The easiest homemade cupcakes in the world are fluffy and moist with simple vanilla frosting. This recipe was originally published on July 12, 2010. This post contains affiliate links.
Cupcakes are all the rage, and honestly, they are one of those desserts you need to have in your repertoire. This is an incredibly easy vanilla cupcake recipe, so much so that these might just be the easiest homemade cupcakes in the world! Quite a big statement, I know. But if you’re looking to make cupcakes at home, look no further this is the recipe for you.
I’m definitely more of a cook than I am a baker, so when I do bake, I try and keep things relatively simple. Apple crisps and peanut butter oatmeal chocolate cookies are kind of my go-to treats. I hate to admit it, but for years I always relied on cake mixes to make cupcakes–I know, I know. It’s ok.
I first shared this recipe for homemade cupcakes back in 2010, and it was the first time I ever made homemade cupcakes from scratch. Since then, I’ve made this recipe countless times, and have made many tweaks and changes. You’ll need to use a hand mixer or stand mixer for this recipe because it uses the reverse creaming method.
What is the reverse creaming method for making cupcakes?
In the reverse-creaming method, the dry ingredients and the sugar are mixed together first, as opposed to creaming the butter and sugar together. Then the fats and a portion of the liquids are mixed into the dry ingredients followed by the remaining liquids. You could use a standmixer if you have one, but I don’t have enough space in my small kitchen so I like to use this electric handmixer for these.
These are seriously the easiest cupcakes in the world, and if you, like me, are used to using the mixes, seriously try this, you’ll never go back. With a few simple ingredients that you most definitely have in your pantry, whipping up a batch of homemade vanilla cupcakes is a no-brainer.
What keeps cupcakes moist?
Baking fluffy, moist cupcakes comes from creating air bubbles in the batter that expand in the oven. Avoid over-mixing (this collapses the bubbles) and over-baking. When you’re making cupcakes, mix on low speeds and stop just as the ingredients blend together.
Vanilla is a fool-proof favourite that are perfect for any party or birthday, but if you’re looking to make another variety of cupcakes, you can also try my easy banana cupcakes which use overripe bananas for a touch of sweetness.
This really is the best cupcake recipe out there because it never fails! I like to make mine with a really simple vanilla buttercream frosting, but you could definitely do a delicious chocolate frosting as well if that’s more your style.
The easiest, homemade cupcakes in the world!
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For vanilla frosting:
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 2 tablespoon milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Place the butter in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt over top. Blend slowly together over medium-low speed until mixture resembles pebbles.
- Add in ½ cup of milk and the egg, mix on medium until the flour mixture is completely moistened and the egg has been incorporated.
- Add the remaining milk and vanilla and mix until just combined--it's ok if there are some lumps in the batter.
- Place the paper liners in your muffin tin and fill the cupcake liners about ¾ of the way full.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool before frosting.
To make vanilla frosting:
- In a small bowl, beat together butter, sugar, milk and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Recipe adapted from Cupcake Ideas Book
Let me warn you, give these away to friends because it’s very easy to get carried away, and soon enough you’ll be surrounded by cupcake liners and no more homemade cupcakes!
Tina
I’m going to try it this weekend
Emily H.
I have not made them yet but I love baking I’m just too lazy to get the mixer out so if I don’t use a stand mixer and just hand mix the batter would I have any problems? Also, do I have to follow the ingredients to a T meaning the squared butter? I do not buy the sticks of butter and was just wondering if I had to.
Louisa Clements
Hi Emily, you can definitely use a hand mixer for this recipe! I just use a regular pound of butter (no need for the sticks!), you’ll need 1/2 cup (113g) and you’ll just cut it into small cubes yourself. It allows the butter and flour to mix better. I hope you enjoy!
Sherri
Wow, these cupcakes were not only a breeze to make, they are a absolutely delicious! Thanks so much for sharing, my son is 15 today and will be thrilled to wake up to these today!!
