Our classic white vanilla cupcake recipe makes fluffy, moist cupcakes! They are truly the best and topped with a whipped vanilla buttercream frosting. This recipe uses cake flour, butter, and oil these cupcakes are moist and delicious. Perfect for celebrations!
My kids go crazy for this easy vanilla cupcake recipe, especially one topped with sprinkles. If I’m being totally honest, I’m more of a chocolate cupcake gal, but even I can’t resist these cupcakes.
They remind me of the white vanilla cupcakes I used to gobble up as a child. The classic fluffy vanilla cupcakes with creamy buttercream, topped with irresistible rainbow sprinkles, yum. They are perfect for birthday parties!
The batter is made without egg yolks to keep the cupcake a warm shade of vanilla. They’re moist and perfect celebration cupcakes with sprinkles on top. Also, check out our confetti cupcakes too!
Vanilla cupcakes are a great base to add your own flavors. Top it with chocolate frosting or fill the center with lemon curd or caramel! There are so many options for creating your own version of these. You can even make them into charming flowers!!
How to Make Vanilla Cupcakes
Table of Contents
We’ll cover everything you need to know to make fluffy vanilla cupcakes, answer questions and share our expert tips. If you prefer to jump to the recipe, scroll to the bottom of the post where you’ll find the recipe card and instructions.
Supplies
Ingredient Notes
This recipe is made with simple ingredients you can find at your local grocery store:
Cake Flour – It helps to create a light and fluffy texture and is a staple in many baking recipes.
Whole Milk – Adds moisture and flavor. It also helps to bind the ingredients together. For vanilla cupcakes, it is best to use whole or 2% milk for the most flavor.
Buttermilk – Adds moisture and a subtle tanginess to the cupcakes. It also helps to create a light texture.
Egg Whites – These create structure and add moisture, which helps keep the cupcakes from drying out. Use large eggs and make sure they are at room temperature before adding them to the batter.
Granulated Sugar – Adds sweetness and helps the cupcakes to rise. It also helps to create a light and fluffy texture.
Butter – Use whole, unsalted butter, and make sure it’s room temperature. This will add moisture, and flavor and helps create a light texture.
Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla extract to add real vanilla flavor to these cupcakes. This not only adds flavor but also enhances the flavor in all of the ingredients.
Baking Powder + Baking Soda – These work as leavening agents to help the cupcakes rise.
Corn Starch – This works with the other ingredients to create a soft, fluffy cupcake with a moist texture.
Salt – Adds and enhances the flavor in the cupcakes.
Directions
- Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
- Beat butter and sugar on high in an electric mixer for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add in egg whites one at a time, with the mixer on medium speed. Beat until incorporated.
- Combine the whole milk, buttermilk, and vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup and lightly whisk.
- Alternate the dry and wet ingredients with the butter and sugar mixture.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and continue to mix until the batter is fully incorporated.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a cupcake tin with cupcake wrappers.
- Place two scoops of vanilla cupcake batter into each cupcake paper. About 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake the cupcakes for 15 minutes. Always start with less time, check on them, and then continue baking if needed.
- Let them cool before frosting.
Tips for Making the Best Cupcakes
Use High-Quality Ingredients
This makes a huge difference in the outcome of the cupcake. Try to buy King Arthur flour, whole grass-fed organic butter, organic eggs, Nielsen-Massey Vanilla, organic milk, etc.
Don’t Over Mix
Once the butter, eggs, and sugar are beaten until light and fluffy, the rest of the ingredients should not be mixed on high. This will create a dense cupcake. When the flour goes in the mixer should be set to low.
Preheat the Oven
A certain amount of heat applied quickly is required to activate the baking soda in the recipe. This will make the cupcake rise to be light and fluffy and not flat.
Baking Times
Baking times will vary depending on the true oven temperature, location, and altitude. Set the timer for a little less and check on the cupcakes, give them more time as needed.
Vanilla Cupcake Recipe Variations
Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcake Recipe: Use a gluten-free flour blend for the cake flour.
Coconut Vanilla Cupcake Recipe: Use coconut extract and add shredded coconut to the cupcake batter and top with a vanilla-coconut frosting.
Lemon-Vanilla Cupcake Recipe: Add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract and top with a vanilla-lemon frosting.
How to Store Cupcakes
Vanilla cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Refrigerate
If desired, you can also store them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Be sure to let them cool completely before storing them.
Freeze
To freeze vanilla cupcakes, wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw before serving.
Frosting for Vanilla Cupcakes
The best thing about vanilla cupcakes is that you can add any frosting you like to give them even more flavor! Here are a few of our favorite frosting options:
Swiss Meringue Buttercream – A light buttery frosting that’s not too sweet and made egg whites
Chocolate Buttercream – Chocolate and vanilla go well together and this is a great frosting to add to the top.
Favorite Vanilla Buttercream – A classic buttercream frosting goes well with vanilla and you can make pretty colors with it too.
Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting – This is one of our personal favorite frosting recipes.
