There’s nothing worse than eyeballing an adorable cupcake that looks too good to eat….stuffing it in your face….and realizing that actually, it really was too pretty to eat and should have been left alone. If there’s one thing I hate doing, it is sacrificing taste for appearance. So imagine my joy to be able to share with you the only vanilla cupcake recipe I’ve been making for the last year. It is so moist, so delicious, and so perfect in any application. Frosted up cute like these polar bears and snowmen cupcakes or simply garnished with frosting and a few sprinkles – either way, the cupcake is beautiful and gloriously tasty. These cupcakes are the best and are my go-to cupcakes (for non-chocolate purposes, of course).
In addition, I wanted to share a quick and easy buttercream frosting that I use all the time. Yes, I love this magical frosting, but the vanilla buttercream recipe, below, makes an equally frequent appearance because not only is it simple, it has a divinely creamy, silky texture that beats out all other easy buttercream frostings. I use this recipe on my kids’ birthday cakes and on most cupcakes I make, especially if I am going to pipe any decorations. It’s fantastic.
Incidentally, both of the cupcakes pictured above are from the brilliant Hello, Cupcake series. Those books make me look like a cupcake-decorating rockstar.
One Year Ago: Tortellini Spinach Salad with Balsamic-Tomato Vinaigrette
Two Years Ago: Quick and Delicious Clam Chowder
Three Years Ago: California Chicken Marinade
Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version
*Makes between 16-24 cupcakes
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 for light, aluminum or silicone muffin pans or 325 for dark, nonstick muffin pans. Line about 16-24 muffin cups with liners and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in eggs and egg yolk one at a time and then mix in the vanilla. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Combine. Add 1/4 cup of the buttermilk. Mix. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Mix. Add the final 1/4 cup of the buttermilk. Mix and then add the final 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Mix until combined and the batter is smooth. Spoon out batter into lined cupcake pan, filling only halfway or just barely over halfway.
Bake for about 15-18 minutes (depending on the heat of your oven based on the type of muffin pan you have), until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out with moist crumbs. Don’t overbake!
Remove the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost as desired!
Recipe Source: adapted from Becca H., a reader, who got it from a Parade magazine
Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Printable Version
*Note: you can substitute milk for the heavy cream but the frosting will be missing an element of silky creaminess.
*Makes about 4 cups of frosting
INGREDIENTS:
½ cup (1 stick, 8 tablespoons) butter, softened to room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
16 ounces powdered sugar (about 3 ½ cups)
¼ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until it is light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar gradually and mix in fully after each addition. Cream at low speed until well blended and creamy. Pour in the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Recipe Source: adapted from The Recipe Girl
{ 75 comments… read them below or add one }
super cute!
I have been looking and looking for a good vanilla cake recipe. Just might have to give it a try. They look super cute, Melanie!
I can’t wait to try this. I recently made a Paula Deen yellow cake recipe for my son’s 1st birthday – I made two batches of cupcakes; my husband I tasted the second one and thought it was so good; but I used the first batch for his cake . . when I bit into it at the party it was like sawdust and i almost cried. So – I decided I would use the time between now and my other sons birthday in October to find a “white” and “chocolate” homemade cake/cupcake recipe that is “go to” . I want birthday cakes to be special and not out of a box. So, I think that this coming weekend I’ll try both of the above recipes
Thanks!
What adorable cupcakes! I love the polar bear and the snowman…so cute! Don’t you hate when you have a gorgeous cupcake or peice of cake that tastes bland and dry? A perfect , moist yellow cake recipe is on my list of “still haven’t perfected” recipes. I am going to try your recipe, Mel. If you say it is incredible, then I know it will be! I love the frosting recipe, too. I find that most easy (all butter) buttercreams are usually too sweet for my taste. The addition of cream cheese cuts the sweetness…I bet it’s amazing! I can’t wait to try it and report back!
P.S. Mel- could you please share what candies/etc., you used to make the polar bear? I can see the coconut “fur”, but it looks like the paws are gum drops? I just love it…great job!
What a wonderful way to bring in the morning…with buttermilk and buttercream frosting!!! How magical. Love the designs you made on your cupcakes, very adorable.
Love the polar bears! Are the paws marshmellows?
Toooo CUTE!
These are the cutest cupcakes I have ever seen!! I am definatley going to try out this buttercream frosting soon! Congrats on being the Tasty kitchen featured member : ) So cool!
I completely agree- it really frustrates me when cupcakes look so terrific and then end up being dry or overly sweet or something. You do look like a decorating rockstar:-)
What ADORABLE cupcakes! Love the Polar Bears! I have been on the hunt for a great vanilla cake recipe and will totally have to give this one a try!