To add. It is so great that she used just enough ingredients to make the perfect amount of amazing vanilla frosting for these cupcakes. If you are looking for a great vanilla cupcake recipe, look no further!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Louisa Clements
Sherri, thank you so much for the kind review! I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe and happy birthday to your son! I hope he enjoyed these. :)
Diane
I’ve made these 7 times since I found the recipe 5 months ago! I LOVE them! I add some gel food coloring to make them fun, tie-dye looking for kids birthdays. The vanilla frosting is perfection, too! Thank you!! ?
gia
my cupcake batter was like cookie or pie dough!!!!
Louisa Clements
Hi Gia, that’s strange! I’ve never had that experience. Did you add all of the wet ingredients?
gia
yes! i added everything and sifted everything!
Louisa Clements
Hi Gia, did you use 1 and 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour? Or replace any of the ingredients?
I’ve made these cupcakes many times and never run into a dry, crumbly, pie-crust like texture, I’d love to help troubleshoot and figure out what went wrong here.
Karl Giese
I was craving some vanilla cupcakes but didn’t want to go to store…I came across this recipe and had all the ingredients. They were super easy to make and out of this world delicious!!
Louisa Clements
Thank you Karl, so glad you enjoyed this recipe! It’s simple and delicious!
Anne
Worst cup cake recipe ever! Too much liquid.
Louisa Clements
Hi Anne, I’m so sorry these did not work out for you. Did you sift the dry ingredients and follow the recipe exactly as written?
Emily
Do I have to sift flour, sugar, baking powder? What happens if I don’t?
Louisa Clements
Hi Emily, sifting the ingredients helps provide structure so that the cupcakes rise properly. Sifting allows the fat (in this case, the butter) to coat the flour and get in between all the grains before the liquid is mixed in–the more fat that coats the flour, the less liquid will get in and the better the structure will be (less gluten). Also, if you leave clumps of flour in the batter, you may bite into a dry clump of flour in the cooked cupcakes.
Kayla
Hi. I am 14 years old and love baking. I usually use box cake but decided to bake cupcakes for my dads birthday today. I tried it and it was good but I notice that it was a lil buttery. The icing made it taste pretty good. I am not sure what I did wrong. I use the pilsburg flower and I have original butter. If salt is already in butter should I have left the salt out. Like I said, it was good I wish I knew what I did wrong. Thanks
Louisa Clements
Hi Kayla, sorry for the delay! I’m so glad that you made these for your Dad’s birthday, what a thoughtful thing to do! If you are using salted butter, you should leave the salt out of the recipe–if you leave it in, this will make the cupcakes a little salty. When you say they were too buttery, were the cupcakes a little wet or was there residue oil in the cupcake liners?
Margie Ubben
Can you make the cupcakes and not use the paper liners?
Lou
Hi Margie, I have not tried it myself, but I imagine it would be fine if you grease the muffin tin enough.
Kristen
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Lou
Hi Kristen, I use unsalted butter here. Happy baking!
Clare Gallagher
What type of frosting is best for these cupcakes?
Lou
Hi Clare, any type of frosting works with these cupcakes! I personally love chocolate cream cheese frosting. :)
Theresa
Have you ever used this recipe to make a cake (instead of cupcakes)? I’ve made this for cupcakes, and they turned out great, but I am assuming that all I need to do to turn it into a cake is bake it a bit longer? Let me know what you think. And thanks for the recipe!
Lou
Hi Theresa, this comment seems to have gotten lost, I apologize for the delay! I’ve never used this recipe for a cake but it would definitely need a longer baking time which would depend on the size of the pan you are using. For an 8-inch pan you’re probably looking at something closer to 35-40 minutes, always poke with a toothpick or knife to see if it’s finished baking!
Walid
Iam 15 yaers old and Imade them now and they are just perfect thank you very much i’m enjoying them with my family
Lou
Hi Walid, I’m so glad to hear that you made these for your family and that you all loved them! :)
Aimee
I actually used 1 cup of milk on accident and had to cook them a little bit longer but they still came out great! I’m having to make 3 more batches today :) this was my first time making homemade cupcakes and this was the best recipe to me :)
Lou
Congrats on making your first batch of homemade cupcakes, Aimee! I’m glad they still worked out :)
RiRhy
These were good, for sure, but the consensus from my family was that it tasted more like cornbread than a cupcake. I did use white whole wheat flour, so maybe that was it, I will re-try with white flower. Like I said, definitely a good taste, just not what I expected.
