Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
This homemade vanilla cupcake recipe isn’t short of pure vanilla flavor! The cupcakes are moist, and the buttercream is smooth and creamy. This is the perfect dessert for any occasion!
If you think vanilla cupcakes are boring, you’ve clearly been eating the wrong ones.
When done properly, homemade vanilla cupcakes are moist, tender, and full of vanilla flavor. I’m happy to report that these cupcakes tick all the boxes, and then some!
I topped these vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting to stick with the vanilla theme, but you’re welcome to use any flavor of frosting you’d like. You can even add a few drops of food coloring to transform the cupcakes into a special holiday treat.
This scratch recipe is almost as easy to prepare as a box mix, but with 10 times more flavor!
Recipe Ingredients
This truly is the best vanilla cupcake recipe, in terms of both results and ingredients. It uses everyday ingredients I always have on hand, which is perfect for last-minute entertaining.
Here’s a quick summary of the key ingredients needed to make them:
- Flour: Be sure to spoon the flour out of the bag and into your measuring cup. If you scoop the flour out of the bag with the measuring cup, you’ll end up compacting it and will measure out too much by mistake. I have a full post that explains more about the spoon and level method here.
- Unsalted butter: I always use unsalted butter for baked goods because the amount of salt in salted butters can vary between brands. You may use salted butter in the cupcake batter, but you will need to reduce the salt to 1/8 teaspoon.
- Sugar: You’ll need one cup of granulated sugar to make the cupcake batter. These cupcakes are sweet, but the sugar doesn’t outshine the vanilla flavor.
- Vanilla extract: The vanilla is the star of the show, so it’s important to use a good-quality bottle. Pure vanilla extract is preferred.
- Sour cream: Full-fat sour cream adds moisture to the cupcakes and also ensures they’re sturdy enough to hold a lot of frosting while still remaining light and fluffy.
- Heavy cream: Produces the richest vanilla frosting, but whole milk or half and half will also work.
How to Make Vanilla Cupcakes
This is such an easy vanilla cupcake recipe that bakers of all levels can master. I’ve provided detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post, but here’s an overview of the baking process.
First, you’ll make the cupcakes:
- Prep the baking pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners. This recipe makes 14 cupcakes, so you’ll either need to use a second muffin pan or you can bake the cupcakes in batches.
- Combine the dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Combine the wet ingredients: In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy. This step may take about 4 to 5 minutes, so be patient! Then, add the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream.
- Finish the batter: Add the dry ingredients to the wet, taking care not to overmix the batter.
- Bake: Divide the batter among 14 cupcake liners and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
While the cupcakes are cooling, you can make the vanilla frosting:
- Beat the butter: Using either a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
- Add the remaining ingredients: Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and mix until combined, then mix in the heavy cream on low speed until smooth.
- Frost the cupcakes: Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, you may frost them. I have a full tutorial on how to frost cupcakes, if you need some assistance!
Can This Recipe Be Made in Advance?
Absolutely! The cupcakes can be baked 24 hours in advance. Let them cool completely, then store in an airtight container on your countertop. The frosting can be prepared 1 to 2 days in advance as well. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use. Allow the frosting to come to room temperature on the counter, then frost the cupcakes.
The frosted cupcakes may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge one to two days ahead of time. If you store them in the fridge, I’d recommend letting them come to room temperature on the counter before serving.
Can the Sour Cream Be Substituted?
I highly recommend using full-fat sour cream in this vanilla cupcake recipe if at all possible. The cupcakes won’t taste like sour cream at all, it simply adds moisture to the cupcakes.
If you’re out of sour cream, you may replace it with an equal amount of plain Greek yogurt. In a pinch, buttermilk will work, just note that using buttermilk will somewhat alter the texture of the cupcakes.
Can This Recipe Be Used to Make a Cake?
Yes, you can bake the batter in one 9-inch round cake pan and increase the baking time to 30 minutes. For a layered cake, you may double the recipe or try my classic vanilla cake recipe instead.
Other Frosting Options
I paired these vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, but you can top them with any flavor of frosting you’d like. Here are a few other options that you can try:
- Strawberry Frosting
- Peanut Butter Frosting
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Chocolate Buttercream
- Ermine Frosting
- Coffee Frosting
Baking Tips
- Bring all of the ingredients (eggs, butter, sour cream, etc.) to room temperature for best results. This helps the batter come together more evenly and makes for a better cupcake.