I just bought one of the Hello, Cupcake books for my daughter. We’re planning on making the Penguin cupcakes for her birthday party this Saturday. I think I’ll try your recipes for them. BTW, just found your through Tasty Kitchen and it’s fantastic. I’ve been in such a food rut and I love food blogs, but sometimes they are just not practical, you know? Yours looks beautiful and practical. I’m going to try several of your recipes right away (Asian Lettuce Wraps, for example). Thank you!
I have a question: I’ve tried making cupcakes from scratch and every time I do, they flop. They spill out of the cupcake tin and all over my oven.
Any suggestions?
Hi Mel- I am so excited to see you featured on Tasty Kitchen today! Congratulations! You deserve it!
Those paws looks so cute. Very creative!! I can’t wait to try the cupcakes recipe. I’ve been looking for the perfect frosting recipe.. now I’ve found it. >.<
Wow, those are so adorable, and the recipe even sounds tasty! I agree- sacrificing taste for appearance sucks.
I just stumbled upon your site from Tasty Kitchen and have spent a couple hours perusing + printing out recipes to try. You’ve got great practical yet interesting recipes. Can’t wait to try these cupcakes and frosting out for my son’s birthday! Thanks!
I’ve got a baby shower coming up in a couple of weeks and the mommy-to-be requested no chocolate for the cupcakes. I was thinking strawberry and vanilla. Thanks for the recipe!
Auntie Patch and Kim – for the polar bears, the paws are white gumdrops that are piped with chocolate frosting. The muzzle/nose is also a white gumdrop. The ears are cheerios lightly frosted with coconut stuck to the tops. Hope that helps! (Oh, and the “body” is a donut hole frosted to the cupcake.)
SUPER cute! …And I’m all over the cupcake recipe too.
I make my buttercream frosting just like yours, except without the cream cheese. I bet that it’s a great addition though. When I need chocolate frosting, I use the same recipe and mix in 1/2 c. cocoa powder (mol). It’s one of our favorites. Yummy!
I was so excited about these cupcakes! I consider myself to be a pretty good baker (I want to open a bakery one day.), but when I made these tonight they fell when I took them out of the oven to cool. Any ideas on what might have gone wrong? I really like the flavor of the cake, but mine just look sad.
Also, did you use whole or non-fat buttermilk? Maybe that was the problem.
Mel….you are amazing as always. I share your site with all my friends. As a busy mama of 4 kids under 6 (just like you!) I appreciate the tried and true recipes, I don’t have a lot of time to practice, so your site makes my life a LOT easier. Keep up the amazing work!
The polar bear cupcakes are just ADORABLE!!! I so have to make those next Christmas. Thank you for another BEST recipe–I will be trying it. I’ve made your chocolate cake three times in the last couple months, by the way, and I’m making another one tomorrow.
It is the ONLY scratch cake recipe I use right now b/c up until that one, the box mix was always better.
My baby turns 2 later this month. I’m thinking he would love those polar bears! And I will love that they are not chocolate.
Can’t wait to try this cupcake recipe. Why is it that anything with buttermilk is superior?
Lindsay – I’m sorry to hear these cupcakes fell when you took them out of the oven. I’ve had that happen only once when I made them and it was because I underbaked them slightly and the middles weren’t done enough to hold up after baking. It’s a tricky balance baking them perfectly so as not to under- or over-bake. I always use lowfat buttermilk when baking, just as a note. I hope they work out better if you try them again! When mine fell, I still frosted them with a pretty swirl and the eaters were none the wiser.
wait for it…yep, there’s the involuntary ‘awwww.’
In the list of ingredients – it calls for 1/2 cup of buttermilk. In the directions it has to add 1/2 cup of buttermilk two times. So I am not sure which is correct. Am I reading it wrong?
Patricia – it might seem confusing but if you look closely, the instructions actually say to add “1/2 of the buttermilk” so you will only be adding 1/4 cup of the buttermilk at a time as you interchange mixing it with the dry ingredients. Does that make sense? I’ll edit the recipe to be a little more clear since I can see why it might seem confusing.
I see what you meant. Thank you!!
I believe that under-baking was my issue as well! I definitely plan to try them again because the flavor was WONDERFUL! I am actually going to make them tomorrow. Hehehe! I decorated my “fallen” cupcakes with a rich chocolate swirl and no one at my husband’s work knew they had fallen. They couldn’t get enough of them!
The polar bear cupcakes are so cute.
I made these today and they were fantastic. They are so moist and have the perfect flavor and texture. I also decided to try your “magical” frosting instead and, yes, I could actually eat it out of the bowl LOL It wasn’t nearly has time extensive as I thought it would be and was very easy, really. Looking forward to trying the buttercream frosting and your chocolate cake recipe too!
