Simply Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
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These Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes will be your absolute favorite! They are fluffy, intensely vanilla-flavored, and buttery and rich. They have a fine, even crumb and a perfect dome on top, sturdy enough to stand up to all sorts of fillings and frostings. You'll reach for this recipe again and again.
Update: I've made an even simpler, more perfect vanilla cupcake recipe here. This recipe is still very solid, very delicious, and deserves a spot on the site, but you might want to check out the new version and decide for yourself which one you'd like to make today.
I tried four different vanilla cupcake recipes before coming up with this one. I wanted a cupcake with a fine, even crumb, a fluffy but sturdy texture, a domed top, and strong vanilla and buttery flavors. Adding a bit of vanilla bean paste along with vanilla extract made the flavor even better! This recipe is easy to mix in one bowl and has become one of my go-to basics.
These little beauties bake up so fluffy and soft, and they can be filled or topped with all sorts of deliciousness. But today, I kept it simple with another "Simply Perfect" recipe, my Vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. It's a little more effort than the straight-up powdered sugar + butter variety, but the satiny-smooth, light-as-air, yet richly indulgent flavor and texture make it more than worth your while!
You are going to love these simple, sweet cupcakes! Sometimes the simplest pleasures can really be the best. Not everything needs to be fussed around with, right? And that goes just as much for sugar as it does for cupcakes.
Here's Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The crumb is fine and even, not too dense and not too airy.
- They dome beautifully, so they look bakery-perfect straight out of the oven.
- The vanilla flavor is intense, thanks to both vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste.
- These cupcakes are sturdy enough for any topping. You can pipe on a big swirl of frosting or fill them with your favorite filling.
Ingredients You'll Need
The recipe card at the bottom of the post contains the full list with all of the amounts. Refer to that when you're cooking.
- Cake flour and all-purpose flour: The combination gives these cupcakes a fine, tender crumb while still holding their structure.
- Granulated sugar: Sweetens the batter.
- Baking powder: Gives the cupcakes their rise and that signature domed top.
- Kosher salt: Balances the sweetness.
- Unsalted butter: Adds richness and helps create that buttery flavor.
- Eggs: Add structure and a rich flavor, thanks to the yolks.
- Milk: Keeps the batter moist. You can use buttermilk instead for even more moisture and a longer shelf life.
- Vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste: These work together to give the cupcakes a strong vanilla flavor. If you love vanilla, you can add more of either one without changing how the cupcakes bake.
How To Make Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
Step 1: Preheat & Prep
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add cupcake liners to your cupcake tin.
Step 2: Make Batter
Place the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Add the butter and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl to make sure everything is well combined.
Add the milk mixture in two parts. First, mix the milk and vanilla together in a measuring cup. Pour in half of this mixture and beat it into the batter.
Beat the batter on medium speed for 1 ½ minutes, then scrape down the bowl. Add the rest of the milk mixture and beat for another 30 seconds.
Step 3: Fill Liners
Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter.
Step 4: Bake, Cool, & Frost
Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool completely before adding your favorite frosting. Vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream is a great choice.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- For a higher dome, start baking at 400°F for about 6 minutes. Then, lower the oven to 325°F for the rest of the baking time.
- You can use buttermilk instead of milk. It adds more moisture and helps the cupcakes stay fresh longer.
- Don't prepare the batter ahead of time. Once you mix the wet and dry ingredients, the baking powder starts working, so bake the cupcakes right away instead of letting the batter sit overnight.
- You can freeze baked cupcakes before frosting them. This is a helpful way to prepare for a party. Just bake and cool the cupcakes, freeze them, and add frosting after they thaw.
- To store, keep frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can freeze unfrosted cupcakes for up to 2 months.
Recipe FAQ
Yes. Buttermilk works well as a 1:1 substitute and adds extra moisture and shelf life.
No, this isn't recommended. Once the dry and wet ingredients are combined, the baking powder begins to activate, so you need to bake the batter right away rather than refrigerating it overnight.
This recipe makes just over 4 cups of batter, which is usually enough for one 9-inch cake layer. If you want a two-layer 9-inch cake, double the recipe. Watch the baking time, as it may need to be adjusted for larger pans.
More Simply Perfect Recipes
- Simply Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies
- Simply Perfect Pizza Dough
- Simply Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes
- Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Simply Perfect Homemade Jam (No Pectin)
- Simply Perfect Brownies from Scratch
- Simply Perfect Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup (187.5 g) cake flour
- 1 ½ cup (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened, cut into small cubes
- 4 eggs, (large)
- 1 cup (236.59 ml) milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the butter and mix on low speed, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (2-3 minutes).
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are well-combined.
- Combine the milk and vanilla in a measuring cup, and beat half this mixture into the flour/butter/eggs.
- Beat on medium speed for 1½ minutes, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, add the remaining milk mixture, and beat for another 30 seconds.
- Fill paper liners ⅔ full with batter and bake for 20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool completely before topping with Swiss meringue buttercream.
Notes
Author
More Fun for Kids
Have a question about this recipe? Ask AI:
Yummy!!! My boys made these for a neighborhood party, and decorated the cupcakes like emoji faces. Everyone thought they were delicious and the crumb was wonderful and light, not too grainy like some homemade recipes can get. I would definitely recommend this one!
