Cupcakes, Cupcakes

Soft and Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes (easy + one bowl!)

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These soft and fluffy vanilla cupcakes are light, moist, and perfectly cakey, laced with fragrant vanilla and notes of caramel. Far from dry or dense, they’re airy and pillowy and melt in your mouth, with plenty of warm vanilla flavor! Best of all, they’re one-bowl and super easy to make, only taking 30 minutes!

Today I’m sharing with you my most-tested recipe!
Yep, that’s right, the humble vanilla cupcake. Sounds easy, right? Basic? Simple?

Nope. These guys took over 25 tries to perfect, including a wild vanilla cupcake bake-off featuring four test recipes (one of which tasted like burnt plastic) at a weird hour of the night. 

Why? Well, with chocolate cupcakes, the biggest hurdle they must overcome is persistent dryness (remedied here!). But with vanilla, I found that it’s density. Dense, squat, rubbery, overly moist, or otherwise wet cupcakes plagued my recipe testing.

Soft and fluffy vanilla cupcakes were the goal- but when the perfect texture was obtained, the cupcakes were dry and tasteless! 

I felt stuck. But on the last batch, just as I had (a little too dramatically) accepted defeat, the best vanilla cupcakes I’ve ever had emerged from the oven, thanks to a few key ingredients!

These soft and fluffy vanilla cupcakes are light, airy, and springy, with a moist, cakey, and melt-in-your-mouth crumb. They’re perfectly sweet with warm notes of caramel and beautifully scented with strong laces of vanilla throughout. We absolutely love them, and I know you’ll agree! Let’s get started. 

Yellow vs White vs Vanilla Cupcake

You’ve probably heard all of these terms used to describe a simple vanilla cupcake…so what do they mean? Well, a yellow cupcake traditionally uses egg yolks, and has a richer, slightly eggier flavor. A white cupcake is usually pure white and uses egg whites, with less richness and flavor. Both of these are types of vanilla cupcakes! 

What about these cupcakes? They’re technically white cupcakes- light and fluffy, no egg yolks here!

But what throws you off a bit is the color…these are light yellow. I know, a yellowish cupcake inspires thoughts of egginess or cornbreadiness…but both of those are caused by egg yolks, which these don’t have- so none of that here at all! The color is thanks to our brown sugar and butter (to add flavor)…so I just call them vanilla cupcakes, less confusion! 

Key Ingredients:

Butter: You’ll need a stick of softened unsalted butter! See how to soften butter quickly in the recipe notes. 

Sugar and Brown Sugar: A cup of sugar sounds like a lot, but these cupcakes are far from too sweet! Brown sugar is our secret ingredient not traditionally found in vanilla cupcakes- it adds depth of flavor, moisture, and caramel notes! 

Egg Whites: We’ll use only egg whites for lightness and to prevent an eggy flavor. You’ll need 3. The lemon curd in my Ultimate Cupcake Handbook (sent when you subscribe to our email list!) uses lots of yolks, so try filling the cupcakes with that to use the leftovers! 

Sour Cream: Sounds weird and gross, but like here and here, sour cream provides moisture and softness without density! You won’t taste sour cream whatsoever in your cupcakes, I promise! In a pinch, you can try yogurt, but I’ve noticed that the cupcakes are denser and less fluffy. Use the leftover here!

Vanilla Bean and Extract: The vanilla bean is optional but I recommend it- it provides inimitable depth of sweet, floral vanilla flavor! To use, split it down the middle with a knife and scrape out the seeds from both sides. I order mine here– much cheaper than the grocery store! (affiliate link).

You’ll use a second one for the frosting if you want. But if you don’t want to use the bean, use an extra 2 tsp extract! (Or you can just use half the bean and use the other half for the frosting).

Flour and Cornstarch: We’ll sift these together with the rest of our dry ingredients- cornstarch keeps them soft and light! IMPORTANT: if you don’t spoon and level your flour, your cupcakes will be carpety and dry! You may think it doesn’t make a difference, but it will ruin your recipe!!

Milk: Any milk you want works here! 

You’ll also need baking powder, baking soda, and salt! 

What You’ll Do 

  1. Cream the Butter and Sugars: Using a mixer on high speed, beat the butter until creamy, then add sugars and repeat! 
  2. Add Wet Ingredients (but not milk!) 
  3. Sift In Dry Ingredients: A sifter or a strainer works here! You can sift them into a separate bowl and pour them in, or sift straight into the wet mixture! 
  4. Fold in Drys and Milk: Use a baking spatula here, not your mixer, so you don’t overmix! 
  5. Pour into Liners: I recommend these parchment paper liners (affiliate link), they don’t stick or get all greasy like most! Fill these cupcakes a little more than ¾ of the way up- see photo! 

Baking Soft and Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes

You’ll bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes! It’s really important not to overbake- they’ll still be very soft in the centers, just stop when they’re no longer wet! There should be soft centers and moist crumbs. Poke with a toothpick or fork to tell. I do 19 but each oven is different. If yours bakes hotter in the back like mine, flip the pan around halfway through baking- just don’t jostle it too much! 

