These vanilla cupcakes are, by far, one of the most-loved recipes on this website. Using creamed butter, plus cake flour, sour cream, and egg whites (no yolks!), guarantees a soft, fluffy, and cake-like crumb. Pure vanilla extract plus the optional addition of vanilla beans seals in a classic vanilla flavor. Use a piping tip or knife to garnish each with vanilla buttercream.
Originally published in 2016, this vanilla cupcakes recipe has soared to the top of my Essential Baking Recipes list. This list includes recipes that are in regular rotation in my kitchen including banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, and sugar cookies. (So many favorites!) In fact, today’s cupcakes have been so popular around here that I’ve used the base recipe to create several other varieties.
Here’s Exactly Why This Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe Works:
Baking is a science and that’s proved over and over again in base recipes like this. Like when making white cake and vanilla cake, it’s not only the measurements you use, but the specific type of ingredient. Using cake flour instead of all-purpose produces a fluffy, soft crumb. Skipping the egg yolks keeps the cupcakes light. Sour cream helps supply a tight, yet moist crumb. My team and I have done the testing and we are confident in the results. These homemade vanilla cupcakes are simply perfect.
Reader Kristin commented: “This recipe was delicious and will definitely be a go to! I frosted with your Homemade Rainbow Chip Frosting and had rave reviews… several asked for the recipes!”
Use These Carefully Selected Ingredients
This cupcake batter calls for 11 ingredients, including the handful mentioned below, as well as basics like baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Let me explain why the following ingredients are “power ingredients” in this recipe:
- Cake flour: Cake flour is much lighter than all-purpose flour and helps to produce the softest, lightest cakes and cupcakes you’ll ever eat. It’s sold next to the regular flour in the baking aisle and I promise that you’ll use up the entire box in no time after you taste these! Note that you do not need cake flour for chocolate cupcakes because cocoa powder is already very light.
- Softened butter: A base of creamed butter and sugar (instead of using melted butter or oil) often helps achieve a soft, cake-like structure. Make sure it’s proper room temperature butter.
- Egg whites: While egg yolks are rich in fat and moisture, they can weigh down your baked goods. Skip the egg yolks and use the whites purely for giving structure to the cupcakes. Since we are losing a little fat from the missing egg yolks, we add it back in with sour cream and whole milk.
- Sour cream: This is a power ingredient because it lightens and moistens the crumb. Though plain yogurt could be used in its place, I find that cupcakes made with sour cream are lighter.
- Vanilla Extract & Vanilla Bean: For the most well-rounded vanilla flavor, use both vanilla bean and vanilla extract in the cupcakes, just like we do in strawberry shortcake cupcakes. You can usually find vanilla beans in the baking aisle, but if you’re looking to purchase them online, I recommend these vanilla beans. See recipe Note if you’re skipping the vanilla bean or if you want to use vanilla bean paste.
- Whole Milk: Milk with fat such as whole milk or 2% milk is your best choice here. Nondairy milk is great in a pinch. I use buttermilk in this vanilla cake recipe, which is typically a fine substitution for both sour cream and regular milk in baked goods. For these cupcakes, however, the crumb stays a little tighter when using sour cream + whole milk.
Tip: Make sure ALL cold ingredients are room temperature before beginning, otherwise your batter could split and the results aren’t pleasant. Read more about why room temperature ingredients are important in baking.
Want to kick the vanilla flavor up a notch? Replace store-bought vanilla extract with homemade vanilla extract and regular granulated sugar with vanilla sugar.
Success Tip: Filling Your Cupcake Pan
The batter comes together with a mixer. Give it a quick whisk by hand to make sure there are no more lumps at the bottom of the bowl.
When filling your lined cupcake pan, fill the liners only 2/3 full, which is about 3 heaping Tablespoons of batter each. Filling them only 2/3 full gives you about 14 cupcakes from this batch. Using more batter per cupcake leads to overflowing or even sinking.
This Is a Multipurpose Batter
Since the results are so crowd-pleasing, this vanilla cupcake batter has become a go-to standard for many other cupcake recipes on this website. Using this recipe as the starting point, I’ve created all of the following cupcake flavors:
- Mimosa Cupcakes
- Chai Latte Cupcakes
- White Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes
- Sprinkle Cupcakes
- Pistachio Cupcakes
- Caramel Coconut Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes
- Wedding Cupcakes with Champagne Frosting
Can I Turn These Cupcakes Into a Cake?
Yes, instead of cupcakes, you can use this exact batter for making a vanilla 6-inch cake. For a 1-layer vanilla cake, I recommend my similar recipe for 1-layer sprinkle cake. You can skip the sprinkles. See recipe Notes for larger layer cake options.
