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
This cupcake recipe is my go to, absolute best vanilla cupcake out there. I get rave review from friends and family when I make these. It has the softest crumb but isn’t dense, and has the perfect amount of moisture! The cake flour, sour cream, and all room temp ingredients are definitely key. I do put fresh scraped vanilla in as well which elevates these already amazing cupcakes to next level. Thank you Sally!
I’ve made this recipe 6 times now and 5/6 times the cupcakes have come out flat. I am using all purpose flour instead of cake flour. But why would one of those times have work and never again?
Hi Mariah, Thank you for trying these vanilla cupcakes! Are your baking soda and baking powder fresh? We always replace ours after 3 months because they begin to lose strength quickly after that. The cupcakes will rise then quickly sink if there is a problem with the leaveners.
Hi just wanted to ask my cupcakes don’t look as crumbly/fluffy on the inside. I use a fan forced oven am i meant to adjust the temperature for that? We also are in C. So i was baking around 175c in a fan forced oven. I don’t know if it’s the heat that’s the issue or something else.
Hi Lauren, does the texture seem dense? It sounds like the batter could be overmixed—when that happens, cakes/cupcakes can turn out squat and dense. We always recommend conventional settings for baking (not convection/fan). The flow of air from convection heat can cause baked goods to rise and bake unevenly and it also pulls moisture out of the oven. If you do use convection/fan settings for baking, lower your temperature by 25 degrees F and keep in mind that things may still take less time to bake. And here are all of our best tips for cupcakes!
Hi Sally, I love all your recipes! Just wondering, if I wanted to brown the butter for this recipe, would i have to change anything? Also, how should I store them?
Thanks!
Hi Ava, you can brown your butter, then make sure to chill it back to a solid form. You can then let it soften to room temperature so that it can be properly creamed with the sugar. Leftover cupcakes keep well covered tightly in the refrigerator for 3 days. Enjoy!
Fridge for 3 days
Hi Sally! If I replace the milk and sour cream with buttermilk, would I add the buttermilk at the time the recipe says to add the sour cream, or the milk? Or half first and then the other half? Thanks!
Hi Katherine! We would add it when the recipe says to add the milk.
Why are my cupcake tops sticky
Hi Sandra, are the cupcakes coming out with sticky tops every time you make them, or just the last time you did? If it’s the latter, it could be humidity/weather that is affecting them.
Hi Sally, I wanted to know if I could make the batter one night and put it in the fridge or freezer (whichever you recommend) and bake it the next morning, Thanks!
Hi Sophia, we don’t recommend it. The leaveners are activated once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed, so it’s best to bake the batter soon after.
What brand cake flour do you use?
Hi Lauren, I really like King Arthur and Softasilk.
Hi! Could unsweetened greek yogurt replace the sour cream?
Yes, plain Greek yogurt works as a replacement for sour cream here.
I need 36 or a little more cupcakes, could I triple the recipe and just bake 1 pan at a time? Or what do you recommend. I need them for Sunday.
Hi Angela, for best results we recommend making separate batches rather than doubling, tripling, etc.
Thankyou for that. Also if I made them today can I freeze them once cooled and take out on Sat and ice them? I need them for Sunday
Definitely!
Hi Sally! If I wanted to do these as mini cupcakes, what is your recommendation for bake time? Thanks p!
Hi Christine! See step 4: For around 30–36 mini cupcakes, bake for about 11–13 minutes, same oven temperature.
Thanks Trina! Sorry I missed that when reading the recipe!
I made these a few years ago for a birthday party and people still talk about them. They are great!
I know this recipe doesn’t call for the flour to be sifted. If I wanted to sift the flour, would I sift it after I have spooned and leveled it/weigh it?
Hi Deanna, we would sift then measure, so that you have the same total amount of flour. Hope you enjoy the cupcakes!
This recipe was amazing!!! Thank you so much for providing yet another delicious and easy-to-follow recipe, Sally!
Hi! Can I use lemon extract on this recipe instead of the vanilla extract and vanilla bean?
