This moist and fluffy vanilla cupcake recipe is everything you want a cupcake to be. Light and fluffy with lots of flavor in a little bite! The buttermilk adds a wonderful tang, and a little bit of oil makes these cupcakes very moist. I may have eaten a couple without any frosting! If you like my white velvet buttermilk cake or my vanilla cake, you will love these cupcakes!
I love these vanilla cupcakes because there are so many frosting options that go with this recipe. You can combine it with strawberry buttercream to make strawberry shortcake cupcakes. Or frost them with some yummy chocolate ganache or chocolate buttercream. For lemon lovers, try filling your cupcakes with some lemon curd and topping them with fresh stabilized whipped cream. You can even add spices to the batter and make them into spice cake or add in sprinkles to make them funfetti cupcakes! This is seriously the best vanilla cupcake recipe.
Table of contents
Vanilla Cupcake Ingredients
Buttermilk is essential to this recipe because it adds flavor and moisture. Buttermilk is acidic and actually breaks down the gluten in the flour, making a more tender cupcake as well. If you have whole milk and white vinegar or lemons, you can make your own buttermilk substitute.
Oil is important for keeping the cupcakes moist, but too much oil in a recipe will cause the wrappers to peel away from the cupcake.
Cake flour is what makes these cupcakes extra soft and fluffy. This recipe uses the reverse creaming method, which coats the flour in a layer of butter and then whips in the air. Cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, so it's important to use it to get the right texture. If you don't have cake flour, you can try using my cake flour substitute recipe, or try searching for "Shipton Mills soft cake and pastry flour."
Making Moist and Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes
I recommend first making the vanilla cupcakes, and then making the frosting while the cupcakes are in the oven. They will need time to cool after baking, so don't pipe frosting onto a warm cupcake.
If you're making these for an event, it's best to frost and fill them on the same day that you're going to deliver and serve them.
Making Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line two cupcake pans (or a muffin pan will do) with paper liners. You can also bake one pan at a time if you only have one cupcake pan. This recipe will make about 24 cupcakes.
- Combine the vanilla and buttermilk in a separate measuring cup and set it aside. Protip – Use clear vanilla extract for that “classic grocery store cake” flavor. Use good quality vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, or even a vanilla bean for true vanilla flavor. One vanilla bean = 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
- Next, add the eggs and oil to a separate bowl then whisk and set them aside.
- Add the cake flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. You can use a large bowl and an electric mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer, just mix for longer. Use these photos as a guide instead of mixing by time.
- Then add the softened butter to the rest of the dry ingredients and mix on low until the mixture resembles a sandy texture. Depending on how soft your butter is, this might take a minute or two.
- Pour the milk mixture into your dry ingredients and increase the speed to medium (speed 4 on a KitchenAid, speed 2 on a Bosch). Mix for 1 ½ minutes to develop the fluffy structure of the cupcake. The batter will go from being yellow to a fluffy white.
- Slowly add your egg mixture in three parts and mix on low until it's fully combined.
- Fill your liners ⅔ of the way full with the cupcake batter. I use my kitchen scale to measure out 1.5 ounces of batter per cupcake.
- Bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or until they are just starting to turn golden brown and the center of the cupcake springs back when you lightly touch it. I rotate my cupcakes halfway through baking for even browning. If you’re making mini cupcakes, bake for less time.
- Let your cupcakes cool in the pans for five minutes, then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Place your favorite frosting into a piping bag with a tip, I like a 1M or a 2F, and pipe a swirl on top. I love using my easy vanilla buttercream and topping them with a few sprinkles. Swiss meringue buttercream or strawberry buttercream would also be delicious.
Making Easy Buttercream
- Place the pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Combine the ingredients on low and then whip them on high for 4-5 minutes (until shiny) to dissolve the powdered sugar.
- Now add in the salt and vanilla extract. If you want to add in any food coloring, now is the time.
- Add in your softened butter piece-by-piece, then whip it on high. It will look curdled at first. This is definitely normal. It will also look pretty yellow, just keep whipping.
- After your buttercream looks like this, remove about 1 cup of buttercream and melt it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.
- Pour it back into the whipping buttercream to bring it all together.
- Whip it on high for 8-10 minutes until the buttercream is white, light, and shiny. If it tastes like sweet ice cream, then it’s ready!
- Finally, switch to a paddle attachment and mix the buttercream on low speed for up to 15-20 minutes to make the buttercream ultra smooth and remove any air bubbles. This step is optional, but if you want really creamy frosting, you don’t want to skip this final step.
- For extra white buttercream, add a drop of purple food coloring. The purple counteracts the yellow in the butter, toning the buttercream to make it white.
Storing Vanilla Cupcakes
These cupcakes are best eaten within 24 hours of baking, and can sometimes dry out in the fridge. If you're using a buttercream that is shelf stable, store them in an airtight container on the shelf for up to 2 days.
