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.
I originally published this recipe in 2016 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips. This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
As soon as I developed it many years ago, 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!) Like my classic chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting, these vanilla cupcakes hold a sacred spot in my baking repertoire. 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 dessert 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.
One 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! ★★★★★“
Another reader, Jennifer, commented: “Holy smokes! Best vanilla cupcakes I’ve ever had. First time using a real vanilla bean—amazing and so fluffy! ★★★★★“
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 and if you need a refresher, I have a helpful tutorial on how to cream butter and sugar.
- 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
- Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream
- Cookies & Cream Oreo Cupcakes
They’re also wonderful for filling with a variety of jams/jellies, frostings, and dessert sauces. I especially love them with this raspberry cake filling in the middle. See my How to Fill Cupcakes post and video tutorial for directions on how to do so.
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. The raspberry frosting from my lemon raspberry jam cupcakes or the cinnamon-swirl frosting from my snickerdoodle cupcakes would also be fantastic. For a lighter, less sweet option, I love pairing these cupcakes with whipped 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.
- Cupcake liners
- Handheld mixer or stand mixer
- Vanilla beans
- Icing knife or Wilton 1M piping tip + piping bag
Simply Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 45 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. This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
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 (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) full-fat sour cream at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- seeds scraped from 1/2 of a vanilla bean (optional)
- 1/2 cup (120g/ml) whole milk at room temperature
- vanilla buttercream
- sprinkles, for garnish (optional)
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.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg whites, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds (if using) and beat on high speed until smooth and well combined, about 2 minutes. Add the sour cream and beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients, and then slowly pour in the milk and beat just until combined. Do not over-mix. You may need to whisk it by hand a few times 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. Cool the cupcakes in the pan set on a cooling rack for 20 minutes, then remove them from the pan and return to the rack 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. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cupcakes can be made ahead 1 day in advance, covered, and stored at room temperature. For best results, make the frosting the day you plan to serve the cupcakes. Frosted or unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Icing Knife | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip | Cupcake Carrier
- 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 a 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; 240g/ml) 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.
- Mini Cupcakes: For about 30–36 mini cupcakes, bake for about 11–13 minutes, same oven temperature.
- 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 (you can skip the sprinkles in the batter).
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakes before you begin.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can I double or triple this recipe? Trying to make 36 cupcakes. Thanks!
Hi Erin, for best results (and to prevent over or under mixing), we recommend making 2 separate batches rather than doubling.
Flavor was great texture was not. I definitely did not overmix. Maybe the bake time? I took them out right away at 18 minutes bake time. But I will not be making these again.
Hi Sally, just tried these for the first time and they tasted really good however, they tops seemed to crystallize? Looks like the sugar is on top. Any ideas on how this happened?
Hi Kay, if sugar is crystallizing on top of your cupcakes, the most likely reason is that the sugar was not properly creamed with the butter, resulting in the sugar not fully dissolving. Make sure you use proper room-temperature butter for creaming, and beat the sugar and butter together on high speed for at least 2 minutes. An easy fix for next time!
Hi I was just wondering if this recipe can be doubled?
Hi Kate, it is best to make separate batches for best results. Hope you enjoy them!
I want to make vanilla and chocolate cupcakes for a small group meeting I have but I don’t want a whole batch of each can you half them for me
Hi Carlina, you can halve this recipe! When halving, be sure to use 1 egg white, then measure another egg white and use half (which should be about 1 Tbsp). Here’s a recipe for chocolate cupcakes that you can halve the recipe or you can use this Small Chocolate Cake recipe that makes 6 cupcakes (see recipe notes for cupcake instructions). Same baking instructions. Enjoy!
Hi, I love your recipes.
Wanted to make a batch of 48 for my grandsons birthday party next week. I have 2 cupcake tins of 12 each. I was wondering if I can bake in 2 cup cake tins at the same time, one beside the other on the same shelf. Will it affect the cup cake quality. Or would it be best if I baked as 4 batches of 12.
Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated. And the thoughts of other bakers on the site too.
Thanki you
Hi Geetha, if your pans can fit next to each other, you can bake them at the same time. Hope you enjoy them!
Oh wow. Baking 24 at the same time is going to save time and effort.
Thank you
I love your chocolate cupcake recipe it’s so good! I’m excited to try your vanilla one. Do you have a modified recipe where you can split the cupcake batter to make vanilla and chocolate cupcakes?
Hi Pam, we’d recommend using this marble cupcakes batter. Enjoy!
Hi. Do I have to use the baking soda.
Hi Ida, these cupcakes will be very dense without the baking soda. After careful testing, the 3/4 baking powder with 1/4 baking soda works like a charm to lift these.
Though these were slightly more complicated (separating eggs, sour cream, cake flour) wow were they worth it! They are so moist and light and fluffy. I made a double batch and they are delicious.
