Simply Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
These vanilla cupcakes will be your absolute favorite! So fluffy, with an intense vanilla flavor and buttery richness. 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!
Guess what? I’ve reworked this recipe and come up with something even better! Go check out my Even Simpler, More Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes—-> here.
If you like things simple, unfussed around with, and natural, then you’ll definitely enjoy Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar. I have not been compensated by Zucarmex (the makers of Zulka), but I was given a sample of their product to review. All of the opinions expressed in this post are my own. Visit www.zulca.com or the Zulka Sugar Facebook page, for more great recipe ideas.
I was so pleased when the people at Zulka reached out to me recently, and offered me a sample of their product. (If you aren’t already familiar, Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar is a less-processed, non-GMO version of the granulated sugar we already know and love.) Since I am a huge lover of all things sweet, and ALSO of all things natural, I thought Zulka would be a great fit for me, this blog, and you, my readers!
I knew from the start I wanted to bake up a recipe that really allowed the flavor of the sugar to shine through. Something simple and sweet, that would showcase this lovely product.
Also, I was overwhelmed by the positive response to my chewy peanut butter cookies. It took me by surprise, that such a simple recipe was so well-received, and it got me thinking… maybe I should offer more tried and true basics on Baking a Moment? Kind of silly for me to assume that everybody already has their favorite standby recipes to reach for.
So, today, I’m introducing a new category/recurring series here on Baking a Moment: “Simply Perfect.” I still want to offer you guys some clever and inventive ideas, but I’m also going to arm you with some seriously awesome building-block recipes too! These will be all my favorites, from years of practicing and experimentation! I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do….
- A fine, even crumb.
- A fluffy texture, but not so soft that it couldn’t stand up to filling/frosting.
- A domed top.
- Intense vanilla and buttery flavor.
The recipes I tested are as follows:
Billy’s Vanilla, Vanilla Cupcakes (tasted great but had a hard crust on top), America’s Test Kitchen White Cake (pillowy soft and delicious, but too delicate), Dorie Greespan’s Perfect Party Cake, via My Baking Addiction (subbing vanilla bean paste), and My Favorite Vanilla Cupcakes, by Cookies and Cups, which was adapted from Back in the Day Bakery.
It was a close race, but in the end, Shelly’s Favorite Vanilla Cupcakes edged out Jamie of My Baking Addiction’s by a hair’s breadth. Mainly by virtue of this simple fact:
Also I thought Shelly’s had a slightly richer flavor, which is probably because of the egg yolk. (But if you’re really going for a snowy white cake, I’d go with Jaimie’s.) And her recipe is so easy to throw together, with only a mixing bowl, paddle, and measuring cup to wash when all’s said and done. All of them were so very delicious though! I’ve only made one slight modification to Shelly’s recipe, and that is the addition of vanilla bean paste. It really amps up the flavor, and it’s a more economical choice than whole vanilla beans.
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: 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 are some of my other “Simply Perfect” recipes:
As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Simply Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup (187.5 g) cake flour
- 1 1/2 cup (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 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.
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!
Followed your instructions to a tee. They are absolutely beautiful and yep, simply perfect!
So glad to hear it, Cassandra! Thanks for the great feedback 🙂
Filled them with vanilla pudding and covered them with a chocolate ganache. Boston cream pie cupcakes! Thank you!
What a fabulous idea! Thanks for sharing Cassandra! I’m so glad you enjoyed 😉
Awesome recipe! I’d love to use for my friend’s party. Is there any way to half the recipe?
Thanks Steven! I’m so glad you like this recipe- but if I may I’d love to direct you to this one: https://bakingamoment.com/even-simpler-more-perfect-vanilla-cupcakes/. It’s even better, IMHO! And yes, it halves beautifully; I do it all the time 😉 Good luck and enjoy!
Great! Thank you. 😀
Hi Allie!
I too had the problem of them puffing up too much and then collapsing. The still tasted wonderful, jsut didn’t look good. I’m sure I didn’t underbake them, ad I actually had them in about 7 minutes longer than was suggested. And they were browning on the top. The toothpick came out totally clean. I don’t know what I did wrong! they don’t have cake flour here in the UK so I was making it myself – for every cup of cake flour, do 1 cup of all purpose and replace 2 tablespoons with corn flour. Not sure if I didn’t measure properly. I also didn’t do totally exactly measurements for the baking powder. Would a little tiny bit extra make that difference? The were still yummy and once frosting was on them, they were great, but would just like to improve them for next time. Thanks!!
Hey Danielle! Thanks for reading my blog and trying one of my recipes. This one is really good but did you happen to notice the link at the top of the post? I actually reworked the recipe and reposted, here it is again in case you missed it: https://bakingamoment.com/even-simpler-more-perfect-vanilla-cupcakes/. I think this newer recipe is a lot better and the picture tutorial will hopefully answer lots of questions. Good luck sweetie and thanks again! <3
Hi I’ve made these cupcakes before with great results. Lately, they bake up fine with great domes on them while they are in the oven, and once they cool they sink down into the wrappers. They are nothing at all like the pictures. Any ideas as to why this is happening?