Frosting for Vanilla Cupcakes
This vanilla buttercream is a top choice for garnishing your vanilla cupcakes. But your frosting options are pretty much endless, including Swiss meringue buttercream, white chocolate buttercream frosting, strawberry buttercream frosting, chocolate buttercream, lemon buttercream, or cream cheese frosting. For a lighter, less sweet option, I love pairing these cupcakes with whipped frosting. You can even fill them with raspberry cake filling before frosting.
You can swipe the frosting on with an icing knife (pictured below) or with a piping bag + tip such as Wilton 1M (images in the post above). If you’re just learning how to use piping tips, my piping tips guide is a helpful resource.
And finally, here’s just one photo of our multiple test variations. The left cupcake had way too much liquid and produced a wet, squat cupcake. The right cupcake was from our final batch, simply perfect!
Printable recipe & video tutorial below.
Recommended Tools
- 12-count muffin pan. I use and love this muffin pan and this muffin pan. Both are excellent quality and you can’t go wrong with either.
- Cupcake liners
- Handheld mixer or stand mixer
- Vanilla beans
- Icing knife or Wilton 1M piping tip + piping bag
Simply Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 14 cupcakes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is my favorite recipe for homemade vanilla cupcakes. Using creamed butter, cake flour, sour cream, and egg whites, these cupcakes are soft, sweet, fluffy, and infinitely buttery.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (207g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- seeds scraped from 1/2 of a vanilla bean (optional)
- 1/2 cup (120g) full-fat sour cream at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk at room temperature
- vanilla buttercream and sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with 2 liners—this recipe makes about 14 cupcakes. Set aside.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg whites, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean and beat on medium-high speed until smooth and combined, at least 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed and then beat in the sour cream. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Do not over-mix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour/spoon the batter into the liners—fill only 2/3 full to avoid spilling over the sides. Bake for 19–22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For around 30–36 mini cupcakes, bake for about 11–13 minutes, same oven temperature. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Frost cooled cupcakes with vanilla buttercream. You can swipe the frosting on with an icing knife or use a piping tip such as Wilton 1M. Leftover cupcakes keep well covered tightly in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cupcakes can be made ahead 1 day in advance, covered, and stored at room temperature. Frosted or unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): USA Pan 12-cup Muffin Pan or Calphalon 12-cup Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Icing Knife | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton 1M
- Amount of Batter: This recipe yields between 3-4 cups of batter which is helpful if you’re reviewing the Cake Pan Sizes & Conversions page.
- Cake Flour: Cake flour is the only ideal flour for this recipe. In a pinch, you can make your own homemade cake flour but the cupcakes won’t taste as light. You can find cake flour in the baking aisle near the all-purpose flour.
- Leftover Egg Yolks? I have some recipe ideas for you!
- Vanilla: For best flavor, pure vanilla extract is strongly recommended. If using imitation, increase to 1 Tablespoon (3 teaspoons). If you can’t get your hands on vanilla bean, simply leave it out or replace with an extra 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. If you want to use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract and vanilla bean, use 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste.
- Whole Milk & Sour Cream: Whole milk and sour cream are strongly recommended for the best taste and texture. A full fat plain yogurt would work instead, though the cupcakes may not be as light. Same goes with a lower fat milk. Nondairy milk works in a pinch. You can replace both the whole milk and sour cream with buttermilk (1 cup; 240ml) if needed.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read here for more information.
- Vanilla Cake: I suggest following my white cake recipe as the base, which is almost double this cupcake recipe. I also have a taller 3 layer vanilla cake recipe as well. For a 1 layer cake, I recommend this 1-layer sprinkle cake and you can skip the sprinkles in the batter.
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakes before you begin.
Can we use carton egg whites (non-pasteurized), or must they come from the egg directly? Thank you!
Are “cake flour” and “cake & pastry flour” the same? (I can only find cake &pastry flour in my area.)
Hi Joslyn, Pastry flour isn’t quite as light as cake flour. You can use it as a substitute in recipes calling for cake flour, but the baked good won’t taste quite as light – best to stick with cake flour if possible. If you can’t find it where you live see the recipe notes for how to make your own cake flour substitute.
Australia has Lighthouse Cake Flour but they have plain & SR. Which do I use?
Because the recipe already contains baking powder and baking soda, use plain cake flour.
Had a hankering for some homemade cake this evening and thought I’d give this recipe a try. My cupcakes turned out perfectly! This will definitely be my “go to”. I added some coconut and chocolate chips because…well, why not. Yum.
