Classic Vanilla Cupcakes from Scratch Recipe

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These Classic Vanilla Cupcakes are my favorite! And you’ll be surprised how easy they are to make from scratch.

If you’re looking for a super soft, moist, and flavorful vanilla cupcake, then this recipe is for you. I feel like once you have a really solid vanilla cupcake recipe to work with, it opens up so many other possibilities in the realm of cupcakes. Add sprinkles, chocolate chips, or nuts to the batter to change things up. And, of course, the sky is the limit when it comes to frosting! I love these cupcakes with my pipeable cream cheese frosting or vanilla bean buttercream. But feel free to be more adventurous with your pairings than I am!

Find all of my cupcake recipes right here.

These Classic Vanilla Cupcakes are my favorite! And you'll be surprised how easy they are to make from scratch.

Ingredients Needed for This Recipe

  • butter
  • sugar
  • eggs
  • baking powder
  • flour
  • vanilla

These Classic Vanilla Cupcakes are my favorite! And you'll be surprised how easy they are to make from scratch.

These Classic Vanilla Cupcakes are my favorite! And you'll be surprised how easy they are to make from scratch.

Recipe Notes and Tips

  • It’s really important to bring all of the cold ingredients to room temperature before mixing the batter. Otherwise the cupcakes will be dry and crumbly. The easiest way to do this is to simply set the cold ingredients on the counter several hours before you need to make the cupcakes (for instance, set them out before you go to bed at night and then mix up the batter in the morning).
  • Here are some ideas for quickly bringing the ingredients to room temperature:
    • Soften the butter in the microwave using the “soften” setting. You could also melt the butter if that’s easier, but let it cool a little before starting the batter (it shouldn’t be hot).
    • Place the eggs in hot tap water for about 10 minutes.
    • Heat the milk in the microwave and then mix the cold sour cream into the warm milk. This should quickly bring both ingredients to room temperature.
  • If you can, I highly recommend using a very potent source of vanilla. Of course, generic grocery store vanilla will be just fine. But these cupcakes will really shine if you use vanilla paste, vanilla beans, or even just a very high quality vanilla extract in both the batter and the frosting.

These Classic Vanilla Cupcakes are my favorite! And you'll be surprised how easy they are to make from scratch.

These Classic Vanilla Cupcakes are my favorite! And you'll be surprised how easy they are to make from scratch.

These Classic Vanilla Cupcakes are my favorite! And you'll be surprised how easy they are to make from scratch.

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

Yield: 2 dozen
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes are my favorite! And you'll be surprised how easy they are to make from scratch.

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups salted butter, room temperature or melted*
  • 1½ cups granulated sugar
  • 6 eggs, at room temperature*
  • ½ cup milk, room temperature*
  • ½ cup sour cream, room temperature*
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt

Frosting Suggestions

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners and a light mist of nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk together the butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the milk, sour cream, and vanilla.

Mix or sift together the baking powder, salt, and all-purpose flour. Fold the dry ingredients into the bowl until a batter forms.

Scoop 1/4 cup of batter for each cupcake. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until tops look done.

Let cool completely before frosting.

Notes

* See tips in the post regarding quickly bringing ingredients to room temperature.

Nutrition per Cupcake

calories 239
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 14 g 22 %
Saturated Fat 9 g 43 %
Monounsaturated Fat 4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 78 mg 26 %
Sodium 255 mg 11 %
Potassium 38 mg 1 %
Total Carbohydrate 25 g 8 %
Dietary Fiber 1 g 2 %
Sugars 13 g
Protein 3 g 7 %
Vitamin A 9 %
Vitamin C 0 %
Calcium 30 %
Iron 1 %

Cupcake Fanatic? Me too!

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Classic Vanilla Cupcakes From Scratch Recipe Classic Vanilla Cupcakes From Scratch Recipe Classic Vanilla Cupcakes From Scratch Recipe Classic Vanilla Cupcakes From Scratch Recipe

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