Baked cupcakes without frosting can be frozen in ziplock bags for up to 6 months.
If you're using a fruit filling or frosting that isn't shelf stable, it's best to refrigerate them after about 4 hours. I love filling these cupcakes with fresh homemade raspberry filling.
Tips For Baking From Scratch
*This post may contain affiliate links which means if you click on them I might get a few pennies.
I suggest purchasing a kitchen scale if you don't already have one to make the best scratch recipes. One cup of flour can vary from scoop to scoop depending on how packed the flour is and the humidity in your area. Too little or too much flour can ruin your recipe, so all of my cake recipes (except doctored box mixes) use a scale.
Practice Mise en Place (everything in its place) which means you measure everything before you start mixing so you don't accidentally forget something or add any ingredients out of order. I use a set of medium and small pyrex glass bowls I got from goodwill for this and it makes things SO much easier.
Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature or even a tiny bit on the warm side. I warm my milk in the microwave for 30 seconds. The butter should be soft enough to live an indent in it when you press it but firm enough that it’s still holding its shape. Place your eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes to warm them up.
FAQ
You might be baking at too low of a temperature. Baking at 350ºF makes the cupcake nice and fluffy and set’s the dome. Baking at too low of a temperature will make your cupcakes flat. Not sure what your oven temperature is? You can get an oven thermometer to calibrate the temperature of your oven.
The secret to fluffy cupcakes is enough baking powder to really get that high rise and higher oven temperature to create a lot of lift and to set the dome of the cupcake. Too much liquid in your cupcakes or over-filling your liners can cause them to collapse.
It could be that your recipe has too much liquid, oil, or that your liners are not grease-proof. Your liners can also pull away if you are storing your cupcakes in a closed container and the moisture causes them to pull away.
You can easily change the flavor of these cupcakes from vanilla to lemon or spice by replacing the extract and adding in things like spices or zest. You can also add up to ¼ cup of any dry ingredient like sprinkles, crushed Oreos, or fruit without changing the recipe.
If you cover your cupcakes with plastic wrap or put them in a container before they are completely cooled, condensation will collect on top of the cupcake and make it soggy.
Cupcakes can shrink from over-mixing your batter, over-baking, or too much fat/liquid in the recipe
Cupcakes can be frozen in ziplock bags for up to 6 months.
Sour cream or milk mixed with a tablespoon of vinegar make great buttermilk substitutes. Be sure to check out my buttermilk blog post for more substitutes.
Related Recipes
Recipe
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Paddle Attachment
- Whisk Attachment
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
- 10 ounces cake flour
- 9 ounces granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 4 ounces vegetable oil
- 5 ounces buttermilk room temperature or slightly warm
- 4 ounces unsalted butter softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Easy Buttercream Frosting Recipe
- 6 ounces pasteurized egg whites
- 24 ounces powdered sugar
- 24 ounces unsalted butter softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tiny drop purple food coloring optional for whiter frosting
Instructions
Making Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line two cupcake pans (or a muffin pan will do) with paper liners. You can also bake one pan at a time if you only have one cupcake pan. This recipe will make about 24 cupcakes.
- Combine the vanilla and buttermilk in a separate measuring cup and set it aside.
- Next, add the eggs and oil to a separate bowl then whisk and set them aside.
- Add the cake flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. You can use a large bowl and an electric mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer, just mix for longer. Use these photos as a guide instead of mixing by time.
- Then add the softened butter to the rest of the dry ingredients and mix on low until the mixture resembles a sandy texture. Depending on how soft your butter is, this might take a minute or two.
- Pour the milk mixture into your dry ingredients and increase the speed to medium (speed 4 on a KitchenAid, speed 2 on a Bosch). Mix for 1 ½ minutes to develop the fluffy structure of the cupcake. The batter will go from being yellow to a fluffy white.
- Slowly add your egg mixture in three parts and mix on low until it's fully combined.
- Fill your liners ⅔ of the way full with the cupcake batter. I use my kitchen scale to measure out 1.5 ounces of batter per cupcake.
- Bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or until they are just starting to turn golden brown and the center of the cupcake springs back when you lightly touch it. I rotate my cupcakes halfway through baking for even browning. If you’re making mini cupcakes, bake for less time.
- Let your cupcakes cool in the pans for five minutes, then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Place your favorite frosting into a piping bag with a tip, I like a 1M or a 2F, and pipe a swirl on top. I love using my easy vanilla buttercream and topping them with a few sprinkles. Swiss meringue buttercream or strawberry buttercream would also be delicious.
Making Easy Buttercream
- Place the pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Combine the ingredients on low and then whip them on high for 4-5 minutes (until shiny) to dissolve the powdered sugar.
- Now add in the salt and vanilla extract. If you want to add in any food coloring, now is the time.