As soon as your soft and fluffy vanilla cupcakes come out of the oven, take each out of the pan! You can use a knife/angled spatula to get them out so you don’t burn yourself and put them on a cooling rack. Don’t let them keep baking in the pan! 

Let cool before frosting. I attach this recipe for vanilla frosting below, but this chocolate one would be great too! 

Troubleshooting Soft and Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes

Why are My Cupcakes Dry?

The first most likely cause of this would be overbaking! If your cupcakes are extremely browned or a toothpick emerges dry with no moist crumbs, this is why! Secondly, you may have added too much flour! Packing the flour into the cup instead of spooning and leveling (gotcha heehee) would cause this. Always spoon and level, but if your cupcakes are still dry, invest in a kitchen scale, it’s most accurate to measure by weight! 

Why are My Cupcakes Dense? 

Overly moist or dense cupcakes are usually due to adding too much wet ingredient or not enough flour! Check your measurements here. Another cause would be overmixing- make sure you mix in your dry ingredients and milk just until combined. 

Why did My Cupcakes Sink? 

The back of my oven is hotter than the front so I usually have a row in the front that sink because they’re underbaked! The only real remedy for this is to remember to turn around the pan halfway through baking. Creaming your butter for too long, adding too much baking soda/powder, and again, overmixing, could also cause this. 

These soft and fluffy vanilla cupcakes are the best I’ve ever had, and I know you’ll love them too! Just follow each tip and instruction and you’ll have moist, light, and sweet cupcakes in no time! 

If they turn out delicious, feel free to leave a comment and star rating below! 🙂 And don’t forget to like All Star Baking on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Pinterest! Hurray!

Soft and Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes (easy + one bowl!)

4 from 8 votes
Recipe by Emily Kirsten Course: Cupcakes, CupcakesDifficulty: Easy
Servings

12

cupcakes
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

18

minutes
Total time

33

minutes

These soft and fluffy vanilla cupcakes are light, moist, and perfectly cakey, laced with fragrant vanilla and notes of caramel. Best of all, they’re one-bowl and super easy to make! 

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick, 115 g) unsalted butter, softened*

  • 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar

  • 1/4 cup (50 g) light brown sugar, packed

  • 1/2 cup (114 g) full-fat sour cream*

  • 3 large egg whites

  • Seeds scraped from one vanilla bean*

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 1 and 1/2 cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled*

  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk

  • 1 batch Simple and Creamy Vanilla Frosting

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-count muffin tin with parchment paper cupcake liners and set aside.
  • In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy.
  • Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat on high speed until velvety and fluffy. Add sour cream, egg whites, vanilla bean seeds, and vanilla extract, and beat until combined.
  • Using a strainer or sifter, sift in flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. (alternatively, sift these into a separate bowl and pour them into the wet ingredients). Fold in with a baking spoon or spatula just until combined- don’t overmix!
  • Fold in milk just until combined. Batter will be thick and creamy.
  • Dollop evenly into prepared cupcake liners, filling a little over 3/4 of the way full (see pic in post above “what you’ll do”). The distance between your batter and the top of your liner should be about a fingernail’s height.
  • Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick emerges with moist crumbs and centers are no longer wet. If your oven bakes unevenly, turn pan very carefully around halfway through baking so the cupcakes in the front don’t sink.
  • Remove from oven and immediately remove cupcakes from pan using a cake spatula or knife. Place on cooling rack, and let cool completely before frosting.

Notes

  • Butter: To quickly soften your butter, microwave for 9-10 seconds in wrapper, flip over, and repeat. Don’t use cold butter or your cupcakes may not rise!
  • Sour Cream: These cupcakes do not taste like sour cream- you won’t detect it in the finished product! Substitutes would be full-fat yoghurt or buttermilk, but both will make for a denser cupcake. I recommend sticking with the sour cream. Use it here and here too!
  • Vanilla Bean: I order my beans here (affiliate) vs the grocery store ($2 per bean instead of $8!). I really recommend using the bean. If you don’t want to, add an extra 2 tsp vanilla extract instead. They’ll still be delicious!
  • Flour: Make sure you fluff your flour with a spoon, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level it off (or just measure by grams!). If you pack or scoop it in, your cupcakes will be dry and crumbly.
  • Storage: Unfrosted cupcakes keep for a week in an airtight container at room temperature. Frosted cupcakes will stay good for 3 days at room temperature and 4 in the fridge. If it’s hot out I’ll refrigerate them just to be safe!

I hope you loved making this!

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4 Comments

  1. Tried the vanilla cupcakes.absolutley delicious,will pass along to my friends
    Doing a wonderfull job grandaughter.I am so proud of you
    Love you bunches

  2. Roxanne Madaras

    wow,they do look delicious,I will have to try these and pass them out to my friends.
    Thank you grandaughter
    what a terrific job.
    Love you, Nan

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