Love to hear this! Thank you so much for the great feedback and I'm so happy everyone enjoyed!
These and your chocolate ones are my go to cupcake recipes, simply delicious. Do you have a simply perfect white cake recipe? Or how can I adapt for two 9 in. round cakes?
Hey Amy! You can find my favorite white cupcake recipe here: https://bakingamoment.com/white-cupcakes/. And any of these recipes can be adapted for use as a layer cake. You'll just want to adjust the bake times as needed. Also, I like to lower the oven temp to 325 so they bake up a little flatter. Good luck and enjoy!
I have made these a number of times and they are delicious, they also dome beautifully if you start your cooking at 200C for about 6 minutes and then reduce it to 170C for the rest of the cooking time. My question is that I have a brilliant Red Velvet Cupcake recipe but they will not dome, can I substitute some flour for the cocoa and will the introduction of the colouring gel effect the way this recipe cooks and still get the lovely dome that this vanilla cupcake recipe produces?
Hey Patricia! I'm so happy you like this recipe! I'm not 100% sure about making it into red velvet, but I do have a red velvet cupcake recipe that I absolutely LOVE! It's moist and full of flavor, with less food coloring than what is typical and it domes very nicely. You can find it here: https://bakingamoment.com/red-velvet-cupcakes/. Hopefully you'll love it as much as I do!
Simply delicious and fluffy cupcakes
So glad you enjoyed them Noura! Thanks for the great feedback!
I am really excited to try vanilla bean paste - I've never used it before. I really love buttercream icing - and ther swiss meringue is the kind I usually make. The recipe I've used calls to switch from the whisk to a paddle after the icing is complete. Beat for 2 minutes or so at slow speed to smooth out the icing and get rid of air bubbles. I have a paddle attachment with a spatula blade, and this works really well.
Great tip Jennifer! Thanks so much for sharing!
I tried these yesterday, and while it's very moist, I can't really taste the vanilla; neither could my wife. I followed the recipe exactly. Do I increase the amount of vanilla, and if so, which one, the liquid or the paste? Please answer.
You could absolutely increase either or both and it would not affect the chemistry of the recipe at all. Hope that helps; good luck!
Hi Allie
I baked these yesterday and were absolutely delicious! This was a test run for my daughter's birthday and was wondering if i could make the batter the day before/refrigerate and cook them on the morning of the birthday? I know i can do it with the frosting but will it affect the batter at all? thanks 🙂
Hey Alexandra! I'm so glad you liked them on the test run! I would not advise making the batter the day before, however. The baking powder will poop out before they hit the oven and you'll end up with pancakes! If you want to do a little prep ahead of time, you could just measure out the dry ingredients and set them aside for a bit, but the minute you add liquid to that the leavening starts activating. Another option would be to bake the cupcakes, cool them, and freeze them unfrosted. I do that a lot! Hope that helps!
great thanks for letting me know 🙂
Of course!
Hi there! I just made these today and while I thought they were tasty, the kids did not like them! Much to my dismay, of course. I came here because of the simply perfect chocolate cupcakes, which everyone gobbled up like they were going out of style! I was hoping the vanilla (as one of the little ones doesn't really like chocolate) would go over just as well. I think the problem was the "buttery flavor", perhaps they turned out a little too rich for the young paletes. The texture, as deservingly celebrated in previous posts, was fantastic, but I found the cupcakes to be more rich than sweet.
Thanks for the recipe anyhow, the adults seemed to like the cupcakes a little more than the kids, so that's something to keep in mind for those of you making these! (Unless of course, I messed up along the way! I still advise you to give them a try but if you want typical white vanilla cake, I'd try something else!)
Hey there! I'm so sorry your kiddos didn't like the flavor but I'm glad the grownups did! If you're looking for something a bit sweeter and less rich, definitely check out my White Cupcakes recipe: https://bakingamoment.com/white-cupcakes/. I just posted it yesterday, but it's already a huge favorite around my house!
hi love your recipes...just wanted to know can i use buttermilk instead of milk to make my cupcakes moist and last a little longer....will it work?
Hey Sarah! Thank you so much! I've replaced the milk buttermilk in this recipe and it works very well. I'm sure you would love it! Definitely go for it 🙂
Hi! I wanted to use this recipe to make a 2 layer 9-inch cake. Will this recipe make that? Or do I need to double the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Arthi! This recipe produces a little over 4 cups of batter. According to this chart: http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-serving-guide.cfm, I'm thinking you'll probably want to double the recipe. I haven't done this myself so I can't guarantee the results, but if it works well for you I'd love to hear about it! I'd be so appreciative if you'd drop me another comment here and let me know. Good luck!
Thanks for your reply! I finally followed the recipe from your Even Simpler Cupcakes and tripled the recipe... which I think was a mistake as my layers ended up being too tall..... I think I would have preferred this as a cupcake - everyone loved the taste - so that was great!. Thanks!
Oh ok! I wonder if maybe just double would have been better. Glad you liked the taste though! Thanks for the feedback, Arthi!
Can I use the same ratio to bake a 2 layer cake with 9 inch pans? I am trying to make a birthday cake. Thanks!
Hi Arthi! I have not tried it myself so I can't make any guarantees. I would think you'd probably need to double the recipe though. Good luck and I hope it works out!