This Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes recipe makes six fabulous moist vanilla cupcakes topped with a quick and easy American buttercream frosting.
Happy Friday, friends. How has your week been? Not going to lie, mine has been STRESSFUL. Between all the garbage in the world right now and Baking Mischief breaking itself twice(!!) within 24 hours (Were you around for the site weirdness on Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning? It was not pretty.), “chill” has not been a word in my vocabulary this week.
But guess what, the week is almost over, it’s sunny and 70 degrees here in Southern California, and we are all still here. That’s something to be grateful for. I’m grateful for kind popstar quotes, silly unicorn drinks, and all the other small joys in my life, and when I remember that, the world does feel just a *little* less garbage.
Speaking of small joys, who could go for a cupcake right about now? (Guys, I’m so great at segues.)
These Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes have definitely been one of the small joys of my week. I shot the photos for this post a couple weeks ago–those who follow my Instagram stories might recognize them– but I actually made them again this morning because I felt like this week deserved cupcakes to celebrate its end. And since they are small batch, I can totally get away with that.
This small-batch cupcake recipe makes just six cute little vanilla cupcakes. I like the half dozen count because it’s just enough to share if I have a couple of friends over but not so many that I feel like I have to find homes for all of them if I decide to do some cupcake baking on a whim some lazy weekend.
And these cupcakes are perfect for a lazy weekend because they are super simple to make. You just need one bowl, some baking staples, and a cupcake craving, and you are just a tiny bit of effort away from some seriously yummy little cupcakes.
These vanilla cupcakes are on the moist and heavier side (if you want something super light and airy, I recommend my Small-batch Angel Food Cupcakes). They are super soft with an incredibly tender crumb and get topped off with a classic easy American vanilla buttercream and of course, some sprinkles.
If you feel like mixing and matching, you can also use the chocolate buttercream from my Small-batch Chocolate Cupcakes–that’s what I did this morning and it was FAB.
And I will totally admit that a cupcake is not going to cure all the world’s ills, BUT, if you need a small joy in your life this weekend, I heartily recommend one of these.
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcake Recipe Notes
- Be sure to use properly softened butter where called for. Butter that is too cold could result in your cupcakes sinking and melty butter can result in flatter, possibly oily cupcakes.
- For the best cupcakes, use a kitchen scale (my preferred choice) or the Spoon and Sweep Method, spoon flour into your measuring cup and sweep excess off with the flat of a knife, to measure your flour otherwise your cupcakes will be too dense!
- If you plan on spreading your frosting with a knife rather than piping, cut the buttercream recipe in half.
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- Handheld electric mixer optional but helpful
- 6-cup cupcake pan full size works too!!
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes
- 3 tablespoons (1.5oz) unsalted butter softened
- 1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons (87g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (60g) all-purpose flour measured using the spoon and sweep method and divided
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon milk any percentage
Vanilla Buttercream
- 4 tablespoons (2oz) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon milk or cream
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Sprinkles optional
Instructions
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and line your cupcake pan with 6 liners.
- In a medium bowl combine butter and sugar and using a handheld electric mixer, cream together until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add egg white and vanilla. Beat on medium until smooth.
- Add 1/4 cup (30g) of the flour, baking powder, and salt. And mix on low until incorporated.
- Mix in milk on low. Add remaining 1/4 cup of flour and mix on medium until well-mixed and smooth. Divide batter between prepared cupcake cups, filling just under 2/3 full. This should make exactly 6 cupcakes. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean or with just a couple dry crumbs.
- Transfer to a cooling rack when the cupcakes are cool enough to handle and cool completely before frosting.
Vanilla Buttercream
- In a medium bowl, combine butter, powdered sugar, milk or cream, vanilla, and salt. Beat until frosting comes together, adding milk by the 1/2 teaspoon as necessary.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag and pipe over cupcakes or use a knife to spread frosting. Top with sprinkles if desired, and enjoy!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Ugh, site glitches are the worst!!!! I think we’ve all been there, right?!? I feel your pain, girl! I feel your pain. Everything looks a-ok now, though (thumbs up 🙂 ). I dunno about that unicorn drink from Starbucks, though. I heard that it has A LOT of sugar so I think I’ll pass. I’m not usually into really sugary drinks like that. These cupcakes, on the other hand, I could totally go for! A cupcake would definitely brighten anyone’s day and love how quick they come together – almost instant gratification 🙂 ! Cheers to a lovely, relaxing weekend!
Tracy says
Hehe, thanks, Dawn! I had one of Unicorn Fraps and they are DEFINITELY very sweet. I can’t imagine drinking one regularly, but they are pretty fun for a one-time-thing! Hope you have an awesome weekend too!
