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Vanilla Cupcakes

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By Jenn Segal
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Made with buttermilk and topped with cream cheese frosting, these are the most luscious vanilla cupcakes. 

Vanilla cupcakes on and around a raised platter.

When my kids were little, I started a baking business specializing in cakes and cupcakes, mostly for children’s parties. Before I began, I spent weeks testing every type of cake recipe under the sun, often baking into the middle of the night. Michael would wake up in the morning to find the kitchen overflowing with all flavors of cakes and cupcakes. He thought I’d lost my mind—little did he know I was just discovering my passion for developing recipes, which was the motivation for starting my blog. These are the vanilla cupcakes that won me over. They have a fluffy, downy texture and rich vanilla flavor. Top them with swirls of cream cheese frosting or rich chocolate buttercream.

If you’d like to make the recipe as a layer cake, it works beautifully; simply divide the batter into two 8-inch cake pans and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. The recipe also works in a 9×13-in cake pan, baked for 30 minutes.

What you’ll need to make vanilla Cupcakes

vanilla cupcake ingredients

Step-by-Step Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.

eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla ready to whisk

Whisk well and set aside. The mixture will start to look curdled as it sits; that’s okay.

whisked buttermilk mixture

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in electric mixer

Beat on low speed for 30 seconds to combine.

mixed dry ingredient mixture

Add the soft butter and half of the buttermilk mixture.

adding butter and half of buttermilk mixture

Mix on low speed until moistened but still a little crumbly, about 1 minute.

moistened vanilla cupcake batter

With the mixer running on low, gradually add the remaining buttermilk mixture,

adding remaining buttermilk mixture

Increase the speed to medium and mix for three minutes, stopping once to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The batter should look pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again, making sure the batter is evenly mixed.

pale and creamy vanilla cupcake batter

Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pans, filling the cups almost full.

vanilla cupcakes ready to bake

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, switching the pans from top to bottom and back to front midway through. Remove from the oven when the cupcakes are set, lightly golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean (note that one pan may finish cooking before the other). Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

vanilla cupcakes cooling on rack

Frost the cooled cupcakes with icing and store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Vanilla cupcakes on and around a raised platter.

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Vanilla Cupcakes

Metric Cup Measures
By Jenn Segal, adapted from Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri

Made with buttermilk and topped with cream cheese frosting, these are the most luscious vanilla cupcakes. 

Servings: 24 cupcakes
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 45 Minutes, plus time to cool the cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

  • 1 cup buttermilk (see note)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2¾ cups cake flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off (see note)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • Heaping ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pans
  • Cream cheese frosting or rich chocolate buttercream

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. Lightly grease the top of the muffin pans with butter so the cupcake tops don't stick.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Set aside. (Note that the mixture will start to look curdled as it sits; that's okay.)
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds to combine. Add the soft butter and half of the buttermilk mixture and mix on low speed until moistened but still a little crumbly, about 1 minute. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the remaining buttermilk mixture, then increase the speed to medium and mix for three minutes, stopping once to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The batter should look pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again, making sure the batter is evenly mixed.
  4. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pans, filling the cups almost full. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, switching the pans from top to bottom and back to front midway through. Remove from the oven when the cupcakes are set, lightly golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean (note that one pan may finish cooking before the other). Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Frost the cupcakes and store in an airtight container until ready to serve. The cupcakes are best served fresh on the day they are made, but they will keep nicely for up to 2 days.
  5. Note: If you’d like to make your own buttermilk, check out the easy method here.
  6. Note: Cake flour gives the cupcakes a fine texture. All-purpose flour can be substituted, but the cupcakes will be a bit heavier. To make your own cake flour, you can whisk together 2½ cups all-purpose flour and ¼ cup cornstarch.
  7. Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cupcakes can be frozen without the frosting for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely, wrap them individually in plastic wrap, and then in foil. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving. (Wait until the cupcakes are defrosted to ice them.)