Hi there! I have used several of your recipes and they are fabulous. Today I had to make two batches of your Vanilla cupcakes. I spaced on the first batch and ended up adding the milk BEFORE the dry ingredients. On the second batch I did as you instructed and it is amazing the difference. The first batch, while quite fine, were at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch shorter than the ones where I did as the recipe said. Proof that you test everything completely. Thank you so much.
Hi, I love your recipes and am exciting to try this! How well do they hold up under frosting? I’ll be making roses and hydrangeas and using Russian piping tips. Will they be too soft for this?
Hi Simone, these cupcakes should work beautifully for that.
I made this yesterday and my husband says they taste like sprinkles cupcakes (the chain store). They were a big hit and they turned out beautiful using a 1/4 cup to measure each one for consistent rise.
Amazing recipe!
I made these for mothers day once and they turned out so fluffy and moist my mom loved them!!!
I loved this recipe so much!
Instead of making the 2 additional cupcakes, I used the extra batter to fill my 4″ cake pans. Three batches made enough cupcakes for all of the party guests, plus a three-layer mini cake to put candles in for the birthday girl.
Fab recipe!!!
Do you think I can use pasteurised egg whites for this recipe??
Also can chocolate chips be added to this recipe??
Hi Ale, yes, you could use pasteurized egg whites. You can also add up to 1 cup of chocolate chips.
I loved this recipe the cupcake was so moist and yummmy
this was the most delicious cup of cake i have ever tasted in my whole entire wonderful, rich, life. these cupcakes are a must in your life and have been a staple in my household and all of my 3 children have grown up on these treats. so thank you, sally, for making my life more plentiful, and for being the biggest part of my children’s childhood. they are forever thankful for you and your brilliant mind. nothing can replace the joy, love, and happiness, that this recipe has brought to us. it has held us through rough times, illness, birthdays, births, weddings, divorce parties, and retirements. so truly, thank you sally. you cannot even begin to comprehend the value of your recipe page and the insight you have given to each and every one of us on your website right now. my greatest appreciations.
Your vanilla cake recipe is my all time favorite, so I was initially going to turn that into cupcakes, but since it yields so much batter I did this one instead and it’s just as good! I did substitute 1 for 1 gluten free flour, so I’m sure they are more dense than they should be, but I still love the texture and the flavor is spot on. Your recipes never fail me!
can you use salted butter?
Hi Kana, you can use salted butter and leave out the added salt. Unsalted butter really is best for baking because you know exactly how much salt you’re adding—you can read more on the difference between salted and unsalted butter here.
Can’t wait to try this! But can I use organic full cream milk when the recipe says whole milk? Be happy for your response
Btw, I am your biggest fan♥️
Hi Ivy, yes, that should be fine!
Can strawberries be added to the mix?
Hi Urs, that should work, but be sure to blot the fresh strawberries of any excess moisture before adding to the batter. Bake time make be just a minute or so longer. Enjoy!
If you use this batter for mini cupcakes, what is the cooking time?
Hi Cindia, see step 4: For around 30–36 mini cupcakes, bake for about 11–13 minutes, same oven temperature. Happy baking!
I’m keen to try this recipe for an order of cupcakes I have.
Because I’m making ‘marble cupcakes’ (ie vanilla & chocolate swirled together), I was wondering if I could swop out a couple of tablespoons of flour for cocoa powder to make a chocolate version? Because it’s otherwise the same batter, I’m hoping both the vanilla and chocolate batters will have the same texture).
Cheers,
Sarah
Hi Sarah, we’d recommend using this marble cupcakes batter. Enjoy!
To use a jumbo muffin pan, how much to fill each well and how long to bake
Hi Karen, we haven’t tested these cupcakes in a jumbo pan.
I can’t wait to try this recipe! Any chance I could follow your marble cupcake recipe and add a chocolate swirl to this?
YES! Absolutely. I’ve actually made these that exact way. No bake time changes needed.
We love these cupcakes, and make them for every occasion in our home. However, my
Sisters birthday is coming up and she’s recently gluten free. Is there a way to go gluten free with this recipe?
Hi Jen, we haven’t tested it ourselves, but some readers have reported success using a 1:1 gluten free flour blend (like Bob’s Red Mill). Let us know if you give it a try!
Looking to make these but wanted to ask if this recipe can be doubled or is it best to make 2 separate batches?
Hi Nae, for best results, we recommend making 2 separate batches rather than doubling.
Came here to test the Perfect White Cake recipe by using a smaller batch with cupcakes first. A bit concerned that this recipe, while most of the ingredients are reduced, the amount of sour cream used is still 1/2 cup for both your full size cake recipe and the 14 cupcake recipe. ???????
Hi Terry, that’s correct. I developed this recipe before the white cake recipe. The recipe here produces fluffy cupcakes that don’t crumble too much overtime; they maintain their soft, plush crumb. The cake recipe, developed a year later, needed more liquid to sour cream, to keep the batter a good consistency. I’m sure you could use more sour cream in the cake than what is given, but I don’t mess with it. It’s perfect as is!
Partly doing you a favor Sally, but also giving a 5 star review because it’s AWESOME! Looks so good!!!