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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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Comments

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  • As expected these cupcakes are another winner from Chef Jen. The cupcakes and frosting are delicious. I made the cupcakes gluten free by substituting an all purpose gluten free flour mix for the flour and they turned out perfectly.

  • Hi Jenn, I’m torn between this receipe and your “vanilla bday” cake. I need to make a vanilla bday cake for my niece… and I was going to use the later receipe however after tasting these cupcakes…I really like the taste of these. What effect does buttermilk have and using full eggs instead of egg whites… these seem to be the main diff btw the two? Which receipe do you think i should I use to make the cake?

    • Hi Priya, You can really go either way depending on your preference. This one with whole eggs makes a richer, moister cake that keeps a bit longer, if that helps. 🙂

  • I made this as a layer cake and used the frosting from your “Chocolate Lover’s Birthday Cake” recipe in your cookbook. Wow! The perfect combination of yellow cake and chocolate frosting if there ever was one. Divine. The cake was perfectly moist with a nice crumb and slight tang which balanced out the rich, creamy fudge-like frosting. Upon seeing a picture of the finished product, I was asked to make the same for an upcoming birthday party. I can’t wait. Thanks so much, Jenn for another outstanding addition to my collection. I’ve tried a lot of yellow cake recipes and finally this one really delivers the moistness I was always looking for. Thanks Again!

  • I have a quick question! If i wanted to make these into mini cupcakes for my nephews birthday party would anything change? For example baking time or anything like that?

    • The only thing that would change is the baking time; I’d start checking them at about 10 minutes. Hope your nephew enjoys!

  • Hi jenn
    Can i add color to the cream cheese frosting?

    • Sure, Fanny, I think using a bit of food coloring would work here. 🙂

  • How long does buttermilk cup cake keep for

    • Hi Lou, if stored in an airtight container in the fridge, they should keep nicely for 2 to 3 days.

  • A different review….
    This is a quick and easy recipe to put together with good results and it makes plenty of cupcakes. Five of us ate them for dessert the day they were baked, and we thought they were fine, but we were not as enthusiastic as many of the other reviewers. I made a similar frosting which we all liked. We divided up the remaining ones and truthfully, we forgot about them. So 2 days later, I was ready to throw them out, but decided to taste another one. Oh my goodness! The flavor went through and they were really good. So I called my daughter and told her to taste hers, and she agreed wholeheartedly, even though they were now an extra day older. Plus, both of us left them on the counter rather than refrigerate them (which I certainly wouldn’t do in warm weather). So my review is really to share my experience with holding them for more than 2 days. While I know many people wouldn’t want to keep them, I know that I could make them a few days in advance and be happy to serve them (probably wouldn’t frost till day of serving, but maybe the frosting kept them fresh and moist). Thanks, Jenn, for sharing your recipes. I really enjoy your site and the recipes I have made.

  • Hi Jenn, my son wants cookies and cream cupcakes for his birthday so I was thinking of adding chopped Oreos to this recipe and/or maybe placing an Oreo at the bottom of the cupcake. Would this change the baking time? Thanks!

    • Hi Renee, I think it would work with no adjustments necessary to the baking time. Please LMK how they turn out this way!

  • Amazingly light and moist. Got rave reviews! I was even told I had to make someone’s wedding cake after eating these!

  • I love these! Definitely a keeper. Thanks.

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