Nona says
Hello! I just wanted to make a little inquiry. Did you mean to put 1/2 cups of flour in step 4? it says 1/4th but the ingredients say 1/2
Tracy says
Hi, Nona! The flour is added in two batches. The first half (1/4 cup) in step 4 and the second half in step 5 after you add the milk. So a quarter cup at a time, but a half cup altogether. 🙂
Ava Krahenbuhl says
I used this recipe for a science fair thingy and they were still so YUMM!
Tracy says
So glad you enjoyed them!!
Patty @ Spoonabilities says
There is nothing a perfectly moist, frosted cupcake won’t cure 🙂 These look delicious!
Tracy says
Exactly! 😉 Thanks, Patty!
Luci's Morsels says
These are so cute and perfect for so many different parties. I don’t think you could ever go wrong with a classic vanilla cupcake. Thanks for sharing! Yummy! Luci’s Morsels | fashion. food. frivolity.
Tracy says
Thanks, Luci!!
Lisa says
Love that this recipe is for a small batch. Sometimes you only need a handful of something sweet and delicious! 😉
Tracy says
Right!? Thanks, Lisa! 🙂
traditionallymodernfood says
nothing can beat a classic perfectly baked cupcake. my sonloves vanilla cupcake. it is been a while since i made these in home after seeing yoursi m tempted to makea bacth
Tracy says
You should!! 😉
Erin says
I made these into mini cupcakes. 325°, baked for about 14 minutes (made around 15…?…I forgot to count before I ate a bunch lol). Note: I cut the sugar to 1/4 cup, and for the 1/2c flour I used 1/4c spelt flour and 1/4c apf. I think next time I will try using the whole egg instead of just the white, to see if there’s much of a difference.
This will now be my go-to vanilla cupcake recipe. Wow! The cake texture on these is so light and fluffy – I hate a dense cupcake. I like that it’s a small batch, so I can just use the hand mixer to beat it in a small bowl instead of the stand mixer. Even though it still makes around 15 minis, it’s not a giant batch that I fear will go bad before everyone eats them. Thanks for the great recipe! 🙂
Tracy says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Erin!!
lia says
did the whole egg make any difference??
Rene says
I just made these pretty much to exact specs here — I know I wound up tweaking a thing or two here while watching for the just-right, pourable sort of batter that looked right to me. I was worried my mix was a bit too wet in the end, but right about a full 20 minutes bake time in my slightly-lower-than-listed-because-it-runs-hot oven turned out super moist, lightly golden cupcakes that bounced back from a touch and a poke spongey and clean. I always seem to need way more powdered sugar than any recipe states in order to get the fluffy kind of buttercream that will hold its own on a cooled cupcake, but I also only tried to make a half-size of the frosting recipe so I can’t really comment on that part as-is.
I’ve tried a lot of the small batch recipes the ol’ Googler picks up and this is my favorite one, now. Thanks!
Tracy says
Glad they worked out for you, Rene!! In the future for buttercream, you might try starting with butter that is just barely room temperature (if you don’t already), so when you press your finger into it, it leaves an indentation but does not squish the butter around it. It should give you a stiffer buttercream right off the bat, that and only add liquid if the buttercream isn’t coming together. During the summer I always struggle to get my butter the right temperature for frosting since it melts so quickly!
Shantana says
Great recipe.
Tracy says
Thank you!
Francheska Santiago says
Just wondering, could this recipe be used for mini cupcakes? Or to actually make a larger cake? I loved these cupcakes, I’m horrible at making online recipies but I decided to give this one a try because it wasnt much ingredience, but now I want to make alot. Can I just double everything to make more? Do u think it would affect the taste or texture?
Tracy says
I’m so glad you enjoyed these, Francheska! You can turn them into minis no problem, just cut the baking time a little. And doubling the recipe won’t change the taste or texture. I haven’t ever made this recipe into a cake, so if you try that, please let me know how it goes! 🙂
Carla says
I can’t decide whether to kiss you or curse you. Haha! I made these last night when I had an insane cupcake craving, but didn’t want to bake a whole batch. They turned out great. I added almond extract instead of vanilla to my batter and frosting both, because I was craving traditional wedding cake flavors.
Also, bless you for including metric measurements in grams. I detest baking with traditional measurements, so it was a pleasant surprise to find measurements by weight included in your recipe. I will be a regular reader of your blog now just for that one small reason. 🙂
Tracy says
Hehe, thanks, Carla! And I’m so with you on baking measurements. I really only measure for baking by weight these days because it just makes things so much easier and faster!
Mags says
Just baked this and the texture of the cake is unbelievably moist. Although i would cut down the sugar on both cake and buttercream, its way too sweet for my taste. I can easily eat 6 in one seating so good! What do you think would happen if i use the whole egg? Also, do you have this small batch for chocolate cupcake?
