Hands down, the best Vanilla Cupcakes I’ve ever had. Soft vanilla cakes topped with luscious cream cheese frosting and plenty of funfetti sprinkles, perfect for birthdays.
Party time 🎉
Introducing my favourite Vanilla Cupcakes topped with luscious cream cheese frosting and plenty of funfetti sprinkles. These light and fluffy vanilla cupcakes are buttery and oh-so-sweet.
If you’ve been looking for a good Vanilla Cupcake recipe that you can make for any birthday or celebration, this is for you.
Out of all the cupcake recipes on Sweetest Menu, I can’t believe I haven’t shared my Classic Vanilla Cupcake recipe with you.
This is my go-to whenever I need to make cupcakes for birthdays or celebrations – well, these and my favourite Double Chocolate Cupcakes.
These cupcakes are made with butter for flavour and a little sour cream (or yogurt) for extra moisture, which makes them light, sweet and tender. And the only way to make them completely irresistible is to slather them with thick, buttery, cream cheese frosting.
I’M DONE.
TIPS FOR MAKING PERFECT VANILLA CUPCAKES
- These Vanilla Cupcakes are really easy to make. You will need an electric mixer.
- Start with room temperature butter. It’s really important to make sure your butter is soft – not fridge cold – otherwise it will be harder to beat and your cupcakes won’t be as light and fluffy.
- Start by beating together the butter, sugar and vanilla. You’ll want to keep mixing until the mixture is pale and creamy – it will take a few minutes. Then add your room temperature egg.
- Next, add your flour and baking powder, along with your milk. I recommend using full fat or whole milk.
- The final ingredient is sour cream or you can use natural Greek-style yogurt – don’t use a light or reduced fat yogurt and don’t leave this ingredient out – it will make sure your cupcakes are soft and moist.
- Mix until just combined – but make sure you don’t over mix. The batter will be thick and creamy.
- Bake cupcakes for approximately 18 minutes or until golden brown and spring back lightly to the touch. Try not to over bake the cupcakes so they don’t become dry.
TIPS FOR MAKING CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- You will need a hand mixer or stand mixer to make this frosting. Make sure you use a full fat block of cream cheese – not a light version or the spreadable kind.
- For seriously creamy frosting, make sure both your butter and your cream cheese are at room temperature.
- Once you beat together the butter and cream cheese, you need to add 3 cups of icing sugar, along with 1 tablespoon of milk.
- The frosting should be smooth and creamy. If it’s too thick, you can add a touch more milk.
MORE CUPCAKE RECIPES TO TRY:
- Double Chocolate Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Caramel Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let’s Bake
My Favourite Vanilla Cupcakes
Soft vanilla cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Vanilla cupcakes
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 175 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) whole or full fat milk
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) full fat sour cream or Greek yogurt
Cream cheese frosting
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) butter, softened
- 250 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) full fat cream cheese, softened, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 375 grams (3 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon milk
- Funfetti sprinkles, to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla together using an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add egg and beat briefly until combined. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add half the flour mixture and all the milk and slowly mix together on a low speed. Add the rest of the flour and the sour cream and mix briefly until smooth and creamy. The mixture will be thick.
- Spoon out the cake batter into your prepared liners and bake in the oven for approximately 18-20 minutes or until golden. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
- To make the cream cheese frosting, add butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and continue to beat until smooth. Add milk and beat briefly.
- Transfer frosting to piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles.
Notes
You can also use this recipe to make mini cupcakes. It will make 24 cupcakes.
Nutrition Information
Emma says
Just wondering how you’d recommend to store these, and how long they can be stored for
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Emma, you can store the cupcakes themselves in an airtight container at room temperature, or once frosted, in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
Kimberley says
I made these for my little boy’s birthday party over the weekend and they were perfect! Light and fluffy and not dry. Everyone commented on how lovely they were. A great recipe and easy to make
Jessica Holmes says
Ohh love hearing that Kimberley! Thank you for your lovely feedback.
SHAY says
Really appreciate the effort and time you put into perfecting your recipes. I made these today, and these are everything a cupcake should be!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
That means so much! Thank you Shay!
Andrea says
I made these twice, making sure I used new baking powder but they hardly rose and we’re dense. I used a fan forced oven and can’t figure out what happened! Tasted nice though.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Andrea, ooh sorry to hear that. They really should be nice and light and fluffy. Did you make any changes to the recipe at all? The light texture will be greatly impacted by the correct creaming of the butter and sugar. Starting with room temperature butter and ensuring you mix the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy is key. Not mixing the mixture for long enough will mean there’s not enough air incorporated into the mix, while over-mixing (or mixing at a high speed) can result in too much air and the cakes collapsing. If you’d like to troubleshoot further, feel free to send me a photo at jessica@sweetestmenu.com
Agata says
Just made them with my daughter and share with our neighbours and they loved it as we did! Yummy
Shame I can’t add the picture 😉
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad to hear that Agata! You can always send me a photo on Instagram or add it to Pinterest – I’d love to see!