Made with sour cream and melted butter, this vanilla cupcake recipe is easy to mix by hand and makes extra-moist, tender cupcakes filled with sweet vanilla flavor. They’re super simple to make and topped with big, pillowy swirls of homemade vanilla buttercream (or your favorite frosting). Don’t forget the sprinkles!
After baking and tasting about a million cupcakes over the years, I can say this: Everyone needs a delicious, simple vanilla cupcake recipe, one that can be whipped up even without a mixer present.
This vanilla cupcake recipe combines sour cream and melted butter for a smooth, flavorful batter. And here’s the best part: Making these cupcakes is as easy as whipping up a box mix, but the result is incomparably better.
These cupcakes are a bit denser than my oil-based moist vanilla cupcakes. Butter results in a tighter crumb and also makes these cupcakes a little richer. Meanwhile, the sour cream adds moisture and highlights the subtle vanilla flavor.
Whether you’re a seasoned baker or a beginner, this recipe is ideal for those looking for an easy, no-fuss batch of vanilla cupcakes. This cupcake recipe also makes a quick, simple base in desserts like these fresh strawberry cupcakes.
What Makes These Vanilla Cupcakes Different?
I have a few vanilla cupcake recipes on the site. Each one is delicious with its own unique ingredients, methods, and personalities. Here is what sets these vanilla cupcakes apart, and why they might be a great fit for you:
- Whole eggs. Unlike white cupcakes that rely on egg whites, there’s no need to separate the eggs for this recipe.
- This recipe uses sour cream. It tenderizes the cupcakes and gives them a wonderful springiness along with added moisture.
- A combination of baking powder and baking soda gives these cupcakes the best rise and texture.
- Melted butter mixes very easily with the other ingredients. It also means you don’t have to wait for the butter to soften to room temperature, as you would if you were using a creaming method like in my classic homemade vanilla cupcakes.
What You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make these simple vanilla cupcakes from scratch. You probably have most of the ingredients already in your kitchen. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for precise measurements.
- All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure the flour accurately, so you don’t end up with a dry cake. I always recommend a food scale, but the spoon and level method is also an option.
- Baking powder and baking soda – This is my only vanilla cupcake recipe that uses baking soda in addition to baking powder. Baking soda reacts with the sour cream, giving extra lift to the cupcakes. See my post on Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda for details. Avoid using leavening that’s old or expired.
- Unsalted butter – No need to bring it to room temperature. You’ll be melting it for the easy mixing method.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar not only adds sweetness, but also moisture, and it affects the final texture of the cupcake.
- Vanilla extract – A good quality vanilla extract is perfect for a vanilla-focused cupcake. You could also use an equal amount of vanilla paste.
- Eggs – Be sure to use large eggs, not small or extra large.
- Sour cream – I like the extra moisture and richness sour cream adds to these cupcakes. However, if you aren’t a sour cream fan or don’t have it in the fridge, you can replace it with additional milk or Greek yogurt.
- Milk – I recommend using 2% milk or whole milk.
How To Make Vanilla Cupcakes Without a Mixer
These simple vanilla cupcakes come together quickly. The batter is easy enough to mix by hand, though a mixer does come in handy when whipping the frosting. Here’s a quick look at how to do it. For more thorough instructions, scroll to the recipe card below.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Next, combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla extract.
Whisk in the eggs, followed by the sour cream, then the milk.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full.
Bake at 350ºF for 18-20 minutes. Then, place on a cooling rack to cool.
Frosting the Cupcakes
- Make the frosting. Beat the butter until smooth. Mix in half of the powdered sugar, followed by the vanilla, 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream, and the salt. Finally, mix in the remaining powdered sugar.
- Get the consistency right. You can add a little extra heavy cream if you would like a thinner frosting.
- Frost. Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Check out my in-depth tutorial, How To Frost Cupcakes for extra guidance. You’ll be a frosting pro in no time!
Frosting Options
Instead of vanilla buttercream, try frosting these simple vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting, Ermine frosting, or tangy cream cheese frosting.
Pro Tips for Amazing Cupcakes
- Don’t over-mix. When whisking the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mix just until everything is smooth and well incorporated. Over-mixing can cause the glutens in the flour to overdevelop, giving you tough, dense cupcakes.
- 3/4 full. You will want to fill the cupcake liners just a little more than 3/4 of the way. If you overfill them, they will rise out of the liners and create a muffin top and/or fall in the middle, which you don’t want here.
- Get the frosting right. To get the buttercream to the proper consistency, you may need to play with the amount of heavy cream you add to it. You’ll find everything you need to know on the subject in my post on how to get the right frosting consistency.
- Cool before frosting. Allow your cupcakes to cool completely before applying the frosting. This prevents the frosting from melting and sliding off of the cupcakes.
Proper Storage
These cupcakes are best eaten within 4-5 days. Here’s how to store them for best taste and shelf life.
- Keep the cupcakes airtight. Seal the cupcakes in an airtight carrier or other airtight container that can accommodate the frosting. Store them at room temperature for up to 2 days so that they don’t dry out as quickly. After that, they should be refrigerated because of the buttercream.
- Freeze. You can freeze these frosted or unfrosted. If you’re freezing the frosted cupcakes, seal them in an airtight container tall enough to accommodate the frosting and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw at room temperature before serving. You can also freeze these cupcakes sans frosting and whip up a fresh batch of vanilla buttercream just before serving.
More Cupcake Recipes To Try
Cupcakes are the perfect sharable dessert. They bring everything you want from a cake to the table, without all the slicing and serving! Here are some of my other favorite cupcake recipes.
Download the previous version of this cupcake recipe here.
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Simple Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 12–14 Cupcakes 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made with sour cream and melted butter, this simple vanilla cupcake recipe is easy to mix by hand (no creaming!). It’s topped with creamy vanilla frosting, perfect for everyday baking.
