mini cupcake pan, cover any remaining batter and refrigerate it while the first batch bakes.
- Frost the cupcakes once they are completely cool. If the cupcakes are still warm, the frosting may melt and slide right off!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, feel free to double the recipe to make 48 mini vanilla cupcakes.
Store mini cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Let them come to room temperature before serving.
Yes, you can freeze unfrosted mini cupcakes in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw them completely before frosting.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this mini cupcakes recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Mini Cupcakes Recipe
Equipment
- Handheld electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment
- 24 cup mini muffin pan
- Mini muffin liners
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- ¾ cup cake flour (90g)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled (56g)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup whole milk room temperature (60ml)
For the Vanilla Buttercream:
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature (56g)
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar (240g)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cooled butter, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk vigorously for 1 minute until the mixture thickens slightly and lightens in color. (You can also use a handheld electric mixer on medium speed). Whisk in the milk until completely combined.
- Add the flour mixture and whisk until all the flour is moistened and the batter is smooth.
- Line a 24-cup mini muffin tin with paper liners. Use a leveled, 1 tablespoon-sized measuring spoon (or triggered cookie scoop) to fill the liners about two-thirds of the way full.
- Bake for about 12 minutes, until the tops of the muffins are set and spring back when pressed.
- Let cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Buttercream:
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl, using a handheld mixer), cream the butter and salt for 2 minutes or until creamy.
- Sift in the confectioner’s sugar and add 1 tablespoon of cream and the vanilla. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, just until combined. If the frosting feels dry, mix in additional heavy cream, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes until fluffy and creamy.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star tip—pipe about 1½ tablespoons of icing on top of each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles, if you like.
Notes
- Weigh the flour. To avoid using too much flour, weigh it with a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff the flour in its container, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level off the top with a knife.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Set the egg, milk, and butter (for the frosting) out in advance. They are easier to incorporate with other ingredients if they are not straight out of the refrigerator.
- You can use all-purpose flour in place of the cake flour if that is what you have. Cake flour makes perfectly fluffy cupcakes, with a delicate crumb, so it’s preferred, but they will still be delicious when made with AP flour.
- For extra moist cupcakes, use 2 tablespoons of sour cream and 2 tablespoons of whole milk instead of ¼ cup whole milk.
- If you don’t have a 24-cup mini cupcake pan, cover any remaining batter and refrigerate it while the first batch bakes.
- Frost the cupcakes once they are completely cool. If the cupcakes are still warm, the frosting may melt and slide right off!