Tee, I’m going to edit the recipe a bit. I’ve gotten similar comments from other readers, and I think it might help if the milk is decreased a bit. Also, I think if you allow the butter to soften before adding it to the dry ingredients, you might have better luck. I’m sorry for the trouble! I will actually be posting a new (and I think better) recipe for vanilla cupcakes in the coming weeks. It’s basically this: https://bakingamoment.com/lemon-greek-yogurt-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting/ but without the lemon. It’s really reliable!
Hi Allie, your chocolate cupcake is now my go-to recipe, now I’m off to try this vanilla cupcake recipe. I checked out Shelley’s site too and noticed the modifications you’ve done to the recipe, i.e, cold butter vs. room temp, equal amount of cake flour and APF vs. 1 3/4 cup cake flour and 1 1/4 cup APF, and lastly 1 1/2 cup milk vs. 1 cup. If you don’t mind, I just want to know the reason behind these modifications and what would be the difference in the outcome between the two. Also, if I use vanilla bean instead, do I still need to add some extract?
Hey Grace! Thanks for the great questions. Actually, you’ve reminded me that I need to go back and re-edit the recipe a little bit. I think you’d be better off listening to Shelley about the butter- I’ve tried it a few times since publishing this post, both ways, and I do think that softened butter works better. The reason I changed the ratio of cake flour/ap flour is because the cake flour results in a softer, fluffier cake, and in this case I thought it needed a little more sturdiness. The extra milk seemed to give a little added moisture. But honestly, all that said, I think I actually have an even better vanilla cupcake recipe now. I’ve yet to post it as such, but if you have a look at this post: https://bakingamoment.com/lemon-greek-yogurt-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting/, I think you will really like this recipe. (Just leave out the lemon.) That little bit of acidity from the yogurt, along with the baking soda, really yields a nice texture. And I think it would work equally well with buttermilk, sour cream, or regular plain yogurt, if you have difficulty finding Greek yogurt. As for your question about vanilla, it’s totally up to you, how vanilla-y you like your cupcakes to be. I personally would probably double up with bean + extract, just because I love the flavor so much 😉
That’s perfect, I still have some leftover greek yogurt from when I made your chocolate cupcake! I knew there was a reason why I was not able to bake these vanilla cupcakes today. Off to try that other recipe later! Will let you know how it goes! 🙂
Hi Allie, I followed your advise and adapted the Lemon Greek Yogurt Cupcake recipe (sans the lemon juice and zest) and they were indeed delicious! It is now my go-to vanilla cupcake recipe! I halved the recipe as I wanted to see first if I can make it by hand (can’t use the mixer as the baby was napping). I just used a wooden spoon and spatula. I was actually surprised that I was able to achieve the coarse crumb consistency with just a wooden spoon! And no, I don’t have strong biceps. I just mixed it slowly, gently mashing the butter with the wooden spoon so it incorporates with the flour. Quite cathartic actually. I think mixing it by hand also helped as I tend to over mix when I use a stand mixer. The cupcakes turned out moist, light, fine crumbed yet sturdy. So yes, you can do the reverse creaming method by hand, just make sure all ingredients are room temp. Can’t thank you enough for ending my quest for the perfect chocolate and vanilla cupcakes!
That’s so great, Grace! I’m so happy you had such a great experience, and thank you so much for sharing it! So good to know it can be made easily without a mixer. Thanks for the great feedback, dear!
Yes please do! I think you will have better success with that recipe. And you’ve motivated me to post it as my new favorite vanilla cupcake recipe, so hopefully that will be up soon 😉
Hi! I’m from Singapore and I just tried this recipe today. The cupcakes fluffed up after about 25 mins but when it cooled, it sank and was quite dense even though the flavour was really good. I’m unsure if I had underbeaten it as it was quite runny when I scooped the batter into the cupcake holders, or was it underbaked? And did you use a paddle attachment to beat the batter? Thanks!
Hi Grace! Thanks so much for reading my blog and trying one of my recipes. I did use the paddle attachment. I think perhaps your cupcakes may have been underbaked. Every oven can be slightly different, and different altitudes can play a part in baking as well. Don’t pull the cupcakes from the oven until the tops spring back when pressed, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Thanks again and good luck!
Hi! I made this recipe this morning, but I used frozen sliced peaches that I had leftover from peach season here in Michigan. I thawed the peaches and put them in a strainer while I was preparing the other ingredients. Then I roughly chopped up the peaches (actually it was more like crushing them because they were so soft) and then I added them to the batter. They turned out great! Very peachy! It was nice to bring back a little bit of summer considering we have been stuck in a never-ending winter.
opps! I meant to post this on the peach muffin recipe!
Oh! That sounds wooooonderful!!! I could use some sunny peachy cupcakes in my life! I’m so happy to hear that the recipe adapted so well. Thanks so much for sharing, Hilary, and hang in there! I’m hoping this March will go out like a lamb…
Hi!!! I just discovered your blog and I loved it … I will try more than one of your recipes. Thanks for publishing.
I have a question, I live in Madrid, Spain and I don´t know this kind of cake flour. Can I use any other brand of cake flour?
Hi Auxai! And thank you so much for your kind words! Absolutely you can use any kind of cake flour you like. I often use the Softasilk brand, or Swan’s Down, whatever I can find on my supermarket shelf. Thanks so much for the excellent question and for stopping by! 😀