Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
This is it folks, the recipe upon which I built my cupcake empire! I recently calculated that I have personally made close to a million of these cupcakes! I developed this recipe at the very beginning of my baking business and used it faithfully in every store and every kitchen we had. It never failed me - so you know it's a good recipe!
I love it because it's not too sweet, but it's just beautifully fluffy and crumbly in your mouth. It holds its own and doesn't break apart too easily and it gives a lovely rise with a flat top which is perfect for decorating. This cupcake recipe has been my secret weapon for over a decade - and now it's yours!
Should I use Margarine or Butter?
I have tried this recipe many times with both margarine and butter and I like the way it comes out better with margarine. This is totally down to personal preference so if you want to use butter instead, go right ahead! I find that the margarine is easier to aerate and makes for a better consistency in this particular recipe. I also find that since I will always be decorating these cupcakes with frosting, I don't want the sponge itself to be too rich, and the margarine helps with that. But it is totally your choice!
What kind of frosting to use
This is also down to personal preference. The usual topping for these would be a classic American Buttercream, that's what we always put on the vanilla cupcakes in the bakery, but there are so many options out there! My classic buttercream recipe has been tweaked to make it a little less sweet than a lot of other buttercream recipes which I found was way more popular and helps you to eat a lot more cake!
If you don't want to use a classic American buttercream, my current favourite is an Italian Meringue Buttercream, which is silky smooth and a much more sophisticated flavour than the super sweet traditional buttercream. It's a little more complex to make, but totally worth it in my opinion!
These vanilla cupcakes are honestly the perfect addition to your baking repertoire. I have taken them along to almost every party and social gathering I have been to over the past decade. Cupcakes are always a crowd pleaser and this recipe really shows off the best of that 'homemade' taste that you just can't get from a store.
This is also a super versatile cupcake recipe, it's a great base for making a myriad of different flavour combinations - I'll post some of my favourites in the next few weeks.
Recipe
Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
- ½ cup Margarine
- 1 cup White Sugar (caster sugar in the UK)
- 1 ½ cups All-purpose Flour
- 1 Eggs
- ½ cup Whole Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 batch Classic Buttercream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin tray with cupcake liners
- Beat together margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. It's important to get enough air into the mix at this stage as this will make for a nice light, crumbly sponge. The mix should be visibly lighter in colour and should look slightly aerated
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time
- Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl then add a third of it to the batter and stir on low until combined. We're going to alternate the flour and milk additions to make sure it all incorporates properly
- Once the first third of flour is totally mixed in, add half the milk and continue to mix on low. It's. important not to add the milk when there is still flour visible as this will cause a gloopy, glue-like mix in your batter.
- Repeat this process with the next third of flour, the rest of the milk and then the last of the flour, making sure to combine everything in between each addition
- Finally, add your vanilla extract and make sure everything is mixed together evenly
- Scoop batter into cupcake liners and bake for 18 minutes or until a skewer inserted comese out clean
- Cool entirely before decorating with your frosting of choice
Ella
Is the recipe meant to have more than one egg in the standard 12 cupcake mix?
The ingredient list says 1x eggs however the instructions say to beat the eggs in one at a time.
Thank you.
Lori
Wondering the same thing. Did anyone try this or is there an update?
Jules
Hi Lori,
Sorry for not updating this sooner! It should be 2 eggs, which I will fix right now. However, I have actually lately been using a different recipe for all my vanilla cupcakes which I have absolutely fallen in love with. It’s the same recipe as for my French vanilla cake, but works the exact same for cupcakes (makes 25 cupcakes). It’s a much more recent recipe with more tips and info (this one is an oldie). I love this new one so much I may just get rid of this old one and change it to the new one, so I recommend you give that one a go instead! Here’s the link - https://bonnibakery.com/best-french-vanilla-cake/
Happy baking!
Jules
Lori
Thank you for replying so fast! I do have another question now that you say that. For one, I absolutely am in love with the French vanilla cake! I did try to use that for the cupcakes but they didn’t turn out quite as well. It could have been me rushing it and forgetting to double something but they were dry. Is the oven temp the same at 325 for the cupcakes?
Jules
Aw I’m so glad you like it! Yes it’s the same temperature but I find they only take about 18 - 20 minutes (depending on your oven of course).
Sorry to hear they turned out dry, can I ask if you used a scale or cups to measure your ingredients? It can be really hard to get an accurate measurement with cups so when someone is having trouble with a recipe that is very often the cause!
Jules
Also oops I meant to type that it makes 24 cupcakes, not 25 ♀️ ! That’s what happens when I type with flour on my hands!
Lori
I know the feeling! Lol. So I actually scaled last time bc it was a bigger batch. But I’m just wondering and did then also if I mistakenly didn’t double a wet ingredient. I’m giving another go as we speak! The cake reminds me of a recipe my grandmother would make and I haven’t found anything close to it yet except for this. Your recipes are lovely and I thank you for them all!