Believe it or not, out of all of the many desserts I make these simple vanilla cupcakes are the most requested treat among my circle of friends. Being friends with me does mean I will be taking cake and cupcake requests for birthday parties.
I’ve made this recipe for years and was SHOCKED when I realized it wasn’t on the blog, so I’m fixing that now and sharing this Super-easy and really delicious recipe with you. I made them for a friend’s birthday recently and the next day she texted me “How are they so moist on day two?!?” -That’s how good they are.
Pro Tips for Moist, Amazing Vanilla Cupcakes
- Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- A bit of advice on the ingredients. You can get the cheapest flour, sour cream, milk and even butter but you have to get good vanilla for this recipe! It’s the main flavor and you want it to shine so go find a good real vanilla extract and it you want to get points for being fancy use some vanilla bean paste too while you’re at it. People love seeing the little specks of vanilla in the cupcakes.
- Feel free to modify this recipe! I especially love to make these cupcakes with a dollop of Italian meringue buttercream on top as it’s less sweet and lighter (Tasting not calories) than American buttercream or other frosting options.
- You can definitely add sprinkles to this, 1/3 of a cup should do, to make this an amazing funfetti cupcake!
- Cupcakes liners come in different sizes and everyone’s oven is slightly different. I like to turn my pan halfway through baking and toward the end of the baking time I keep a close eye on the oven.
- Once the centers are springy and a toothpick comes out clean the cupcakes are ready. Being watchful at the end lessens the chances of having caramelized dark edges on your cupcake, ensuring it’s light, soft, and moist!
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will these cupcakes keep for?
- These cupcakes are fine overnight, if left covered. You can refrigerate them for three days but they should come to room temperature before eating. Butter-based cake needs to warm up a bit.
- If unfrosted you can wrap and freeze the cupcakes for up to two months.
Can you make this cupcake recipe with whole eggs?
YES! I skip the yolks for a whiter cake but you can use the whole egg, just reduce the sour cream by 1/4 a cup.
Butter vs. Oil
I LOVE the taste of butter, which is why I’ve used it in this recipe but if you’re making cupcakes in advance and will be chilling them then you may want to sub in some vegetable oil or replace the butter all together. An oil based cake will stay softer when cold.
Which Type of Frosting is best for Vanilla Cupcakes?
American buttercream: Sweet and Easy
Beat the room temperature butter with powdered sugar, a pinch of salt and some vanilla extract. Super fast and a total crowd pleaser. Check out my vanilla buttercream post for all the tips and tricks as well as a full how to video!
Swiss and Italian Meringue Buttercream: Silky, light and not too sweet
Swiss and Italian buttercream are both meringue-based so you’ll be adding butter to a meringue made with egg whites and sugar. The result is light as air, smooth as silk and totally delicious. Not very sweet but really they let the cake shine though. I’ve got a very popular recipes with videos for both, click here for Swiss and here for Italian!
French Buttercream: Pipe-able custard
French buttercream is made with egg yolks, sugar and butter so it naturally has a beautiful pale yellow color. It tastes like a custard and has enough structure to pipe easily. Very underrated and you can use the extra egg yolks from this recipe to make it! Click over to my French buttercream post for the full recipe and how to video.
How to Make Vanilla Cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake papers in a cupcake tin. In a large bowl add the flour, leavening agents, salt and sugar.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients together until well combined then set aside.
3. Separate the room temperature eggs. Reserve the yolks for a custard or use them to make a batch of French Buttercream!
4. Add the sour cream, milk, vanilla, melted butter and egg whites to a bowl and whisk together. The mixture will probably not be completely smooth as the butter might clump up a bit but it will be fine so don’t fret!
5. Add the wet mixture to the dry.
6. Whisk batter together until smooth. Don’t over beat it though, you’re really just mixing until combined.
7. Scoop the batter into the cupcake papers and fill about 2/3 the way up and bake at 350F for about 18 minutes or until the centers JUST spring to the touch.
