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These vanilla cupcakes are the perfect soft and fluffy vanilla cupcake! I have done a lot of testing and am proud to say that I finally have my favorite version to share with you!
I’m quite picky about vanilla cupcakes. You can’t get by with a mediocre one, you know? They might be one of the most important flavors to get right. Next to chocolate, that is. If you don’t have a good vanilla cupcake, you’ve got a problem.
I have tried numerous vanilla recipes over the past few years and this White on White Buttermilk Cake from BakeSpace was a fave. Problem was, it was a cake recipe. And while many cake and cupcake recipes are interchangeable, this one was not.
When I tried to use it for cupcakes, the wrappers would come off as the cupcakes cooled. Not good. Not good at all.
They also didn’t puff up quite like I wanted. They had pretty flat tops. Too flat.
I also tend to think sour cream gives terrific moisture and flavor to a vanilla cupcake. And I think that even more now, after all my testing. Plus, it can easily be switched up to allow fun flavor variations.
So I decided to take that tasty cake recipe and turn it into the perfect cupcake! Starting by adding sour cream.
Did you see the Instagram photo of all the cupcakes I ended up freezing on my way to the perfect one? It was insane.
I played with the amount of eggs, just egg whites, amounts of milk, sour cream, flour, butter. I thought I was going to drown in cupcakes.
I also wanted to try and use the more common version of ingredients – all purpose flour instead of cake flour, regular milk instead of buttermilk, etc. Just to make it easier. 🙂
Aaaand to make it even easier, you only need one bowl! Woot woot!
I got a number of opinions along the way. Including when I had 6 women from my small group together and they tested what I thought would be my final 3 versions. I knew which my faves were, but wanted their opinions.
They totally agreed that one version had better flavor and one had better texture. The third was out!
So I decided to give it one more try.
Magic! Perfection! And sheer happiness!
My very own Perfect Moist and Fluffy Vanilla Cupcake! It is so wonderful, you guys! You have to try it!
It is not too dense, but not too airy. Moist, but maintains structure. Rises, but not too much. And the sour cream really amplifies the vanilla flavor. Love, love, love it!
Plus, I’m kind of proud of myself for persevering. 🙂
As for the icing, it is my go-to vanilla icing.
It uses half butter, half shortening. In any of my icing recipes were I use half butter and half shortening, you can use all butter. But truly, I stand by using half shortening. Shortening can seem gross, but it will give a more stable icing, particularly if it’s warm out. And I really prefer the final flavor. I find all-butter icing to be too buttery and not enough vanilla flavor.
You might disagree in the end, but I encourage you to at least try it first. Either way, the cupcake that the icing will sit on will rock your socks off. And together, they will make a fabulous cupcake party.
So do me a favor, will you? I worked extra hard on this one and burned through a lot of butter, so make sure you give it a try. I know you’ll love it!
Print
Perfect Moist and Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Cupcakes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These vanilla cupcakes are the perfect soft and fluffy vanilla cupcake! I have done a lot of testing and am proud to say that I finally have my favorite version to share with you!
Ingredients
CUPCAKES
- 1 2/3 cups (217g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, melted
- 3 large egg whites
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (115g) sour cream
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
FROSTING
- 1 cup (115g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups (460g) powdered sugar
- 2–3 tbsp (30-45ml) water or heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
CUPCAKES
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add butter, egg whites, vanilla, sour cream and milk and mix on medium speed just until well combined and smooth. Do not over mix.
- Fill the cupcake liners a little more than half way and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove cupcakes from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.
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.
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
Keywords: vanilla cupcakes, moist vanilla cupcakes, fluffy vanilla cupcake recipe
Filed Under:
Enjoy!
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White Chocolate Funfetti Chip Cake from Inside BruCrew Life
Just came across this recipe and made them, they are perfect! So moist, especially when stored in an air tight container. Makes them even better the next day. On my 2nd batch, I did add some extra vanilla, and some cream cheese flavoring for a little more flavor. Will be my go-to vanilla cupcake recipe. I have my own perfect buttercream frosting recipe I paired them with.
Would Brown sugar, or natural honey work best for substituting the White sugar, I believe that it would take 3/4 cups of honey and, 1 cup Brown sugar if I were to choose one.
I haven’t tried honey and am not really sure how that’d turn out. The brown sugar should be fine.
I would never ever say that vanilla cupcakes are awesome… until now. Your recipe is just perfect! Thanks a lot! Best wishes from Brazil.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
I used this recipe to make a cake instead of cupcakes. I used a 9×13 pan. In comparison to making this vs using a box cake mix this recipe was half as deep as a box cake. When eating it, the cake was very dense almost like a pound cake. Did I perhaps over mix it? I tried beating it until it was smooth but I still had small chunks of butter in there so thats how I baked it. Where did I go wrong?
Yea, I wouldn’t suggest this particular recipe for a 9×13 cake. Firstly, it wasn’t as thick as you’d expect because you’d need to double it. But also, yes, it’s quite dense as a cake. I’d suggest either this one or this one (you could leave out the sprinkles and almond extract), which is a cake version of these more updated vanilla cupcakes.
Great recipe! Turned out perfect… But why do they “fall” as they cool?
These taste great except they don’t pull away from the paper nicely. I’ve made them a number of times and same problem. I found that when I mix all the ingredients the butter stays lumpy. I leave the butter out overnight so it’s definitely room temp. Any tips?
I just tried this cupcakes and I’m surprised at what I came up with. Very fluffy and nice. Thank you Lindsay.
Can you add color to frosting?
Yes you can. I like to use gel icing color.
I just made these. I followed the recipe completely, but it did not work out. They are wet at the bottom from unincorporated butter and have almost a crust on the outside like cornbread. they kind of smell like cornbread too but I have no clue how that even happened. Rhese were for a bakesale but now I have to make a different recipe 🙁 I think I will stick to recipes where you cream your sugar and butter together first.
Hi! Do they eggs have to be at room temperature or fridge temperature? Large or medium eggs? Can’t wait to make this! I’ve been looking for a super easy vanilla recipe with vegetable oil and finally found it! Thanks!