- Only mix in the dry ingredients until just combined! Over mixing the batter can lead to dense cupcakes.
- Make sure to only fill each cupcake liner a little over halfway full. It won’t seem like much, but the cupcakes will rise quite a bit as they’re baking in the oven.
- You must wait to frost the cupcakes until they’ve cooled completely to room temperature. If you try to frost them when they’re still warm, the frosting will melt and slide off.
More Easy Cupcake Recipes to Make!
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
Recipe Video
Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes:
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled (165 grams)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (115 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup full fat sour cream (120 grams)
Vanilla Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (230 grams)
- 3 cups confectioner's sugar (360 grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream (30ml)
Instructions
To make the vanilla cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second muffin pan with 2 liners (this recipe will make 14 cupcakes). Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Add in the sour cream and mix until fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined, making sure not to over mix the batter.
- Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them a little over half way full. You should end up with exactly 14 cupcakes.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Remove all of the cupcakes from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a hand-held mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth.
- Add in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla and mix on low until fully combined. Slowly add in the heavy cream and mix on low speed until the frosting is smooth and well combined.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired.
Notes
This recipe was amazing! The cupcakes were SO good!!! And the frosting, oh the frosting, it was so amazing. We also put some lemon juice and zest in the batter and it was even for splendid!!!!!!!
Between the sweetness and the sour cream, these were just ok. I liked how moist they turned out but the flavor just wasn’t what I was hoping for.
Hi Danielle,
I’m planning on baking these tomorrow for my coworker’s birthday on Monday. I will need to ice these cupcakes tomorrow evening. I was wondering if I should keep them in the fridge overnight or outside once I have iced the cupcakes? Unfortunately, I can’t put the icing right before serving them as I will be taking it to work on Monday morning. Thanks for your help!!
Hi, Lisa! I prefer to refrigerate them overnight. You can just sit them out a few hours head of time to come to room temperature. I hope that helps!
Made these today as I was hosting a bible study and they were a hit. It wa my first time making them. I was skeptical about the sour cream however…. let me tell you that my husband ate 3 cupcakes in one go… he said he had to make sure the taste was 100%… he was just enjoying himself.. will definitely be making these again
Hi
I tried your recipe and it turned out great. The sweetness was slightly higher for us. Will adjust the sweetness next time. Otherwise it was perfect texture and softness. I also tried your brownie. It was a super hit among my friends. Thanks for your help. I’m a beginner in baking. But I’m happy that I could make a best brownie and cupcake.
Is it okay to use milk instead of sour cream?
You probably can, but it will change that taste and texture of the cupcakes.
Fantastic! They turned out so well! And so tasty.
I wanted to make more this time, can this recipe be doubled?
Yes, that’s fine! Just make sure not to over mix the batter if you double it as that can lead to denser cupcakes.
The cupcakes turned out amazing but they were a tad too sweet. Would it be ok if I reduce the amount of sugar without impacting the final result? I love how moist they turned out so it would be great if I could modify the amount of sugar.
You could reduce the sugar in the cupcakes by about 1/4 cup. You can reduce the sugar in the frosting down to 2 cups too.
Great! I will try it. Thanks
Will the sour cream affect the way the cupcakes cook?
No, the sour cream just adds moisture to the cupcakes.
If I make the cupcakes and the icing on Sunday, can I leave the icing in the fridge then ice the cupcakes on Monday? It’s for a gender reveal and I won’t know whether or not to add pink or blue food colouring until Monday.
Yes, that’s fine. You’ll need to let the icing come to room temperature before frosting the cupcakes though.
These were delicious! And soooo easy! The batter was yummy, (yes, my kids and I will probably die from salmonella, but hey, it tasted good! ) thanks!
I use this recipe every time I bake they always turn out soooooooooo fluffy. Just donçt put them in the fridge if you don’t want them dense.
They also work with cakes and these cupcakes always turn out so delicious.
These cupcakes are AMAZING!
Can this recipe be used for cakes as well? If so, are there any tricks that I need to know about to make them bake well?
Yes, that would be fine! It would be enough for one 8 or 9-inch cake, so if you want a layered cake I would double the recipe.