8. Allow cupcakes to cool completely in the muffin tin then top with a dollop of vanilla buttercream and enjoy. I’m using an 849 tip in the photo above but any star tip will do nicely.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this homemade vanilla cupcake recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Moist Vanilla Cupcakes
Video
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 213g
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 170g, melted
- 3 egg whites room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract 15mL
- 1/2 cup sour cream 120mL, room temperature
- 1/2 cup whole milk 120mL, warm
For the Vanilla Buttercream:
- 2 lb confectioners sugar 900g, sifted
- 1 lb unsalted butter 450g, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 tsp whole milk
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake papers in a cupcake pan.
- Sift the flour, sugar salt, baking soda and powder into a large bowl, and whisk together.
- Separate the eggs. You can use the yolks for a custard or a batch French buttercream.
- In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until combined. (The batter may be clumpy, do not worry!)
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Distribute the batter evenly into cupcake papers, filling each paper with about 2/3 the way up.
- Bake for about 18 minutes or until centers are springy to the touch.
For the Buttercream:
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter. Add in the confectioners sugar in two batches. Add salt, milk, cream and vanilla. Mix until fluffy.
- Transfer to a piping bag.
- Pipe a large dollop of buttercream on each cupcake.
Sandhya says
Hi I tried ur cupcakes tasted awesome but the only problem I had was after taking out from oven it was wilted. I tried two times same thing happend. Again I will try this week any suggestions? And how much time for mini cupcakes?
jkanell says
Hi Sandhya! It sounds like the cupcakes are under-baked in the middle. They might need a few more minutes in the oven.
Jasmin Davis says
Hi John was wondering if instead of the vanilla extract…i can use almond extract instead ? And for the buttercream use almond extract also instead of the vanilla?
Your opinion?
Out of vanilla at the moment.
Christi says
Made this for a church event & they were a HUGE hit!! I sent the leftovers with my husband to work. Even though they were 3 days old at that point, his coworkers LOVED them!! Definitely going to become my go to recipe for cupcakes.
I do however have a question. Where could I find a sifter like yours? (Particularly the 2nd one in your video). I’ve never sifted my ingredients & want to step up my baking skills. Thank you!
jkanell says
I’m so happy they were a hit! That sifter is from Bed Bath and Beyond I think!
Beth says
The cupcakes turned out really good. My only complaint was that after 13 minutes they were over done on the edges and rose to a tall peak in the middle. This usually means the oven is too hot correct? I did it at 350°F and my oven temperate has always been pretty accurate. What went wrong? I will say, I expected them to be pretty dry because of this, but they were still pretty moist. They must be even better when cooked properly so I rated them five stars still. ?
Random says
Can I use granulized iodized salt instead?
jkanell says
sure!
Alyssa Winters says
Hey John, I like vanilla flavour cupcake and I like your blog also. The recipe you have provided is very nice and easy, I will try it once at my home. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Erik says
John, I’m a brand-new baker. I’ve made these twice per your instructions and they came out fantastic. In fact, these are the first cupcakes I’ve ever made. I brought my first batch to a holiday party and received multiple, positive remarks. Tonight, I topped a second batch with a (fresh) raspberry-lime Swiss meringue, which I feel paired well with this recipe.
I’ve also made your peppermint chocolate cake. While not as visually successful (as yours), it also tasted very good, was well-balanced in flavor, and very well received
Thank you for sharing your recipes and techniques! I’ve already come to rely on them for early instruction as a beginner and look forward to trying many more.
jkanell says
Thanks so much Erik!
Sylvia says
These are delicious! However every time, this recipe makes 19 cupcakes, not sure if I’m doing something wrong?
John K. says
Hi Sylvia,
Try adding a little less batter to each cupcake paper. That may do the trick!
Best,
John
Veer says
Is there any vanilla cake recipe with using oil, because i have to make a cake for my niece and she is allergic to butter, i was browsing through your website till this time and couldnt find a oil vanilla cake, i saw the oil chocolate cake but I’m looking for an oil vanilla cake, waiting for your response at the earliest
jkanell says
I think you could use oil and it would be ok.
Steve says
These came out pretty yummy! I could have baked a few more minutes though as the cupcake kind of stuck to the wrapper, but all good. The buttercream came out so delicious, I want to just eat it out the bowl! The cakes are light and fluffy. Not as much vanilla as I’d prefer, but to each their own. Next batch, I’ll add an extra teaspoon. Overall though, these are great. Can’t say much about my piping skills, but practice makes perfect.