Hiya, I have a question, I need to make my own cake flour but you said not to sift the flour in the recipe. Should I still sift the flour and corn flour or would using a hand whisk be enough to combine? Thanks very much. Laura
Hi Laura! Yes, we still suggest sifting together the flour and cornstarch to make a cake flour substitute. See recipe notes for details on how to best make the correct amount!
I love this recipe. I served these recently for my daughter’s graduation party and they were a hit. The only change I made was cream cheese frosting, because we like it best. I made lemon cream cheese and chocolate cream cheese frosting. These are my go to vanilla cupcakes!
These came out so beautifully! I baked them with my five year old and they were absolutely delicious!
Moist, light, delicious!
We made a Nutella- buttercream frosting to top them off and the children loved them. Thank you Sally!
Silly question I know. The recipe above calls for 1/2 of a vanilla bean, does it matter if I cut the bean horizontally or vertically? Thanks!
Hi Amber! It’s easiest to scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean when sliced vertically.
I personally love the taste of cake flour so I plan on using this base for a cake pop recipe! Do you think I could bake it in an 8×8 circular pan? Or a 9×12 pan? Thank you!
Hi Annabel! We’d recommend using our homemade cake pops recipe instead, otherwise you’d have to play around with the cake:frosting ratio here. You can swap the all-purpose flour there for cake flour. Let us know if you give it a try!
Thank you! I did end up baking this in a 9×9 pan with 1/4 cup frosting! Worked great
Accidentally used 1 cup of sour cream so I left out the milk. Turned out delicious! If you don’t LOVE vanilla I would cut the extract in half. It’s verrrry vanilla
Love this recipe! I’ve made it several times now and the cupcakes always taste amazing! However – they always come out really domed rather than flat, which isn’t ideal for decorating… any idea about why this could be happening? My measurements are definitely right.
Hi Patrycja, We are so happy you love this recipe! It’s possible you are simply filling your cupcake liners a bit too full. You want to only fill them 2/3 full (which is about 3 scant Tablespoons). For more troubleshooting you can visit our 10 Tips for Baking the BEST Cupcakes.
Would it be possible to use the reverse creaming method for this cupcake recipe?
Hi Julie! We haven’t tested the reverse creaming method for these cupcakes, but you could use our strawberry shortcake cake recipe which uses the reverse creaming method and bake the batter as cupcakes (yields about 12 cupcakes/about 20 minutes bake time). Let us know if you try anything!
Dear Sally, I really enjoy your cupcake recipes! I would like to make cupcake with earl grey tea. I am thinking to use you vanilla cupcake recipe and infuse earl grey tea bags with milk. Do you think it will work? I am thinking using 3 teabags. I usually reduce sugar by 2 tablespoons as I don’t have a very sweet tooth.
Thanks for all your wonderful recipes and tips!
Hi Johna, that sounds incredible! We haven’t tested any Earl Gray tea desserts but would love to hear what you try.
Trina, I made the earl grey cupcake using Sally’s vanilla cupcake recipe with earl grey infused milk. I added orange zest and put almond slices on top and skipped the frosting. I reduced the amount of sugar.
It is delicious! Thanks so much for the wonderful recipes!
These came out perfect. So pleased with this recipe. I just wish I could share a photo of how perfect these came out.
I have frozen the cupcakes for a couple of weeks. I don’t need them until Saturday afternoon. When would be the best time to put in the refrigerator and then taken out to frost?
Hi Lindy, it would be best to take them out and let them thaw overnight in the refrigerator the day before you plan to frost.
I made these last year for my daughter’s first bday and want to make them again this year for her 2nd bday! My question is, if I want to triple the recipe do I just triple the ingredients? Do I need to wait for the muffin tins to cool completely before reloading them with batter? I need 3 dozen of them! Thanks!
Hi Molly, you could follow our Vanilla Cake recipe instead, which yields about 3 dozen cupcakes (same great taste!). It’s best to let the muffin tins cool completely before adding more batter — otherwise, they make bake quicker or unevenly. Happy baking!
Did not like this one at all, you can taste the sour cream and way too much sugar, you can’t even put frosting on it without gagging. flavour reminded me of those sour cream glaze donuts so if you like those this cake is for you. otherwise i recommend halving the sugar. it might change the texture but will taste 100x better. otherwise recipe was easy and worked as promised
I can’t believe that I have forgotten to write a review on this… this has been my go-to recipe for almost a year now. I have not only made beautiful cupcakes with this easy recipe but I have turned this into cake pops, layered cakes, you name it! Thank you so much – this has become a keeper in my family.
