The only vanilla cupcake recipe you'll need! Get all the tips to make perfect, moist and soft vanilla cupcakes for any occasion. EASY - This is a great beginners' cupcake recipe. Easy to whip up and great for baking with kids. American buttercream is an easier frosting recipe vs Swiss meringue buttercream. Ounces and grams are weight measurements. US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
Note on baking cupcakes - You will get 14 - 15 cupcakes with this recipe, so you can either use two standard cupcake pans OR you can cover the extra batter while the first batch is baking, and bake the remaining 2 - 3 cupcakes separately in the same pan after removing the baked ones.
Optional - Make the vanilla simple syrup ahead of time and let it cool down.
Sift the flour and baking powder together into a bowl and set aside.
Place the softened butter and salt in a bowl, and cream the butter until creamy. You can use a hand mixer for this. For a larger batch, use a stand mixer.
Add the sugar, and cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the 2 eggs and mix them into the batter until the eggs are just mixed through. Avoid over-beating the batter with the added eggs.
Add the vanilla extract and sour cream, and stir them in on low speed (or by hand).
Now, add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and fold them in gently until mixed through. Please see the post for tips on how to fold in the flour while avoiding over-mixing the batter.
When folding in the final addition of dry ingredients, make sure there are no dry spots, and scrape the bottom of the bowl as you fold to ensure all the flour is mixed through well.
Using a 3 tbsp cookie scoop, generously scoop batter into the prepared cupcake liners (about 3 ½ tbsp each). The cupcake liners should be about half full, and you should get 14 - 15 cupcakes.
Knock the pan firmly on a counter twice to remove excess air bubbles.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 - 25 minutes. The cupcakes should just start to color on the surface and be slightly springy to the touch. A toothpick inserted should come out clean.
Remove the cupcake pan from the oven and let it sit for about 3 - 5 minutes to cool down slightly. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan and place them on a wire rack to cool down completely.
FOR TRIPLE VANILLA CUPCAKES - Dizzle some of the vanilla simple syrup on the cupcakes while they are cooling down on the wire rack. Warmer cupcakes will absorb the syrup better, so make sure the cupcakes are still very warm.
Once the cupcakes have cooled down, frost with your choice of buttercream frosting - Vanilla flavored American buttercream or vanilla swiss meringue buttercream (recipe coming soon).
Top with sprinkles (optional) and serve.
Vanilla simple syrup for triple vanilla cupcakes (optional)
Place the sugar, salt, water and vanilla in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once the syrup starts to boil, you can remove it from the heat and let it cool down to room temperature. You can transfer the syrup into a plastic squeeze/squirt bottle, so that it's easier to drizzle. You can also use a spoon to carefully drizzle the syrup over the cupcakes.
Spread or pipe the frosting over the cupcakes when the cupcakes have cooled down.
Notes
Vanilla cupcake variationsLemon meringue cupcakes - Add lemon zest and lemon extract along with the vanilla extract to the cake batter to make lemon cupcakes. Hollow out the center of a baked cupcake, and fill it with some lemon curd! Top the cupcakes with some Swiss meringue (not buttercream), and caramelize the meringue with a torch. Top the cake with pieces of pie crust (optional).Tiramisu cupcakes - Make the vanilla cupcakes and drizzle the cupcake with some coffee syrup (or kahlua). Hollow out the center and fill it with a slightly sweetened, whipped mascarpone filling. Top it all with a coffee flavored buttercream and chocolate shavings.Strawberry shortcake cupcakes - Cut up some strawberries into a small dice and let that macerate with sugar and a little lemon juice. Make the vanilla cupcakes and hollow out the center. Fill it with the macerated strawberries. Frost the cupcakes with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream or with sweetened whipped cream. Garnish with more macerated strawberries OR with fresh strawberries.Coconut cupcakes - Substitute the sour cream with an equal amount of coconut milk from a can (not the lite coconut) + 1/2 tsp white vinegar. Add 1/4 cup of unsweetened desiccated coconut to the coconut milk and let it stand for a few minutes. Add this mixture instead of the sour cream. Top it with coconut buttercream and flaked toasted coconut on top.Dairy free cupcakes - Substitute the butter and sour cream with dairy free versions of butter (plant-based butter) and a tofu sour cream or vegan yogurt. Frost it with your favorite dairy free buttercream. You can also use my American buttercream recipe and use vegan butter and omit the cream.