- Add in your softened butter piece-by-piece, then whip it on high. It will look curdled at first. This is definitely normal. It will also look pretty yellow, just keep whipping.
- After your buttercream looks like this, remove about 1 cup of buttercream and melt it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.
- Pour it back into the whipping buttercream to bring it all together.
- Whip it on high for 8-10 minutes until the buttercream is white, light, and shiny. If it tastes like sweet ice cream, then it’s ready!
- Finally, switch to a paddle attachment and mix the buttercream on low speed for up to 15-20 minutes to make the buttercream ultra smooth and remove any air bubbles. This step is optional, but if you want really creamy frosting, you don’t want to skip this final step.
- For extra white buttercream, add a drop of purple food coloring. The purple counteracts the yellow in the butter, toning the buttercream to make it white.
Video
Notes
- For the best rise, fill your liners ⅔ with cupcake batter or 1 ½ ounces per cupcake
- Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before mixing your batter (milk, butter, eggs).
- Use clear vanilla extract for that “classic grocery store cake” flavor. Use good quality vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, or even a vanilla bean for true vanilla flavor. One vanilla bean = 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF for 30 minutes before baking to give your cupcakes a good rise and set the dome.
- Baked cupcakes can be frozen for up to 6 months.
- Buttermilk is essential to this recipe because it adds flavor and moisture. If you have whole milk and white vinegar or lemons, you can make your own buttermilk substitute.
- Cake flour is what makes these cupcakes extra soft and fluffy. If you don't have cake flour, you can try using my cake flour substitute recipe, or try searching for "Shipton Mills soft cake and pastry flour."
Deanna says
Am I reading something wrong? with 4oz of oil and 4oz of butter my cupcakes come out an oily mess, and I've tried several times with this and they are turning out the same each time. I swear I've made this before and didn't have a problem, has the recipe changed? PS.....I love this site and the recipes and tutorials you provide!
The Sugar Geek Show says
No, that amount is correct. The oil is needed to keep them nice and moist. I just made these a couple of days ago so I'm not sure what's going wrong?
Deanna says
Thank you for responding! I am of course going to try again because they are amazing cupcakes..when they turn out 🙂
Antonia says
I love the taste and texture of this recipe but my cupcakes always shrink and peel away from the liners 🙁 I am using good quality liners, mix exactly for 1.5 minutes as per the recipe. Any ideas why this is happening?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Maybe you are under-filling them? I have never had that problem with this recipe
Antonia says
Thanks! Mystery solved, my oven temperature was 20C off. I also noticed that if you use the click the metric button, some of the ingredients conversions at wrong.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Thank you! I will be sure to review the measurements 🙂
Erika Wilson says
They are delicious and a hit at work! Thank you for always explaining your recipes so thoroughly.
Anne says
Hey Liz,
Thank you for sharing such good recipes. The recipe on this page shows 2 large eggs and 2 tsp baking powder under ounce meaurements whereas for grams it says 3 large eggs and 1 tsp baking powder. Which one is the right recipe?
Thanks
Anne
The Sugar Geek Show says
The ounces is correct, sometimes the recipe card does not translate right, I will fix it for you asap
Anne says
Thanks a lot Liz.?
Shelby says
Is this 24 regular sized cupcakes or mini?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Regular sized
Sarah Green says
How would you change this recipe for mini cupcakes? Less liquids?
The Sugar Geek Show says
No I wouldn't change the recipe for mini cupcakes
Jennifer Janis says
Hi there! I just wanted to let you know that I made these cupcakes and after adjusting the recipe 3 different times for altitude, I finally got a nicely domed tasty cupcake!!!! In case anyone out there needs the high altitude adjustments here is what I did (I am at 7,000 ft in North Colorado Springs). I reduced the baking powder and baking soda by half, removed 2 T sugar, added 2T All-Purpose flour, added an extra egg. When I just tried to reduce only the leavening, the cupcakes still sank in the middle and the structure of the cupcakes seemed less than sturdy. These adjustments made the perfect cupcake!!!! I had the same exact issue with the red velvet cupcakes, so I am excited to try these adjustments for that as well. Funny enough, I didn't have this issue with the lemon blueberry cake. Only reducing the leavening for that was enough to produce the best cake I've ever eaten. 🙂
The Sugar Geek Show says
Thank you so much for your helpful feedback. I really appreciate it.
Sara says
Hi there!
I’m currently baking my way through your recipes for fun! I love the way you explain your methods.
The texture of this cupcake was lovely but I thought it tasted like cornbread. You have mentioned before that using AP flour could cause this issue but I used KA Unbleached Unenriched Cake Flour and still had “conbready” results. I have used your reverse mixing method several times with good results as well.
Any ideas on what could be causing this issue?