Lou
Hi Rirhy,
Thanks for letting me know – like you said, the white whole wheat flour might have changed the texture. Usually these are quite light and fluffy!
priyadarshini
the recipes looks great and it tastes as its look…so good:)
Lou
Thank you!
emma
these were good
Lou
Thanks, Emma!
Stephanie Kluck
Great recipe! I was wondering if you would know a quick fix to make these gluten free? I tried and used gf all purpose flour but they are very crumbly. Maybe I should have added xanthan gum? Any tips would be great!
Lou
Hi Stephanie,
I’m not too sure about a quick fix to make these gluten free. I know that xanthan gum would help with the binding. Maybe try adding an extra egg yolk also? I’ve never tried to make these gluten free so those are just a couple of guesses!
Lana
Just found this post today while looking for an easy cupcake recipe I could make with my 3-year-old. I always make little tweaks in the “healthier” direction when I’m trying new dessert recipes, so I used a little less butter and subbed egg whites. My daughter and I had a blast making them + they turned out great! Thanks so much!!
Lou
I’m soo glad that you and your daughter loved them, Lana! That makes me so happy to hear. :)
Dora
I’m making these today but I noticed the ingredients say 3/4 cup of milk but in the instructions (#4) it says 1/2 cup of milk. Can you confirm which is the correct amount?
Lou
Hi Dora,
You add the milk in 2 additions – the first time, you had 1/2 cup in step 4 and then you add the remaining 1/4 of a cup in step 5. Hope that helps :)
Dora
That’s what I figured, so it’s what I did! The cupcakes came out better than a box mix! Thank you for the recipe!! Wish I could send you a pic!
Lou
I’m so glad that you enjoyed them, Dara!
Grammar King
*Dora not Dara
Lou
Thanks for catching! :)
Chioma
Do you have to use baking powder? Also do you have to use vanilla?
Lou
Hi Chloma,
Yes you most definitely need to use baking powder and vanilla in this recipe. The baking powder helps the cupcakes rise and the vanilla gives them their flavour!
Jennifer
sounds like a great recipe! i have to do a demonstration speech in my Public Speaking class and this is what i plan on doing!
Lou
Hi Jennifer, that’s so amazing! I love to hear that you’ll be using it for your class. Good luck on your speech!
rose marie
hi av just made them and they r a hit with my kids.it was soo simple and yummy.putting it on recipie book.am rose from Nairobi Kenya
Lou
Hi Rose Marie,
So glad that you liked them and were a hit with your family!
ciara
Its 11 pm and I’m making these for my moms birthday! Hope all goes well
Lou
HI Ciara,
Hope it all went well, let me know!
Lorraine
I’m not sure what kind of vanilla I should use? is it vanilla flavor (liquid) or actual vanilla extract (powder)? Thank you for the recipe! I can’t wait to try it :-)
Lou
Hi Lorraine, liquid vanilla extract will be the best choice for this recipe! Let me know how it goes. :)
Amy Lambert
I am making these today for a Sunday baby shower :-) . Will post pics and tell you how they come out :-)
Lou
Hi Amy! Let me know how it went :)
Mark
I am going to try this recipe out right now. Thanks for the post.
Faith
I had a unusual craving for cupcakes today and I couldn’t find a box of cupcake mix so I decided to make homemade cupcakes. The problem for me was that I didn’t know the first thing about making cupcakes so I looked up some recipes and found yours, I made them and they turned out great! They are delicious and ended my craving for cupcakes thank you! :D
Lou
Hi Faith,
So glad that you enjoyed them!
ritsikaa
i am going to check this out right now!!!!!!!!!!!!
ritsikaa
ok do you no why!!!!! BECAUSE I JUST LOVE COOKING !!!!!!!!!
Mikayla Brant
I was wondering how many cupcakes this make. I have to make over 32 so should i double the recipie??
Lou
I would double the recipe if I were you. This makes about 18 :)
ajcabuang04
I always use the boxed cake mix for vanilla flavored cakes. I just can't seem to find a great tasting vanilla cake recipe. I need to try this!! They look great!!
Would you mind checking out my blog? :D http://ajscookingsecrets.blogspot.com/