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 1 2/3 cups (217g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (115g) sour cream
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups (460g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2–3 tbsp (30-45ml) heavy cream
- Pinch or two of salt
- Sprinkles, optional
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla extract together until well combined.
- Add the eggs and whisk together until well combined. Next, add the sour cream and whisk together until well combined. Now, add the milk and whisk together until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and whisk together until combined, but do not overmix.
- Fill the cupcake liners a little more than 3/4 full (60g) and bake for 18-20 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 completely.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Add the butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
- Carefully add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth and well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and 1-2 tablespoons of the cream and the salt to the frosting and mix until well combined.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add additional cream as needed to get the right consistency.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. I used Ateco tip 844. Add sprinkles, if desired.
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 2 days, then refrigerate them. Best served at room temperature. They are best if eaten within 3-4 days.
Notes
See my newest Vanilla Cupcake Recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
- Calories: 459
- Sugar: 42.9 g
- Sodium: 176 mg
- Fat: 25.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 56.2 g
- Protein: 3.4 g
- Cholesterol: 46.6 mg
i am doing a class project in foods and we have to bake cupcakes and make frosting
all i have at home is lactose free 2% milk as my husband has a lactose allergy. will that work the same as regular milk?
I haven’t tried it, but it should be fine.
As a chocolate cake lover myself I don’t usually make vanilla anything but I thought I’d try something different for my daughters birthday and found this recipe. This recipe was easy to follow and I was curious to see how cupcakes with sour cream in them and shortening in the frosting would turn out. Honestly they were very tasty and the frosting was so good too although I cut it in half. I didn’t have cupcake papers but these still cooked up nice although my first batch fell flat perhaps I over mixed them but they were still moist and delicious and with frosting on top who cares if they were flat!!! So all in all I’d say great recipe even for being vanilla ???? the only thing I would say is I used the cheap imitation vanilla and I’m guessing these would be that much better with real vanilla extract so next time I’ll spurge and use real vanilla.
Wonderful! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes! 🙂
I’m not really sure, I’ve never had that result before.
Hi. I want to know if i can store these cupcakes in a chiller/fridge. I’m worried about the texture.
I would recommend storing in an air tight container. I usually keep them on the counter, but if you choose to use an all butter frosting, they are probably best refrigerated.
Hiya,
I’m currently making these cupcakes as I stumbled across the recipe online. I followed the instructions to the letter (I think!) and when I take them out of the oven they are swimming in butter. Once they cool a little they do soak it back up and they taste amazing but they are very grease. I’m in the Uk and I really appreciated your grams conversion but just trying to figure out what I did wrong ????!
They definitely passed the kids text though my two loved them! Thanks so much for taking the time to develop this receipe xx
I’m not necessarily sure you didn’t anything wrong. I don’t recall them having this issue, but several others have reported the same thing. You could try reducing the butter slightly. I also have several other newer vanilla cupcake recipes if you’d like to try them – here and here.
Whenever I find a recipe the most important part of the post are the comments I’ve found, that’s where I see where tweaks should be made, or how people found the recipe turned out, for this one, I read a few comments suggesting that this recipe wasn’t good, but others raved. I decided to trust the positive people and I’m so glad I did! I made the recipe exactly as written (I mean she said she made multiple batches to perfect it, she’s already done the leg work, why would I mess with that?) and the cupcakes were some of the best I have ever had! Truth be told, I’m not a cupcake person – the cake is too dry and crumbly, the icing too sickly sweet, I normally avoid them – but THESE cupcakes, holy crap! SO GOOD!!!! I had two. If that tells you anything!! Seriously people. Do it as directed, and start with 18 minutes in the oven, and add more as needed. For my altitude and oven 21 minutes was perfect! And when you check your tooth pick there should be a couple crumbs stuck on the side of the wood, but it shouldn’t be wet. Then take it out and follow the rest of her instructions!! She’s right guys, they are perfect! Thanks Lindsay!
Wonderful! So glad to hear that!
Can you use this recipe to do cakes?
I would recommend my Moist and Fluffy Vanilla Cake.
Tried your recipe on the weekend, the cupcakes came out wonderful!!!!! My kids and husband loved them and they were very moist.
Awesome! I’m glad you all enjoyed! 🙂
My cupcakes had pools of butter under each one… I’m assuming that’s not supoosed to happen
Tried these tonight, in Bergen, Norway. they were wonderful, my partner loved them and swallowed down two in rapid succession!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
If I triple your recipe will it turn out just as good? Or should I make 3 separate batches of them? Thanks! I’m excited to try them!
I haven’t ver tripled it, but would think it’d be ok. I have doubled before and it was fine.
My tip: have a backup plan when making these. I tried these cupcakes and they were a HUGE fail! i have never messed up baking quite like this. I followed the recipe to a T and they completely stuck to the liner. We are trying to figure out what to do with 6 dozen “crumbs” now. Guess I will have to buy store bought cupcakes for my daughters 2nd birthday.
I was wondering if this recipe could be made into a cake too? Like a 9×13 or something! I love this recipe and would like to make it into a cake to
Yes, it can. It’s fairly dense as a cake though. You could also try this one or this one.
Today my daughter and i made these cupcakes. It is a simple recipe and the cupcakes taste great. The only thing I did wrong is that the cupcake doesn’t have much flavor. I wonder if my vanilla extract is old or if I did not put the correct amount of extract into the batter. However, this is more my fault. But being a new baker, this recipe made me look like a pro. Thanks for posting it!
Glad to hear you enjoyed them!
What can i do if i curdle the liquid part, also can i use Greek you gust instead of sour cream?
Not sure what you mean about the curdling, but you could use greek yogurt. It does change up the texture of the cupcake though.