Thank you!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Hi Sara, the reason your cupcakes taste like cornbread is because you are using unbleached cake flour which has a much higher protein level than bleached cake flour. It's very similar in protein level to all-purpose flour. Bleached cake flour has a protein level of around 6 or 7%.
Sara says
Yay! This makes so much sense. I’ve read so much conflicting information about bleached vs unbleached cake flour. Thank you for your response. I’m going to try again!!
Tin-Tin says
Help! I just made this and it didn’t have the dome instead had dimple in the middle, what did I do wrong? I weighed everything and followed the steps. Texture wise it is good and very yummy.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Probably over-filled the liners a bit too much so they collapsed
Carie says
Hello, I love this recipe. It is my "go to". In fact, most of my go to cake recipes, are yours. I have been baking as a hobby for over 25 years, so it's not very often that I learn something new. But, when it comes to the science of baking, you've given me several lightbulb moments. I wanted to take a minute to thank you for being so awesome and sharing your gifts.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Awww thank you so much Carie <3 The best part of baking is that you never stop learning 😀
Britney Good says
How long do these cupcakes stay good?
The Sugar Geek Show says
All baked goods are best the day of or the day after they are baked. If you're not going to eat them then they should be frozen
Dara says
Can I substitute olive oil or avocado oil for the vegetable oil. Or just add more butter?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Either of those oils will leave a taste in the cake. You would need to use a neutral-tasting oil or you can leave it out but the cupcake will be a little drier tasting.
Erin says
First of all... THANK YOU!!! This is the FIRST from-scratch vanilla cupcake recipe I have ever baked (and I've tried a lot) that has not made me want to go back to the boxed stuff. I followed your recipe & instructions exactly and these are the best-tasting cupcakes I have ever had. SERIOUSLY. Even my husband, who is not usually a cupcake fan, ate TWO!!! I love all of your instructional videos and how you explain your recipes. I especially loved your tip about adding a drop of purple food coloring to buttercream to make it white... genius. Your site is now my go-to site for everything baking.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Thank you so much! Im so glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Dara says
I made these and they were delicious and perfect in every way. Hands down my fav recipe! I put them in the freezer In a ziplock baggy and took them out a few days later, thawed them and then ate one again. The only problem was that it was a little dry coming out of the freezer. How can I get this cupcake to stay moist After freezing? Will a simple syrup moisten it up?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Cake is always better when it's completely unfrozen. You can leave cupcakes at room temperature in a container for a few days.
Katherine says
What piping tip did you use?
The Sugar Geek Show says
1M piping tip 🙂
Cindy says
Will low/reduced fat buttermilk in place of whole buttermilk change the texture of the cake?
Elizabeth Marek says
No it wont change it
Joy says
Question...can you substitute Hotel & Restaurant Flour for the cake flour?
Elizabeth Marek says
I'm not familiar with that type of flour. Cake flour is a low protein flour of 9% or less
Aarti says
Hi i tried the vanilla cake and it was a hit. Thks for sharing your personal Receipe
A says
Hi there!,
if i wanted to turn this into a "chai" flavour cake I wanted to infuse the milk with the chai tea and add a few spices to it. What stage would I add the spices and will anything happen to the buttermilk by using the tea bag would you suggest just using whole milk instead of buttermilk?
Elizabeth Marek says
Steeping chai tea in buttermilk will not hurt the buttermilk but it might curdle. Thats ok, you can still use it. Add the spice in with the dry ingredients.
Nattito Sandy says
I’ve tried many different recipe saying the bast cupcakes and they were all totally disgusting but these were incredibly delicious and moist
Val says
Getting ready to make this recipe, and I’m very excited! Can you half the Best Buttermilk Vanilla Cupcakes recipe without tweaking ratios of ingredients?
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can cut the recipe in half
S says
hi, i'm in the UK and we dont have cake flour. I have plain flour on hand. Will this be ok for the recipe or will the cupcakes not turn out the same?
Elizabeth Marek says
UK does have cake flour, search for shipton mills soft cake and pastry flour. Plain flour has too high of a protein content.
Caitlin says
These taste AMAZING!! They’re so delicate and just perfect. I do have a question about the batter consistency, just to make sure I’ve got everything right. Should it be slightly runny? It’s not as thick as I expected and I want to clarify so I know I’ve got the reverse creaming method down! I made these twice in a row because i thought I messed up and it was pretty runny both times.
Elizabeth Marek says
As long as the cupcakes turned out good then don't worry 🙂
Lina says
Is it OK if I omit the eggs and follow the rest of the recipe as normal?? Would it come out the same??
Elizabeth Marek says
No, you can't just leave out the eggs unfortunately 🙂
Laura S says
Hi,
So I made this recipe but the texture was similar to cornbread. I wasn't sure where I went wrong with the recipe.
Maria Hobbs says
Can this recipe be converted to dairy free by using almond milk and vegan butter?
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes it can, I use earth balance butter