This homemade vanilla cupcakes recipe makes perfectly moist, completely irresistible cupcakes! These light and fluffy cupcakes are topped with creamy vanilla buttercream and sprinkles for the ultimate sweet treat.
These homemade vanilla cupcakes are a certified mood-booster. They’re buttery, fluffy, and topped with silky-smooth vanilla buttercream that hits all the right notes. Pour a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee, then dig into one of these cupcakes for complete vanilla bliss.
Vanilla cupcakes may seem a little too “classic,” but honestly, sometimes that’s just what you need. You can make these cupcakes casual or dress them up with sprinkles (or make homemade funfetti cupcakes), so they’re a great treat to make for everything from birthday parties to lazy Saturday afternoons when you’re craving something sweet. I truly can’t say enough good things about these cupcakes! I also have my all-time favorite homemade chocolate cupcakes that you can make, too.
What Makes These Homemade Cupcakes Different From My Other Vanilla Cupcake Recipes?
If you’re familiar with my recipes, you know that this is not the first time I’ve shared a version of vanilla cupcakes. I’ve spent countless hours making many, many cupcakes and taste-testing them, too (a sacrifice, I know, but someone has to do it). But my quest for the best vanilla cupcakes for every preference has paid off. And this recipe is absolutely classic. So, how are they different?
- Back to basics. Unlike this version, this fluffy vanilla cupcake recipe is made without sour cream. And unlike white cupcakes, this recipe uses whole eggs instead of only egg whites, so they’re more velvety in texture.
- Butter-based instead of oil. Even though I love my oil-based moist vanilla cupcakes, you’ll notice that butter gives these vanilla cupcakes a richer flavor. I still include just a little bit of oil to help with moisture.
- Extra fluffy. I make these classic cupcakes using a tried-and-true creaming method based on my vanilla layer cake recipe. It creates lighter, fluffier cupcakes. I love how the combination of soft and buttery vanilla cupcakes with creamy vanilla frosting just melts in your mouth.
Cupcake Ingredients
These fluffy vanilla cupcakes use basic ingredients that you most likely have in your pantry already. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- All-purpose flour – Measured correctly using a kitchen scale or the spoon and level method to avoid overmeasuring.
- Baking powder – Make sure that your leavening is as fresh as possible. If it’s been open for a while or if it’s past its expiration date, your cupcakes won’t rise properly.
- Butter – I like to bake with unsalted butter and add salt separately. If you’re using salted butter, I’d suggest adding half the amount of salt given in the recipe.
- Sugar – Granulated white sugar is best here.
- Vegetable oil – Even though this is a butter-based recipe, I like to add a couple tablespoons of vegetable or canola oil. It makes the overall crumb more tender.
- Vanilla extract – Please use real vanilla extract and not imitation vanilla. You’ll taste the difference!
- Eggs and milk – Bring these ingredients to room temperature. This way, they blend more smoothly into the batter and the cupcakes bake more evenly.
How to Make Homemade Vanilla Cupcakes
Basically, this homemade cupcake recipe is the result of everything I’ve learned over years of making vanilla cupcakes and cakes, all wrapped up in one simple recipe.
- First, prepare the dry ingredients. To start, preheat your oven to 350°F and insert liners into your cupcake pan. In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter, sugar, oil and vanilla extract until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs next, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Add half the dry ingredients to the batter, and slowly add the milk. The batter may look a bit curdled, but that’s OK.
Add the rest of the dry ingredients, scraping the sides of the bowl. Mix until smooth. Do not overmix.
Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full.
Bake at 350ºF for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before frosting.
Vanilla Buttercream for Cupcakes
This creamy vanilla buttercream frosting is super easy to make in one bowl.
- Cream the butter and sugar. Start by adding butter to a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add half of the powdered sugar and mix until it’s smooth and well combined.
- Add milk (or water). Next, add the salt and 1-2 tablespoons of milk or water. Mix again until well combined. Then, add in your remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth. You can add more milk or water to alter the consistency if you’d like.
- Pipe the frosting. Pipe or spread your frosting onto your cupcakes, decorate to your liking, and enjoy! See my in-depth tutorial on how to frost cupcakes, and check out the Decorating section below for more suggestions.
Scale the Recipe
You may have noticed that these cupcakes are loaded with frosting. That’s because I made one and a half times the frosting called for in the recipe. My opinion is that you can never have too much frosting, especially when it comes to this particular vanilla buttercream. If you follow the recipe for these cupcakes, you’ll end up with less frosting than what’s pictured, but still enough to frost all of the cupcakes.
Tips for the Best Homemade Cupcakes
- Make sure to cream the butter, sugar, oil and vanilla completely. This ensures that the cupcakes turn out fluffy and that they’re not too dense.
- Measure your flour correctly. Dry cupcakes are often the result of overmeasured flour. Measure using a digital kitchen scale if you have one. If not, spoon the flour from the bag into your measuring cup. Then, level off the cup. Don’t scoop directly from the bag, or you’ll pack down the flour and end up with too much.
- It’s a good idea to add a bit more milk or water if your frosting comes out too thick. Do this a little at a time to avoid thinning it out too much. See how to get the right consistency.
- Let your cupcakes cool completely before you frost them. If you don’t, the buttercream will melt and all your pretty piping will be ruined. You want the frosting to stay smooth and velvety.
Decorating Vanilla Cupcakes
It’s not hard to make these cupcakes picture-perfect. But there are tons of easy ways to dress them up and make them even prettier!
- Sprinkles: Add your favorite festive sprinkles to make these cupcakes a beautiful party treat.
- Fruit: Top them with a slice of strawberry, a few blueberries, or any other fruit of your choice.