Mel. I just got myself a KitcheAid mixer for Chirstmas and was planning to make cupcakes for my brother’s birthday in February. I will certainly be using this recipe for the occasion.
Jacquelyn – glad you loved these cupcakes and that the frosting was tummy-pleasing, too!
I made these yesterday. They were so yummy. This is the first time I’ve ever made vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting. Usually chocolate is my flavor of choice. The batter was a little thicker than I am used to, so I was a bit concerned that I didn’t do something right. But… they were moist and tender and full of vanilla flavor. The frosting is fabulous. It’s going to be my go to frosting from now on.
Thanks for a great recipe, Mel.
Seriously Mel, why you gotta be so amazing? Adorable cupcakes never cease to amaze me.
KarenC – thanks for letting me know you loved these. I’m so happy!
I made these yesterday for a birthday get-together for a friend. Oh my. They were to die for! Sadly, mine fell too, and I was a little concerned, but once they were frosted, no one knew. I’ll bake them a minute or two longer next time…didn’t want them to over-bake and they passed the toothpick test…but maybe longer will be better. The frosting was fabulous too…these are a new go-to for me! Thank you!
Stacie – so glad the flavor and deliciousness factor outweighed the slight fall in the middle!
what kind of sugar is on the little snowman?? thanks!
Sara – the snowman cupcakes are dusted with the white sanding sugar. You can easily find this at most craft stores (like Hobby Lobby) in the cake decorating aisle.
I made these cupcakes and they were DELICIOUS!! Any idea how they would fare as a cake? What changes might I need to make to the recipe or cooking directions?
Oh my gosh!!! I have been SEARCHING for a cake recipe I can try out that I can sub out milk and soy for…. It’s been in front of me all along! My 10 month old, Marie, has both milk and soy allergies, so conventional cake mix is out of the question. I was easily able to sub 1/2 c almond milk and a T of lemon juice for the buttermilk, and used a safe butter substitute. I still made the frosting for us, just kept a few mini cupcakes for Marie without it. They were absolutely AMAZING!! Super duper simple to make, and mouthwatering. DH said I should make these once a week. He said that they are a close contender to his favorite (Homemade German Chocolate) for his birthday next week!
We love this frosting. We haven’t tried the cake yet (but oh, we so will), but the frosting is awesome and wonderful and we can’t make enough. We also ended up making variations upon it. Adding dark cocoa powder to one batch made some awesome chocolate frosting I’m not sure how much we added, though. We kind of just stick our fingers in and taste test most days. We also added lemon extract to another batch, and it was the lightest, lemony frosting ever. The chocolate went on a chocolate cake, the lemon went on a cinnamon cake, and some regular vanilla went on a yellow cake. We’ve had people rave at us for this frosting, and two months later, I’m still getting requests for baked goods out the wazoo.
Your food blog is awesome and makes my life easier. Woot!
Do these freeze well?
Hi Bri – I’ve never frozen the cupcakes, mostly because I don’t like how cupcakes taste after they are frozen, but that is a personal preference type of thing. I’m sure like any cake, if they are covered well, they should freeze ok.
Great recipe- I love the frosting! One problem- I live in AZ, and I am having a hard time keeping the frosting from melting at room temp. I have tried to refrigerate the frosted cupcakes, but once they get to room temp, they start to lose that pretty 1M swirl, and the frosting looks more like blobs. I read somewhere to add DreamWhip to the frosting, but I don’t want to change the taste of it? Any suggestions?
Angie – I’m not familiar with DreamWhip but you might just try stabilizing the icing by using a bit more powdered sugar than normal. It will help the frosting keep it’s shape.
Mel, you would think after all this time of following your blog I would be smart enough not to stray to others, but that is exactly what I did. I tried a different frosting recipe and it was horrible. At least I was smart enough to just toss the failure in the trash and come check your site for a frosting recipe. This frosting was perfect (as usual). I did add 1 cup of melted white chocolate to the mixer and it fluffed up perfectly and was a dream to pipe. Thanks once again for your great recipes.
Have you ever tried this as a cake?? My “go to” cake recipe isn’t so “go to” anymore!
Anna – I haven’t tried this as a cake, sorry!
made these 2day … they came out gr8…. light & fluffy, yet moist. & the butter-cream frosting was so delicious!!!
Hi Melanie! I have been a long time follower of your blog and am waiting until I am in a time crunch to post a comment/question. Of course!! I am making some cupcakes for my sons birthday party tomorrow and am wanting to make a yummy homemade frosting that I can pipe onto the top of the cupcakes and I am wanting to frost them in the morning and have them hold out until the afternoon party. Is this a good frosting recipe for that? Is it sturdy enough to be piped and hold its shape and hang out for a couple of hours? Thanks so much for your help and for all of your fabulous recipes!!
