Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

These Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream are fluffy delicious with a creamy buttercream frosting. This is seriously the best vanilla cupcake I’ve ever tasted!

I’ll be the first to admit, that while I love to bake cakes and cupcakes, they have never been my forte. I have a favorite chocolate cake recipe, but a really good vanilla or white cake recipe has eluded me for quite some time. My Strawberry Cake is a vanilla cake with strawberry frosting, but that is more dense, like a pound cake, and I really wanted something more fluffy and light, but still moist and delicious.

This Vanilla Cupcake recipe definitely fits the bill!

How to Make Vanilla Cupcakes

Like I mentioned in my Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins post, the key to a good cake or muffin batter is combining the ingredients just right. You don’t want to overmix the flour into the batter as it can result in a dense and chewy cake rather that something light and fluffy. That is especially true for these Vanilla Cupcakes.

In that spirit, here are a few tips for making my Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.

1. Have your ingredients ready at room temperature. The butter may take longer, but the egg, sour cream and milk can sit on the counter for 15-20 minutes or so. Room temperature ingredients bond together very easily since they’re warmer, creating a seamless and evenly textured batter (via Sally’s Baking Addiction).
2. Mix your dry and wet ingredients separately. Combine the flour, salt and baking powder/soda together in a separate bowl and then adding them to the wet batter ensure that everything is evenly mixed and incorporated without the risk of overmixing. Which we’ve already determined is not a good thing.
3. Always use cupcake liners for cupcakes, and use an ice cream scoop to fill them. This is my favorite tool and favorite tip when making cupcakes. If you want evenly sized cupcakes, do yourself a favor and grab one of those spring release ice cream scoops. They are the perfect size to fill about 2/3 – 3/4 of the cupcake cups which is exactly what you need.

How to Make Buttercream Frosting

Unlike baking, making the perfect frosting is pretty simple. It requires heavy mixing on high speed, and the recipes are typically pretty forgiving. If you feel it’s too sweet, add a pinch of salt and maybe a little more butter. Too thin? Add more powdered sugar? And on the flip side if it’s too thick, add more milk. As long as you follow the basic guidelines of the recipe, you’ll be rewarded with a fluffy, creamy Vanilla Buttercream to ice your Vanilla cupcakes.

You can choose to just spread on the frosting, or if you’re feeling fancy, use a piping bag and tips.

Of course, don’t forget the sprinkles! The great thing about vanilla buttercream is it’s a blank canvas! You could add food coloring to it to match your party decor, or colored sprinkles can set the mood from totally fun (by using multi-colored jimmies or nonperils) or class it up by using some shiny, sparkly sugar pearls. (affiliate links)

Want more delicious cupcake recipes? Try these:

• Chocolate Cupcakes with Toasted Coconut Whipped Cream
• Coconut Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling
• Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe:

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

These Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream are fluffy delicious with a creamy buttercream frosting. This is seriously the best vanilla cupcake I've ever tasted!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Author: Kristin Maxwell

Ingredients

Vanilla Cupcakes

• 1-2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 3-4 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons milk
• Pinch of kosher salt

Instructions

Vanilla Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 liners.
• In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
• In a large mixing bowl whisk the sugar and melted butter until smooth (mixture will be gritty). Whisk in eggs, then sour cream, milk and vanilla extract until combined.
• Slowly add in dry ingredients and stir until completely incorporated. Batter will be thick.
• Fill cupcake lines ⅔ of the way full (about ¼ cup of batter). Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or a large mixing bowl and a handheld mixer), beat butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy; 2-3 minutes.
• Add confectioners sugar, vanilla and milk. Turn mixer up to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. If mixture is too thick, add more milk, a teaspoon at a time. If too thin, add more confectioners sugar, a little at a time.
• Frost cooled cupcakes using a spreader or a piping bag. Depending on how much frosting you use on each cupcake, there may be some leftover.

Notes

This recipe will make about a dozen cupcakes, depending on how full you fill the cups.

Depending on how much frosting you use per cupcake, there may be some leftover.