- Oreos: Garnish these cupcakes with an Oreo cookie or sprinkle them with crushed Oreos!
- Candy: Make these cupcakes even sweeter by adding your favorite pieces of candy.
- Pretzels: Turn these cupcakes into a sweet and salty treat by adding crushed pretzels or mini pretzels.
If you’re sprinkling a topping on the cupcakes, make sure to do it right after you pipe your frosting. This way, your sprinkles or crushed Oreos will stick perfectly!
More Frosting Options for Vanilla Cupcakes
If you’d prefer to decorate with another flavor of frosting, I love these cupcakes topped with chocolate frosting, brown butter buttercream, or this homemade strawberry frosting.
How to Store Frosted Cupcakes
- Store airtight. If your cupcakes somehow last longer than one day, place them into an airtight container, and they’ll stay good for up to 3 days in the fridge or at room temperature.
- Freeze the unfrosted cupcakes. You can freeze the vanilla cupcakes before they are frosted. Cover each cupcake in plastic wrap, then place them in an airtight covered container or freezer-safe Ziploc bag. They’ll keep in the freezer for 2 months. Just make sure to thaw them in the fridge before serving.
- Make the frosting ahead. The frosting by itself will last 3-5 days if covered and refrigerated. Just scoop it into an airtight container and close it securely before placing it in the fridge. When you want to use it, bring it back to room temperature, stir it until smooth, and use it like you normally would.
More Homemade Cupcake Recipes
Homemade Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe
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Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cups (163g) all-purpose flour (measured correctly)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- ¾ cup (155g) sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup plus 2 tbsp (150ml) milk
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 4 cups (460g) powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons (30-45ml) water or milk
- Pinch or two of salt
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
- Add the butter, sugar, oil and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time.
- Now it’s time to add the eggs. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until mostly combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
- Slowly add the milk and mix until well combined. The batter will look curdled, but that’s ok.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Do not over mix the batter.
- Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove cupcakes from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Add the butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
- Carefully pour in about half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth and well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and 1-2 tablespoons of the water or milk and the salt to the frosting and mix until well combined.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add additional milk or water as needed to get the right consistency.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. I used Ateco tip 844.
- Cupcakes are best when stored well covered for 2-3 days.
Video
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
This is my go to recipe when I am making cupcakes for special occasion. Your buttercream frosting is delicious, just like the cupcakes. Thank you!
This recipe is so amazing. Ive made these cupcakes 3 time now within the past couple months for the holidays. I hosted christmas this year with my family and the cupcakes were a huge hit! The icing is on point, best I’ve had yet. The cake came out perfect, not too dry at all. Thank you so much for the recipe. I will make them again in the near future!
I love the recipe.i have most the the things I need at home,they taste is so good
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
I am going to try it today for my Son’s class party
I hope they’re a hit!
We love these cupcakes! They’re delicious ! Can this recipe be used to make a cake instead of cupcakes?
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Yes, you can find the vanilla cake recipe here.
My first time ever making homemade cupcakes and they were literally AMAZING!
Aww, that’s awesome! So glad you enjoyed them!
FYI if you are using metric system and push the 2x or 3x button. The conversion does not change for grams. I just avoided a catastrophe and realized 12 tbsp of butter is not equal to 84 grams!
We are working on updating the recipe card and that is an issue. Hopefully it’ll all be resolved soon. Thank you! I’m glad you caught it!
very strong taste of the eggs
I haven’t tried the recipe yet but could I use buttermilk instead of milk
Yes, that should be fine.
Love this recipe! So delicious & classic! How would I change it to bake 24 mini cupcakes instead? And do you have a similar chocolate version?
I’m glad you enjoyed it! It would probably make close to 24 minis as-is. You could try increasing it a bit, but you may not need to. My closest chocolate equivalent would be this chocolate cake, which is based on this vanilla recipe. I also have these chocolate cupcakes.
I googled: Homemade Cupcakes ‘ your recipe was the first in the queue. I went with it. Used (less of) vanilla almond milk instead, used frosting from a can but the cake was delicious! Made this twice in the past 10days, added sprinkles both times & they were great. Im saving this tab for sure to make more in the future! Thanks!!
Awesome! I’m so glad you came across my recipe and enjoyed them!
Would this recipe be good as a cake
Yes! You can find that vanilla cake recipe here.
I’ve never made vanilla cupcakes before. I’m not much of a baker. But believe me when I say that these were the BEST cupcakes I have ever eaten, anywhere, ever. I’m probably going to make them again this week. I could have eaten the whole dozen by myself, they were that good. And pretty easy, too!
Awesome to hear! So glad you enjoyed them!
This recipe is delicious, omitted vegetable oil and added 2 tbs butter instead, other than that I followed exactly. Will be my vanilla cake recipe from now on.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
I have made this recipe several times and this last time the cupcakes came out really dense. What did I do wrong? It’s been completely amazing every other time so I know it’s something I did
Hard to say from a distance. A few possibilities are that the batter was over mixed, particularly after adding the flour. Could be that the butter and sugar weren’t full creamed (or were over creamed). Could be that you need to check and see that your baking powder is still good. Perhaps over measuring the flour (do you use a food scale?)? I’m sorry I can’t say for sure.
I’m glad you enjoy them though!
OMG it’s 3:19 am and it’s been 30 min and they are still wet!!! I overdid it w the mixing!!! Last min i wanted to do the cupcakes diff colors bc my daughter wants Dandy’s world and instead of doing it by batches ( i put food coloring on each baking cup and mixed it more so the color could get the entire mix) SO I REALLY Over did it!! Now im here doing two more batches and being extra smart! But last year they were a success!! Everyone loved it !!
buttercream was bad. cupcake was very very good tho yum even tho my batter turned out more liquidy than the pics