A truly perfect Vanilla Cupcake recipe! These Vanilla Cupcakes are easy to make, moist, and bake up beautifully every time! Light, fluffy and flavorful! Got the baking bug? Try my Lemon Cupcakes and Chocolate Cupcakes too!
Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe
This week I’ve made 6 batches of vanilla cupcakes and a vanilla cake. I feel like my oven has been on for 42 hours straight! =) What are all these cupcakes for, you might ask. Well, for me… and for science, and for you too. Confused yet? I’ll explain…
I have been on a search for a perfect vanilla cupcake recipe for several years. I have tried Martha’s, Magnolia’s, Billy’s and Amy Sedaris’. I’ve read the Cake Bible from cover to cover (really!). I’ve googled until I can’t google anymore! Some of the recipes were good, just not perfect. I’ve considered just giving up… maybe my expectations were to high. I wanted a vanilla cupcake recipe that was as light and fluffy as a box mix, but without all the funny chemicals. I wanted a cupcake that was flavorful and moist. And I wanted it to be almost as easy to make from scratch as from a box.
The BEST Vanilla Cupcakes
This week, I wasn’t going to stop until I found what I was looking for. So I baked and baked… then went to the store for more butter and sugar, and baked some more! I tried recipes with butter, oil, or some of both… recipes with milk, buttermilk, or sour cream… 1 egg, 2 eggs, 5 eggs… baking powder, baking soda… bake at 350*, bake at 325*…
I made cupcakes that were lopsided, over-flowing, over-baked, and just plain ugly…
And then I made these…
They looked beautiful and tasted perfect, so I double checked all my notes to make sure I could remember what I put in them… then I made another batch to make sure it was THE ONE.
They were just as perfect!! I think I heard angels singing….
I am SO happy to share the results of my many experiments! These cupcakes were absolutely delicious and I look forward to making them again and again. Now certainly, peoples tastes and preferences vary greatly. I love these, my husband (my #1 taste tester) loves them, and I hope many of you will too. As with any recipe, it is very important to use the best quality ingredients you can.
Ingredients Needed
You will notice the recipe calls for cake flour, which is a bit more expensive than all-purpose flour, but I have found it is essential to produce the light and fluffy texture I was looking for. Also, the recipe uses oil instead of butter. I realized most cupcake recipes (from scratch) call for butter, and yet box mixes (which have the texture I was looking for) are baked using oil.
I was concerned that using only oil would leave the cupcakes without adequate flavor, but I found that with good quality vanilla, these cupcakes are delicious and flavorful.
- 1 1/4 cups cake flour
- 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup oil (vegetable, canola or extra light olive oil)
- 1/3 cup milk (whole or low fat, but avoid fat free)
- 1/3 cup sour cream (full fat or light, but avoid fat free)
How To Make Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350*F.
- In a medium bowl, add cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together with whisk, and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs and beat 10-20 seconds. Add sugar and continue to beat on medium speed about 30 seconds. Add vanilla and oil, beat.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add about half of the flour mixture. Add the milk, then the rest of the flour and the sour cream. Beat until just combined. Scrap down the side of the bowl.
- The batter will be thin. Pour batter into a muffin pan prepared with paper liners. Fill liners about 2/3 full.
- Bake cupcakes in pre-heated oven for 12-14 minutes.
- Cool in pan 1-2 minutes, then remove cupcakes from pan (carefully) and finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Frost as desired when fully cool. I love to use my favorite Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting recipe.
- Feel free to use this recipe for a cake as well. The recipe above will work for a 6″ cake. Double the recipe for an 8″ or 9″ cake.
* A note about Cake Flour- Cake Flour has a lower protein content than traditional all-purpose flour, which results in a more tender, delicate crumb in the finished product. If you can not find or access cake flour, feel free to substitute as necessary, but your results will vary from the original recipe.
RECIPE UPDATES
I have made this recipe many times with success, but in an effort to always be improving (even great recipes) I’ve made a couple small updates to this recipe (which are now listed in the recipe card).
My original recipe included 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder (now reduced to 3/4), 3/4 cup sugar (now increased to 1 cup) and 1/2 cup buttermilk (now updated to 1/3 cup milk, 1/3 cup sour cream).
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More Cupcake Recipes
How To Make Vanilla Cupcakes
Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups cake flour
- 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup oil vegetable, canola or extra light olive oil
- 1/3 cup milk whole or low fat, but avoid fat free
- 1/3 cup sour cream full fat or light, but avoid fat free
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350*F.