Fluffy Gingerbread Frosting – Perfect if you’re making these for a holiday party!
You can use a piping bag and a large round tip to pipe any of these frostings onto the cupcakes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Adding a little oil to the cupcake batter will result in a more moist cupcake. Other ingredients like sour cream and butter will also create a moist cupcake. We like to use butter, buttermilk, and oil when making cupcakes.
White cake and yellow cake are both vanilla cakes. White cake is made without egg yolk making the color of the cake white. Yellow cake has egg yolks so the color of the cake comes out with a yellow tint.
The cupcakes will stay fresh for about 1 week covered. Store unfrosted cupcakes at room temperature in an airtight container. You can also freeze unfrosted cupcakes for up to 3 months!
Furthermore, cupcakes frosted with buttercream and just a little milk will last a few days covered at room temperature. Use a dome or an airtight container to store them.
Check out more tips on how to store cupcakes.
The secret to good vanilla cupcakes is in the ingredients and technique. Make sure you use fresh ingredients, measure accurately, and don’t overmix the batter. Bake your cupcakes at the right temperature and don’t open the oven door too often, as this can cause them to sink.
What are the characteristics of a good quality vanilla cupcake?
A good vanilla cupcake should be light and fluffy with a slight vanilla flavor. It should have a tender crumb with a golden-brown exterior and a smooth texture. The flavor should be vanilla-forward but not overly sweet, and the frosting should be silky and creamy without being overpowering. Lastly, vanilla cupcakes should be moist and not dry or crumbly.
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Classic Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp corn startch
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, room temp, unsalted
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy. About 5 minutes.
- Add in egg whites one at a time and beat until mixed.
- Using a fork whisk together liquid ingredients: milk, buttermilk and vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup.
- Alternate the dry and wet ingredients into the butter mixture beating on medium until incorporated.
- Fill cupcake molds 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. If they need more time leave them in for another few minutes. Do not over bake.
- Let them cool and then frost with our simple buttercream frosting recipe!
Notes
Nutrition
Can you make a cake with this recipe? Anything you would do different?
I think that would work, you would need to adjust the baking time.
The recipe is very forgiving. I just used AP flour and accidentally put in a whole tablespoon of cornstarch and they still came out fluffy and delish. Thanks!😊
Haha! That is great to know! I am so happy they still worked for you!
I made these for a bridal shower and they were a hit! I subbed sour cream for buttermilk because that’s what I had on hand.
I also whipped the egg whites to stiff peaks and folded them in to the batter at the end just to make them extra fluffy and with that, they made a full 24 cupcakes. If anyone else is trying to just get a couple additional cupcakes with this recipe – that will work!
They were moist, flavorful and delicious!
Thank you Sarah for the kind review! So happy these worked for you and what a great idea to whip the egg whites first!!
These were easy and delicious, but taking the paper off was a struggle / not sure what could have caused that?
Haven’t found a cupcake I didn’t like, but these were exceptional! Looking forward to baking these again this weekend for my daughter’s birthday!
I am obsessed with these cupcakes! They are so fluffy!
I love vanilla cupcakes and this recipe did not disappoint. Delicious. Thanks for the easy directions and stunning photos.
Hi there, Is it possible to get this CLASSIC VANILLA CUPCAKE RECIPE in grams measurement rather than cups.
Thanks.
The only reason why I’m not rating this as five stars is because I had to make some substitutions to fit my sons dietary needs (he is lactose intolerant). I’ve never made a cake or cupcakes from scratch before but all the preboxed mixes contain milk, so I thought I’d give it a shot and I’m so glad I did! He loves these cupcakes and so do we!!! I subbed: lactose-free whole milk for the milk and dairy-free butter (Country Crock Plant-Based Butter made from Almond Oil) for the butter. I didn’t have any cake flour on hand, so I combined all purpose flour and cornstarch (for each one cup of cake flour: sub 1 cup of all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons of flour, plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch). The dairy-free butter and sugar didn’t get real ‘light and fluffy’, but I kept going and I’m so thrilled with how these turned out. His whole preschool class devoured them for their Christmas party today, and now I have this amazing recipe to use for his birthday in a few weeks too! Thanks so very much!!
Amy this is wonderful to hear that with all of those alternations it turned out delicious! So happy this recipe could be a base for that and happy the class loved them. Thank you for sharing!
These cupcakes were so good! I made them for my sister’s bridal shower and everyone loved them!
CUPCAKES PRETTY TASTY [EVEN WITHOUT FROSTING BECAUSE I COULDN’T HELP MYSELF! THANK YOU FOR RESPONDING IN TIME FOR ME TO BAKE FOR COMPANY TONIGHT.
Oh yay! Thank you for pointing those out for us! Happy you liked these!!
Moist and delicious! I’ll be using this recipe for my vanilla cupcakes going forward.
Wow! Those look so moist & soft! Vanilla cupcakes are the best Best part is that delicious frosting!
This is definitely the perfect cupcake!! So fluffy and delicious!!