Hi Faye, you could try that. This is the recipe we use for lemon cupcakes!
I have made this recipe several times, and it has been a big it every time. It has become my go to recipe.
I have a small gathering coming up, and I wanted to ask can this recipe successfully be halved? If so, how do I halve some of the ingredients, especially the eggs?
Hi Helena, you can halve this recipe, yes! When halving, be sure to use 1 egg white, then measure another egg white and use half (which should be about 1 Tbsp). Or, this one layer sprinkle cake should yield about 6 cupcakes (you can leave the sprinkles out).
How do I store the cupcakes if I make them two days in advance but don’t frost them? Should I leave them out or refrigerate?
Hi Dawn! Cupcakes made two days in advance will dry out, we would freeze them after cooling, then thaw before decorating.
Hi. If I want the topping to have less butter but will be just as thick and with less sugar too. How do I adjust the recipe for the buttercream topping.
Hi Munashe, the butter and the confectioners’ sugar help give the frosting its structure. With less of each, the frosting will be thinner.
Can this recipe be used to make seven 4 inch mini cakes? Would I need to double both the cake and buttercream recipe? Or which recipe do you recommend? I’m making them for the kids to decorate for Easter!
Hi Ebony! We’re unsure how much batter and frosting you would need for 4 inch mini cakes, but let us know what you try!
Just made these delicious cupcakes for a coworker and I had to perform quality control, even without frosting these are moist and tender, way better than anything from a grocery store and surprisingly easy recipe to follow.
Oops I forgot to rate the cupcakes
This is day 4 of tasting the cupcakes. I can tell you the cupcakes are still as moist as when I made them last Friday. Truly amazing! My next stop is the chocolate cupcakes and then the chocolate cake
This recipe is amazing.
Hi Sally!
I need to bake 3 dozen of these cupcakes, am I better off making your vanilla cake or should I double this recipe? I will also be using buttermilk instead of milk and sour cream. Thank YOU!
Hi Amy, we recommend going with the vanilla cake recipe then, which uses buttermilk and yields about 3 dozen cupcakes. Enjoy!
Amazing cupcakes. I have tried so many recipes. This the n
Best one yet I didn’t have cake flour, so I used self raising flor +1/4 tsp of baking powder. They are moist and the taste is yummy.
THE most underrated cupcake recipe on the internet. These are better than a bakery. Made them twice this week. Don’t judge!
OMG, this is THE BEST white cake recipe, EVER. I’m a chocolate cake gal, but this….i cannot get over how amazingly delicious it is! It’s got so much flavor and the texture is perfect! Thank you so much for sharing
Hi! If I will be serving these cupcakes Saturday afternoon, how early can I make the cupcakes to that they are fresh for the party? Is it possible to make them Friday morning? Also, how should I store them overnight?
Hi Janine, you can definitely make the cupcakes on Friday morning. If they’re unfrosted, you can keep them covered at room temperature. If they’re frosted, we’d recommend covering and storing in the refrigerator. Hope they’re a hit!
Hi! If I will be serving these cupcakes Saturday afternoon, how early can I make the cupcakes to that they are fresh for the party? Is it possible to make them Friday morning? Also, how should I store them overnight?
Hi Janine, you can certainly make these cupcakes one day in advance. See the recipe Notes for our make ahead recommendations!
Quick ?
Would this cupcake recipe be able to withstand a custard filling?
Simply Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
Hi Angela, definitely!
Sallly, I don’t stock sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt, anything like that here. If I want to make a cake using only whole milk, do I need to add baking soda, or will the baking powder be sufficient? I thought you only needed to add baking soda if there was an acid present, such as those mentioned above, or when using chocolate.
Hi Janet, it’s really best to follow specific the recipe as written. For example, in this recipe we found the best combination to be milk and sour cream. However, you can replace both the whole milk and sour cream with buttermilk (1 cup; 240ml) if needed—for which you can use your whole milk to make a buttermilk substitute. Hope this helps!