Do you happen to know if these freeze well? Looking to make 8-10 days ahead and freeze. Birthday party is the day after we return from an out-of-state trip.
Yes, they freeze great! You can thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and bring them to room temperature on the counter the day you plan to frost and serve them.
Hi Danielle! I would love to try this recipe it looks really moist! by the way, do you think if I could make these into tea-infused flavor (e.g. earl grey), by infusing the milk with tea bags?
Again, thanks for sharing!
~Lexi
This recipe uses sour cream instead of milk 🙂 It may be okay to use milk in place of the sour cream and infuse it with tea, but I haven’t tried it.
Hi! I’ve made this recipe multiple times, I love these!!! I’m planning on making a batch this week for a family that has 3 birthdays all in a row. Would you have any directions for me if I wanted to make one recipe’s worth of cupcakes, but turn half of them into chocolate cupcakes? lol. The simplest way you would know how. I want half vanilla and half chocolate to satisfy all the palates… 🙂 I already have a chocolate frosting recipe so just for the cupcakes. And if no easy way for this recipe, do you have a chocolate cupcake recipe? These are so good I want the chocolate ones just as good!
I do have a chocolate cupcake recipe here! I would recommend using that one.
Danielle you are indeed an amazing baker. You are my go to baker at all times. I love the cup cake recipe and use it all the time i bake cupcakes. I have to make a large quantity of cup cakes, about 140/150, Do I simply multiply the recipe by 10. kindly advise.
Thank you
Thank you, I appreciate that! I haven’t tried baking these cupcakes in that large of a quantity, so it’s hard to say. I imagine that it would work, but you’ll want to take care not to over mix the batter if you’re making a large quantity.
Cupcakes turned out great, no complaints. I also made the frosting, and I found it really sweet. I’ll probably do 2 and a half cups instead of three for the confectioners sugar next time. I also didn’t have cream on hand, someone else said they used milk, so I did and the consistancy was still great!
Usually I’m hopeless at baking and my oven doesn’t help but these cupcakes were amazingly moist and delicious!! Thankyou xx
My new favorite vanilla cupcake and frosting recipe! The cupcakes and the frosting turned out perfectly. I made a half batch of frosting, as I like a moderate amount on my cupcakes. Delicious! This will be the recipe I use for many years to come. Thanks! Love, love, love!
I love these cupcakes when I made them I couldn’t finish eating them.
I am a 10 year old who made this with my grandma. It is so delicious and easy; I whipped it up in only about 45 minutes. I love this website, the cookies are delish & fun.
We love this recipe for cupcakes. Will is work well for a layer cake?
It will work for a layered cake, but you’ll want to double the recipe for two layers.
These are the best cupcakes I’ve ever ate. And the frosting was great! Thanks so much!
This is THE BEST recipe for cupcakes! they are moist and so, freaking, good. I started making them lemon flavor and coffee by just skipping so much vanilla and adding the different ingredient. SO GOOD
Hey I made these followed the directions however then they are cooked they tast amazing but when taking them. Out of the cases the bottom half separates from the bottom. Any suggestions how to stop this?
I’m not quite sure what would cause that. Did you let them cool before you tried to remove them? And did you use cupcake liners or something else?
So far this recipe has worked for me, I had all the ingredients (which NEVER happens) thank you for the easy to follow, detailed and simple recipe. Loved! ❤️?
Yummy
~ Natalie
I wanted to make cupcakes for a friend at the last minute and thought I had everything, unfortunately I was missing the sour cream. However I swapped it for plain (Greek) yogurt and followed your recipe and it came out wonderful. I’m so happy ?
I think this recipe is amazing! I didn’t have sour cream on hand, so I used greek yogurt instead. I made 27 mini muffins. They turned out perfectly! I made them because Sunday Nov. 10 is vanilla cake day! 🙂 I didn’t make the icing because they are going to be sides for ice cream sundaes. Give this recipe a try!
This recipe was incredible! I followed all of the directions except I didn’t have sour cream and substituted the same amount of milk and they turned out amazing! My boyfriend had them until his stomach became sore so I’d defs say they were a hit, lol!
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe was amazing very tasty, always tried to make the vanilla flavor and never worked. Your recipe was perfect, thanks!
Thank you for this recipe. Came out awesome.