Hi, I would like to clarify what do you mean by mix it? Mix as in I have to use a mixer with low speed to mix the eggs, vanilla, flour and buttermilk? Or how ? Please do explain so that I can make the cupcake correctly.
Made these today. Although they are the best scratch vanilla cupcakes I’ve tried, moist and fluffy. I still prefer the boxed vanilla cake flavor
it seems that all the vanilla scratch cupcakes I make remind me of a cornbread type flavor? Any ideas why? I can taste vanilla and they’re moist but the flavor still reminds me of cornbread. Anyway, thanks so much for all your recipes! I’ve been cooking from your blog for a week straight now!!
Jeni – I’m sorry I wasn’t able to answer your question in time (I am just returning from vacation and had limited access to email). Did you end up using this frosting recipe? I would highly recommend it for a good piping frosting. Hope it turned out well!
Anna – by mixing, I mean incorporating the ingredients together. You can use a handheld or electric mixer to do the job.
Jnl2211 – it is almost impossible to replicate cake mix texture and flavor mostly because cake mixes have artificial flavors and additives that aren’t available to the home cook. I watched Alton Brown’s Good Eats one time where explained the “cake mix phenomenon.” His theory is that the home cook will never be able to make a from-scratch cake or cupcakes that taste like a cake mix because of the other ingredients in a cake mix (preservatives, additives, etc.). Since I far prefer the flavor and texture and taste of a homemade cake/cupcake, that isn’t a big issue for me, but I’m sorry that these cupcakes fell short of what you wanted! It’s a bummer when you want something to turn out differently than it does!
Thanks for replying so quickly! Well, at least it’s not that I’m doing something wrong. So my search has ended then in a box mix replica
and I have the best vanilla cake recipe thanks to you 
I LOVE your blog!
Oh one more thing, I seriously asked my husband if they sold butter in bigger cases while we were at Costco….that’s how much I’m making cupcakes and frostings from your blog
If the frosting isn’t holding it’s shape try adding merengue powder. Wilton’s makes some. I have it at my walmart. It helps to keep the shape of the frosting when you pipe it. I live in Az too and the heat can do funny biz
Yum yum yum! The vanilla cupcakes sound great and so does the frosting! The frosting with the polar bear looks soooooo cuuuuute
Question: is the frosting really sweet, or not too sweet? Because I don’t like sickeningly sweet frosting.
And what is buttermilk? Do you know a replacement for it?
Thank you!
Millie – the frosting is moderately sweet – just a typical buttercream frosting. Buttermilk is like sour milk. You can substitute one cup of milk mixed with one tablespoon lemon juice.
I love the way this recipe sounds…my hubby wants a pineapple flavor in the cupcake..can i just add in crushed pineapples???
MrsC – never tried it but I think it’s probably worth a go. I’d definitely drain the pineapple so as not to add too much liquid to the batter…good luck!
Hi there,
In New Zealand when baking the butter measurement are always measured in grams, so I’m always confused (it’s not hard) when baking with an American recipe, can you please convert the butter measurement into grams please, if possible?
Many many thanks in advance,
Pania
Hi Pania – here is a great online calculator to help you convert recipes to other measurements, like grams:
http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/butter_converter.html
Awesome thankyou so much!
I just made this frosting. It is indeed delicious, but I would prefer more cream cheese. Great decorating!!!!!! The polar bears are out of this world.
Hi Mel,
When making frosting, would you suggest using the beater attachment or the whisk attachment? Thank you!
Stacey – I have a Bosch and use my cookie paddles (that are probably like a Kitchenaid beater attchment). I learned my lesson the hard way when I broke my whisk attachment making this because it is pretty stiff until you add in the heavy cream.
You don’t probably need another comment saying how awesome these are but I’m gonna leave one anyway
. Really liked these. They came together easy and the frosting was so yummy – love how that little bit of cream cheese takes the edge off the sweetness. I made these into Easter bunnies – I don’t see them lasting the day.
Hi Mel, I hope you are doing well!
Can you make the frosting a day in advance?
Hi Vicki – yes, you can make the frosting in advance. Just make sure to pull it out of the refrigerator about an hour or so (at cool room temperature) before you need to frost. It may even benefit from a quick re-whip with an electric mixer but it should be fine made in advance.
BEST CUPCAKES EVER…. no need to look anywhere else for recipe!
HI – I am a first time “drive by” and am amazed at what you have done. Thank you so much for your approach to ease. I have a question, for your frosting, have you ever tried Pastry Pride? It is a whipped topping which comes frozen. It has to be thawed and I have been using it in my frosting.
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