Vanilla Cupcakes
These moist and light vanilla cupcakes taste amazing with any filling or frosting. This is a wonderful go-to recipe!
Servings: 32
Ingredients
- 1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, softened (holds it shape but dents when pressed)
- 2 cups (400g) sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups (342g) cake flour (spooned into measuring cup and leveled off) If you do not have cake flour see substitution in Notes below.
- 2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- 1 ¼ cups (296g) buttermilk — if you do not have buttermilk, see substitution below
- ⅓ cup (68g) vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon (12g) vanilla extract
Vanilla Buttercream
- 2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, softened it should be softened to the point that it dents when pressed, but should still hold shape
- 6 cups (690g) confectioners' sugar
- 2 tsp. (8g) vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (72g) milk or cream, more if needed
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt 3g (optional)
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- First, Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add cupcake liners to the cupcake pan(s).
- Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds. Set aside.
- Buttermilk Mixture: In another bowl, add the buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your mixer, add the softened butter and mix at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and continue to mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy.
- Next, add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each until the yolk is blended.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of liquid). After the last addition, mix just until combined. Be careful not to over-mix.
- This recipe makes 30-32 cupcakes. Scoop about ¼ cup batter into each cupcake liner.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just few crumbs attached. Remove the cupcakes immediately from the pan to prevent overbaking.
- This recipe makes about 7 ½ cups of batter (enough for 30-32 cupcakes)
For the Vanilla Buttercream
- Mix the softened butter on medium speed until smooth. Blend in the vanilla extract.
- Add half of the confectioners' sugar and most of the milk or cream. Mix at medium speed until the confectioners' sugar is incorporated.
- Add remaining confectioners' sugar and milk and mix at medium speed another 3 to 4 minutes scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. The, we like to slow down the mixer to very slow (#2 on the Kitchenaid) for 1 to 2 minutes. This will help eliminate air pockets in the buttercream. The texture will become very smooth.
- This recipe can be doubled or halved.
Decoration
- Decorate the cupcakes however you like! We used a 104 ruffle tip for the cupcakes that have rows of ruffles & for the ribbon roses, a 070 tip for the ruffles that are circular, and for the smooth swirls, just a piping bag with the tip snipped away.
Notes
Substitute for Buttermilk: No Buttermilk? Here is a substitution: To a measuring cup, add 1 Tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice. Add milk to the 1 ¼ mark, stir. Wait 5 minutes and it is ready to use. The mixture will thicken.
Substitution for Cake Flour: Using all purpose flour (plain in UK) to make Cake Flour: For each cup of flour in a recipe, remove 2 Tablespoons of flour and replace with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour in the UK).
This recipe has 3 cups of flour so you will measure out 3 cups of all purpose flour, remove 6 Tablespoons and replace with 6 Tablespoons cornstarch, whisk to blend
Recipe makes 7 ½ cups batter