Vanilla Cupcakes
Soft, fine-crumbed vanilla cupcakes with a silky vanilla buttercream — the reliable base recipe every baker needs.
Every baker needs one vanilla cupcake that works every time — for birthdays, bake sales, and last-minute “can you bring dessert?” texts. These use the reverse-creaming method: butter is worked into the dry ingredients first, which gives a fine, tender crumb that domes gently instead of peaking.
Real vanilla matters here more than in any chocolate recipe — it's the entire flavor. Extract is perfect; a scraped vanilla bean in the buttercream is a lovely upgrade.
Recipe
Vanilla Cupcakes
Fine-crumbed vanilla cupcakes made with the reverse-creaming method, topped with silky vanilla buttercream.
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- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 18 min
- Total
- 43 min
- Servings
- 12
- Yield
- 12 cupcakes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Course
- Dessert
- Cuisine
- American
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened, cubed)
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Vanilla buttercream
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Equipment
- 12-cup muffin pan
- Paper liners
- Hand or stand mixer
- Piping bag (optional)
Instructions
Cupcakes
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a 12-cup muffin pan.
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the cubed butter and mix on low until the texture is like damp sand.
Whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla; add to the bowl in two additions, beating 20 seconds after each.
Fill the liners two-thirds full and bake 16–19 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
Buttercream
Beat the butter 3 minutes until pale. Add the powdered sugar in two additions on low speed.
Add the cream, vanilla and salt; beat 2 minutes until silky. Pipe or spread onto the cooled cupcakes.
Storage
Airtight at room temperature up to 2 days, refrigerated up to 4 — serve at room temperature.
Freezing
Un-frosted cupcakes freeze up to 2 months.
Reheating
Not needed; let chilled cupcakes stand 20 minutes.
Substitutions
- Whole milk: Buttermilk for a slightly tangier, even more tender crumb.
Common mistakes
- Overfilling the liners — Two-thirds full, no more — overfilled cups mushroom and collapse.
Nutrition (per serving)
| Fat (g) | 17 |
|---|---|
| Sugar (g) | 36 |
| Sodium (mg) | 190 |
| Protein (g) | 3 |
| Calories | 350 |
| Saturated fat (g) | 10 |
| Carbs (g) | 47 |
Nutrition information is an estimate calculated from the listed ingredients.
From our test kitchen
Reverse creaming beat standard creaming in our blind taste test for evenness and tenderness.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my cupcakes sink in the middle?
Usually underbaking or opening the oven too early. We cover every cause in why cakes sink.
Can I double the recipe?
Yes, it doubles cleanly to 24. Rotate the pans halfway through baking.
Maya is Serenity Sweets' recipe tester and resident cookie obsessive. She re-bakes every recipe in a different oven with supermarket ingredients to make sure the instructions survive contact with a real kitchen.
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