So perfect!! This is my new go-to (and fave) cupcake recipe. Thank you for the tips and detailed instructions. I made them multi-coloured and topped with your Classic Buttercream to celebrate the launch of a tie-dye collection at work (Canadian retailer). They turned out exactly how I had hoped and everyone LOVED them!
These turned out amazing! Perfectly light and fluffy. Thank you!!
Hi Sally! thank you for sharing
your amazing recipes 🙂 this is my second time making these cupcakes but the batter turned quite liquidy after adding milk in the last step, meaning it’s not thick at all (though it did not affect the taste). Do you know what could’ve went wrong? I’ve followed your steps thoroughly both times.
Hi Yvonne! Did you happen to make any ingredient substitutions, like a lower fat milk or sour cream? Or, perhaps there was not enough dry ingredients in the batter — did you spoon and level to measure your flour? Slowly adding the milk in the last step also helps the batter to stay thick without becoming too runny. Hope this is helpful for next time!
Sooooo good. Followed recipe exactly, and cupcakes were great! Would it be possible to add rainbow jimmies to make it “funfetti”, or would that hurt the crumb?
Hi Laila, sure can! We’d start with 1/2 cup of sprinkles in the batter. Then add a little more if you think it needs more. Happy baking!
I just made this recipe and it is tasty but a bit too dense for me. Can I substitute the butter for canola oil?
Hi Thanh, it’s not possible to cream oil. The creaming step is crucial to this cupcake’s texture. You’ll also lose a lot of flavor. You could try solid coconut oil instead, but we fear the texture will be greasy (and, of course, lacking butter flavor). Here’s some tips for baking cupcakes that may be helpful for next time!
Hi Michelle, We sift the flour for the cake because cakes have the tendency to become dense since there’s a higher quantity of ingredients and the weight of the layers weigh it down. To help keep them lighter, we recommend sifting the cake flour for the cake version. But it’s not necessary for cupcakes as there is so little batter in each. I hope this helps!
Thank you! I made them this morning and the tops rose nicely albeit a bit crusted top but I’ll play with the cooking and or temp to figure that out.
This recipe was super easy better than other vanilla ones. So I give it a 10 and the frosting was spot on in flavor and consistency. I piped roses on my cups. If I could post a picture I would!
Thank you for the helpful info!
(*_*)
Chelle
I was just wondering if I make homemade cake flour (cornstarch & cake flour sifted together) will these come out bad since sifting the flour doesn’t work in this recipe? Should I just use all purpose?
Hi Anna, the homemade cake flour substitute will work for these cupcakes – see recipe notes for details!
I baked these cupcakes and they are scrumptious! However, the liners pulled away from the cakes. They were the stand alone variety and not in a tin. The liners didn’t just partly peel away — nay nay — it looks like someone came along and peeled them all back to the base. Weird. Never had that happen before in my 40+ years of baking! I am assuming because these are a very moist cakes with sour cream and milk?
Hi Danielle, If you try them again you can try putting them in a cupcake pan to help. Also, ever since we make the switch to using grease proof cupcake liners, we’ve never had a problem!
Holy cow! I made these yesterday and by far the best vanilla cupcakes I’ve ever had! They were so moist and spongey they reminded me of angel food cake! Seriously awesome and my new go-to vanilla cupcake recipe!
Hi Sally! These cupcakes are so delicious, I’ve made them several times. When I make them for others, I sometimes get the feedback that the texture is quite dense, and I do agree – it’s not as spongey or airy of a texture as someone might normally expect in a cupcake. What causes that – is it the cake flour? Or how much liquid ingredients go in? And is there a way to make the texture a little more open? One thought I had was to bake an extra minute or two, and another was to add a bit more baking powder. What do you think? Thank you!!
Hi Tara! Take a look at this blog post to help you troubleshoot.
Hello!!
You have a similar recipe “Best Vanilla Cake” It IS! but I want to make it in a 6 inch cake. I see you have Simply Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes recipe that is similar, but I am wondering about the difference from 1/2 c sour cream/ 1/2 c whole milk from the cupcakes recipe and the buttermilk from the Cake recipe. Can I use 1 cup of buttermilk to substitute the 1/2 and 1/2 of the cupcake recipe?
Hi Jennifer! Yes, you can replace the sour cream and whole milk with buttermilk in this recipe.
Hello Sally,
I made these cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday. I found they were moist but very heavy. I used parchment paper cups and they ended up pulling away from the cakes.