THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Published on Mar 2, 2014
Updated on Nov 27, 2018

THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting // Tried and Tasty

THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting // This is pretty much THE best vanilla cupcake recipe that I’ve ever tasted!  And with the buttercream, it's a match made in heaven! | Tried and Tasty

A few days ago I had a pretty great opportunity to help out a friend that I’ve known since jr. high. We had lost touch after high school, but through the power of Facebook recently reconnected. Little did I know that a video that I watched last summer as it was in full viral swing on YouTube was actually HER. You may have seen this funny clip where the husband upon coming out of surgery is baffled by his wife’s beauty. Such a cute video. I learned that it was Candace after seeing on Facebook an article titled “Viral Video Spurs Utah Couple’s Hope To Adopt.”

THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting // This is pretty much THE best vanilla cupcake recipe that I’ve ever tasted!  And with the buttercream, it's a match made in heaven! | Tried and Tasty

In light of recent events that have happened in my own life I understand now more than ever the power of kindness. You’d be amazed at just how many people can touch your life during the hardest and lowest times and what an impact the smallest gesture can mean. When I saw that Candace and her husband were holding a fundraiser for their adoption expenses I knew I wanted to help in some way. As soon as I saw the words ‘bake sale’ I found my calling. I offered to make several dozen cupcakes and several dozen Cutler’s Famous Sugar Cookies for her to sell. 

THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 30
Calories: 210 kcal
Author: Yvonne

This is my go-to Vanilla Cupcakes recipe! It's simple, reliable, and delicious!

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Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 c. cake flour
  • 1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 c. sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 c. butter room temperature, cut into 1/2 in. cubes
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 c. milk
  • 2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

  2. In the bowl of your stand mixer add the dry ingredients and mix together using the paddle attachment for about a minute.

  3. With mixer on low, drop in butter, a few cubes at a time continuing until all butter has been incorporated (it should resembles coarse sand). Add eggs one at a time on low speed. 

  4. With mixer still on low slowly pour in milk and vanilla. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes until batter is smooth, light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl as needed. 

  5. Fill liners 2/3 full (approx. 1/4 c.) and bake for 15-20 minutes until center is set and toothpick comes out clean. Be sure to cool completely before frosting.

Recipe Notes

You can't improve on perfection! These cupcakes needed no adapting whatsoever. They are absolutely perfect! It's important not to overfill the cupcakes. They will spill over the liners if you add too much batter.

Nutrition Facts
THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 210 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 39mg13%
Sodium 132mg6%
Potassium 86mg2%
Carbohydrates 31g10%
Sugar 14g16%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 240IU5%
Calcium 35mg4%
Iron 0.7mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting // This is pretty much THE best vanilla cupcake recipe that I’ve ever tasted!  And with the buttercream, it's a match made in heaven! | Tried and Tasty

I have been wanting a fabulous vanilla cake mix from scratch for a while now. I’ve pinned lots and lots of recipes but for whatever reason this one drew me in. So I decided to give it a go. Um. So. Yeah. This is pretty much THE best vanilla cupcake recipe that I’ve ever tasted! Seriously. I’m not just saying that. It really is. Top it off with some vanilla buttercream frosting and you’ve got a match made in heaven. I thought I would prefer the cookies over the cupcakes (personally) but after tasting these I flipped. The cupcakes are definitely the star. Not to undermine the cookies, because they are fabulous as well. 

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 3 minutes
Servings: 30
Calories: 153 kcal
Author: Yvonne

This Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is an easy to make & easy to love WINNER!

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Ingredients

  • 1 c. butter softened
  • 3 c. powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 7 tsp. heavy whipping cream

Instructions

  1. With the whisk attachment, in the bowl of your stand mixer, combine butter and sugar on low speed until smooth. Increase speed to medium and whip for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
  2. Add vanilla and continue mixing until smooth. Add heavy cream 1 tsp. at a time until desired spreading consistency is reached.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Love, Pomegranate House

Nutrition Facts
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Amount Per Serving
Calories 153 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 18mg6%
Sodium 57mg2%
Potassium 1mg0%
Carbohydrates 23g8%
Sugar 23g26%
Vitamin A 215IU4%
Calcium 3mg0%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting // This is pretty much THE best vanilla cupcake recipe that I’ve ever tasted!  And with the buttercream, it's a match made in heaven! | Tried and Tasty

So basically I couldn’t stop taking pictures of these beauties. I apologize for the zillion photos that you have to sift through for the recipes. No. I take that back. I’m not sorry. Are these not the prettiest cupcakes? I have said over and over again – I love pretty food. I have a hard time narrowing down pictures of pretty food. So yes. There are a lot of photos. But in my defense, I did narrow them down from 148 photos. See – I told you!

THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting // This is pretty much THE best vanilla cupcake recipe that I’ve ever tasted!  And with the buttercream, it's a match made in heaven! | Tried and Tasty

THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting // This is pretty much THE best vanilla cupcake recipe that I’ve ever tasted!  And with the buttercream, it's a match made in heaven! | Tried and Tasty

THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting // This is pretty much THE best vanilla cupcake recipe that I’ve ever tasted!  And with the buttercream, it's a match made in heaven! | Tried and Tasty

THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting // This is pretty much THE best vanilla cupcake recipe that I’ve ever tasted!  And with the buttercream, it's a match made in heaven! | Tried and Tasty

THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting // This is pretty much THE best vanilla cupcake recipe that I’ve ever tasted!  And with the buttercream, it's a match made in heaven! | Tried and Tasty

THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting // This is pretty much THE best vanilla cupcake recipe that I’ve ever tasted!  And with the buttercream, it's a match made in heaven! | Tried and Tasty

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Tried and Tasty, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

38 comments about “THE Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

  1. Jami Morrell

    You would think that this would work for a cake, but reading through all the comments, not one person states they made it as a cake. So, I will attempt. The only difference really should be baking time. Keep you posted.

      1. Jami Morrell

        The cake is in the oven now! I do have to say though, the batter tasted very buttery…. is that normal? normally batters are kind of yummy! It is starting to smell good though! :)

        1. Yvonne

          Hmmm… there is a cup in the batter, but maybe it’s more buttery than normal? Glad it at least smells good!! You’ll have to let me know what size pan you used and how long you cooked it for if it works out!

  2. crystin

    Hi! I was wondering if I could use this as a tie dye style too ?! I been reading other recipes and it says to find a white cake mix though .. What do yo think ?

    1. Yvonne

      Tie dye style? You know I’ve actually never done anything like that – so I’m not much help as I have no idea what your results would be. I’m sorry!!! Good luck!!

  3. Ana

    I’ve been searching for the perfect vanilla cupcake and this is the one! I adapted it to make them gluten free by substituting better batter gf all purpose flour. I used cornstarch to make my own cake flour and they were just perfect! My hubby and I ate them all. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I am in love!

    1. Yvonne

      This makes me so happy! SO many people love this recipe and I’m so glad, as I really do think it’s the BEST!!!

  4. Yvonne

    I have tried 5 different vanilla/white cupcake recipes and I am SO glad I finally found a winner!!! So moist and yummy! Thank you for the recipe! :))

    1. Yvonne

      No way?!? I’m so happy you like them so much – this is by far my favorite recipe for vanilla cupcakes FOR SURE!!! You are certainly welcome!

  5. Caitlin

    Just made these for the second time for a work superbowl party! This is definitely my new go to cupcake recipe! I’ve “taste tested” way too many already!

    1. Yvonne

      You have no idea how happy this makes me! I’m so happy you love them! I wasn’t kidding when I said they were THE best right?!?

  6. Lindsey

    I copied this recipe exactly and the cupcakes were so fluffy and delicious! It has a very distinct vanilla taste, much different than most other cupcake recipes, and I love it. My family almost ate whole batch before I could put the frosting on them!

    1. Yvonne

      At first glance I was so nervous with your comment starting out as ‘I copied this recipe exactly’… and then I read the rest and was pleasantly surprised!!! I’m so happy you loved them so much, they are seriously THE best – no lie!! I love that they didn’t even make it to the frosting stage, I guess that means you’ll need to make them again! Happy baking!

  7. Amy McDonnell

    Just made these tonight with the icing! Absolutely awesome best vanilla cupcakes! We have tried three other recipes that were thrown in the trash. Not these, and that icing is so delicious! Thank you for posting!

    1. Yvonne

      Oh I’m so happy!!! Aren’t they amazing??!! My brother in law coined the frosting as ‘money’! I thought that was pretty funny :)

    1. Yvonne

      I’ve only made red velvet once before, it was a cake and not cupcakes. But, since learning of the detriment of artificial food coloring I’d need to figure out a new way to make them!

  8. Sharon

    I made these this morning and they came out great!!! I ate one, well two straight from the oven without the buttercream. Thanks for the recipe : )

  9. Amanda

    Made these cupcakes twice since pinning. Both time people eating them said they were the BEST cupcakes they had ever eaten!! Thanks for sharing!!

    1. Yvonne

      RIGHT ON!!!! That is awesome! I knew they were the best, now I want the world to know it too. I’m so happy you stopped by to let me know. Thank you!

  10. Doreen Owee

    OMG! Best cupcakes ever!!! Gonna make it again for my baby’s birthday in 2 weeks! Thank you thank you thank you!!!

    1. Yvonne

      Oh yay! That makes my heart smile to read that! I loved them so much, I’m so happy that you did too – you’re welcome, you’re welcome. We’ll ‘see’ ya back here in a couple of weeks ;)

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