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Serving size: 1 cupcake
  • Calories: 379
  • Fat: 19 g
  • Saturated fat: 12 g
  • Carbohydrates: 49 g
  • Sugar: 37 g
  • Protein: 4 g
  • Sodium: 155 mg
  • Cholesterol: 83 mg
Nutritional Data Disclaimer

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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  • Would love to make for a group but don’t have fridge space to store them overnight, etc. If I use a buttercream frosting instead, might they still taste good/optimal if made a day or two ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temp? No worries if so, just appreciate your honesty, as always, Jenn.

    • Hi Diane, One day ahead would be best (and fine to store at room temp), but these keep pretty well and will still taste good after two.

      • Great news! THANKS! Question: Does Cream Cheese Frosting always need to be refrigerated? Or does it depend on the ratio used in the recipe? Your recipe sounds fantastic but my fridge space is small.

        • Technically these should be refrigerated because of the icing, but I have left mine on the calendar and they’re fine.

          • So helpful! Thanks Again!

            • — Diane

  • I made this recipe for my son’s 1st birthday and they were delicious. I don’t even like cake, but I do have a weakness for cream cheese icing. I made a very small alteration by using 1/2 the amount of vanilla extract and then substituting an extract called Fiori di Sicilia I get from King Arthur Flour for the other half. That extract kind of smells like a creamsicle…sort of a mix of citrus and vanilla. I use it in my pizzelles and it turned out wonderful in this recipe as well. Kind of my way of making it my own. 🙂

  • I have 4 kids
    My eldest just started school and we live in Countey Australia!

    He gets cranky if I forget to put baked goodies in his lunch box!!

    I have been searching and manipulating recipes for the best part of 10 years and the one that has always got away from me is the simple vanilla cupcake!

    Thank you! I have finally found it! FINALLY!!!
    this is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten and I will probably still get in trouble for having no goodies for him!! 🙂

    I made it with home made butter and buttermilk as we live on a dairy farm… so why not!!!

    Thank you again so much!!!
    🙂

    • — Jessica Wenham
    • Reply

    • So glad you feel you’ve finally hit the mark with this one! Hope you (and your kids!) enjoy. 🙂

  • If I just want to make 12 cupcakes, do I divide the ingredient measurements in half?

  • Excellent recipe! I made cupcakes with this recipe for my son’s class party and will be using this recipe again and again. The cupcakes baked up perfectly (although I think I over cooked them slightly). Darn, I have to bake a few more batches to get them just right! 😉

    Thank you for another fabulous recipe, Jenn!

  • Would this recipe work with two 13x9in pans? I want to make a double layer sheet cake for a party

    • Hi Gretchen, It will work but you might want to increase the recipe by 1.5. I’d love to know how it turns out!

  • First of all, this recipe is incredible as both layer cake and cupcakes. Someone asked about piping–I successfully piped the frosting for cupcakes and it looked great. The key was to make the frosting and fill the piping bags, then chill, bring back to cool room temp, and pipe before it got too warm. I frosted them generously but still only used about 60% of it. Extra cream cheese frosting in a piping bag is a dangerous thing to have around…

    I’m planning a birthday party and need to serve about 36 people. I would like to 1.5x the recipe and bake it in two 9×13 pans to make a double layer sheet cake. Do you think this would work and, if so, how long would you recommend baking it?

    • Hi Erika, I do think it’d work but it’s hard to say on the cook time as I’ve never tried it. My guess is 35-40 minutes. Hope that helps, and please lmk how it turns out.

      • Thanks, I will!

  • I made the chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for my husband to take to work as a thank you for all the help he received on a project and they turned out great. Thank you for the recipes!

  • Hi- love your recipes. I am making a 4 layer cake using 9 inch pans. Can i double this recipe or should I make 2 batches? Thanks. About how high will a layer be using 9 inch pan?

    • Hi Chithra,

      I think you could safely double it. A 9-inch pan will make a 1.5-inch high cake. Would love to see a photo when it’s done!

  • Just made these they are amazing. Thank You for sharing….

    • — Debbie Avakian
    • Reply
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