- In a medium bowl, add cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together with whisk, and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs and beat 10-20 seconds. Add sugar and continue to beat on medium speed about 30 seconds. Add vanilla and oil, beat.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add about half of the flour mixture. Add the milk, then the rest of the flour and the sour cream. Beat until just combined. Scrap down the side of the bowl.
- The batter will be thin. Pour batter into a muffin pan prepared with paper liners. Fill liners about 2/3 full.
- Bake cupcakes in pre-heated oven for 12-14 minutes.
- Cool in pan 1-2 minutes, then remove cupcakes from pan (carefully) and finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Frost as desired when fully cool. I love to use my favorite cream cheese frosting or buttercream frosting with these cupcakes.
This is my new go-to vanilla recipe!! I made them last weekend for my birthday and they were amazing, even my picky 10 year old couldn’t stop eating them and commenting on how good they were. I wonder if different extracts can be substituted for the vanilla, like coconut perhaps…any thoughts? Thx for this recipe!
Thank you for answering my question, Glory! Can’t wait to make these again 🙂
Hey Glory! I was wondering if you could slightly alter this recipe to make it tea infused. I know in other recipes people infuse the tea in the butter, but this recipe does not call for butter. Just a thought….
Sure, I don’t know why not! I always encourage experimenting. I bet you could reduce the milk just a bit (and/or infuse the milk).
I made a batch of (other) cupcakes for my first GNO since moving to France. They tasted okay but were ugly. Then I found your recipe. I’m still trying to find ingredients here so had to use EVOO in the recipe. They came out absolutely perfect, except they taste like olive oil. :'( I went out the next day and bought a new oil and I know this will be the only vanilla cupcake recipe I ever use! Thank you for all your effort to find an amazing recipe so we don’t have to!!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! I do usually use Olive Oil myself for this recipe, but I use “Extra Light”, meaning light in (olive) flavor (not calories!).
Hi, Thank you very very much for this great recipe! After trying a few different recipes that made the cupcakes dry or taste like cornbread, your recipe yielded moist and delicate cupcakes that I was looking for! Just wondering if you could please help me out with a quick question – there is a hint of baking powder/soda taste and smell in my cupcakes and I was wondering why that might be? I used unbleached cake flour, turned whole milk into buttermilk by adding 1 tsp of vinegar, and followed the recipe exactly. My baking soda is 9 months old and was left in refrigerator open.
Thank you soo much in advance 🙂 You have no idea how much you have helped me out!
Shruti, So glad you enjoyed the recipe. Do not store your baking soda in the fridge for use in baking. The only purpose of storing baking soda in the fridge (open) is to act as a deodorizer in the fridge itself. Baking soda will absorb bad odors in your fridge. It’s great to use it that way, but don’t use the same baking soda for baking! Keep a separate baking soda in the cupboard (away from any strong odors). This may have been the issue. Also, I might try increasing the vanilla extract a bit.
Hi, I love your website – it’s such a pleasure to look at and spend time browsing. I am a cupcake maker by hobby starting 5 months ago, discovering the flair I have by chance. I have a website and FB page now and demand is creeping up; but mostly from people trying my cupcakes at an event where my cupcakes were served. I look for recipes that give me the sense that they are going to make great cupcakes, and I am going to try yours tonight for my son’s birthday cupcakes. I have my “best” vanilla and chocolate recipes but have been looking for a vanilla recipe that has a little less ingredients than my current recipe. I will let you know how I go with yours, I am sure it will be a winner!
Thank you so much Glory!! I made this for my sons 1st bday party and they came out great. They are high in sugar, especially for the little one but he wont be getting much.
I was actually looking for a sponge cake recipe made with oil instead of butter (to be more healthier) and I came across your recipe. I admire your hard work and effort and thankyou for sharing. I tried this last night as a whole cake. It was done in 13 mins but did come out looking very pale, I was sceptical I have to say….until we cut & ate it. This cake is spongy and soft and I was really surprised, my husband liked it too. Had some more for breakfast and it’s just as nice. I’m interested to see the shelf life on it. I think it would also taste better with a topping so will try that next time. I live in France and used our normal type 55 flour.
Finally found a great recipe!! Thank you sooo much! …… But would lessening the sugar affect the outcome of the cupcakes?
Will try baking these soon. I’m pretty sure it’ll turn out well! xx