Thanks!
Tracy says
Hi, Mags. So glad you enjoyed them! I probably wouldn’t use the whole egg because it might be too much liquid, but you could always try! And I do have a Small-batch Chocolate Cupcake recipe: https://bakingmischief.com/2017/04/08/small-batch-chocolate-cupcakes-with-chocolate-buttercream/
Abby says
This recipe is MONEY! My husband is always requesting these cupcakes 🙂
Tracy says
Lol, thanks, Abby! Hope he’s doing something nice to earn all those cupcakes. 😉
Caitlyn says
I made these using a mini cupcake tin and almond milk & turbinado sugar for the cakes and they were soo delicious!! Made 16 mini cupcakes, I baked them for 17 minutes at 350 and then I raised the temp to 375 for about 5 more minutes. They turned out perfect.
Tracy says
Thanks for the detailed comment, Caitlyn! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed them!
Sharon says
These sound great! I need to make a few egg-free cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday party (she’s allergic to eggs). I’ve read that 1/4c of unsweetened applesauce works for an egg substitute. Any idea if this will still be decent for these cupcakes? I hope to try this out this weekend! Thank you!
Tracy says
Hi, Sharon. I’ve had varying success with the applesauce for eggs substitution in the past (sometimes it leads to a pretty dense cupcake), and I’ve never tried it with these cupcakes so I couldn’t say for sure that it would turn out well. If you want to give it a try, I’d use a little less than 3 tablespoons applesauce rather than the whole 1/4 cup. And please let me know how it turns out!
You also might just want to try a vegan or eggless cupcake recipe so you know you’re getting a tried and tested egg-free recipe. Hope that helps, and happy birthday to your daughter!
Sonali says
Where have you been all my baking life?! Amazing cupcakes, perfectly moist and light. I made them to use up some chocolate buttercream that I had leftover but the cupcakes were the real star. So glad I found you, as much as I love baking having too much dessert around is dangerous. Can’t wait to try more recipes 🙂
Tracy says
Thanks for the sweet comment, Sonali!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes, and I have to admit, I really love these with chocolate buttercream too. When I make them, that’s usually what I frost them with now. 🙂
Lyn says
Hi, I have been trying to find a good easy but good cupcake recipe for my son’s birthday party. After trying a couple different one, yours is the best!! Thank you so much for the great recipe. I do have one question, I wan to make some lemon flavor cupcakes, can I just add like 1T of lemon juice in the batter? Thanks!
Tracy says
So glad you like them, Lyn! For a more lemony flavor, I would use lemon extract or lemon zest in both the cupcake and frosting. Omit the vanilla extract and start with 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract or 1 teaspoon zest in the batter (half that for the frosting), taste and go from there.
no one says
love this recipe, its very delicious. the only thing that i changed was that i added more sugar.
Tracy says
So glad you enjoyed it!!
Dris says
Hi there, im hoping to try these cupcakes out but i was just wondering why you used granulated sugar instead of caster sugar? Is there a difference?
Tracy says
Hi, Dris, here in the US (I’m guessing you’re in the UK?), granulated sugar is much finer and what people usually use for baking. Caster sugar should work just fine. Hope you enjoy the cupcakes!
Latasha Payne says
This is a good recipe but i wonder could i use this for a snickerdoodle recipe or do you have a recipe for it in this size version
Tracy says
Hi, Latasha, do you mean a snickerdoodle cupcake? You could definitely turn these into snickerdoodle cupcakes if you wanted to. I would sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the tops before baking, and then maybe use cream cheese frosting (https://bakingmischief.com/2017/09/29/small-batch-cream-cheese-frosting/). Hope that helps!
Samara says
These cupcakes only took me a few minutes to make.. and oh my.. they were definitely worth it! I didn’t have time to make the frosting for them but I tried them without and they were so good! Great recipe! I got discouraged at first cause they seemed sooo thick.. I had to double check that I wasn’t going off of the frosting recipe anyways they turned out wonderful. Can’t wait to make more!
Tracy says
So glad you enjoyed them, Samara!!
Alicia says
I have a problem with vanilla cupcakes sticking terrible to the liners…. but when I spray the liners they fall away from the cupcake which looks terrible. Do you spray your liners? (I’m planning on trying this recipe. Love that it’s for a small batch!)
Tracy says
Hi, Alicia, I don’t spray the liners (and the double liners in the photos were added after baking so they’d look prettier).
Do the liners stick on different vanilla cupcake recipes or just one recipe you’ve made multiple times? If it’s just one recipe, I’ve never had a problem with these cupcakes sticking, so you should be okay. If it’s all vanilla cupcake recipes you’ve tried, it might be your pan or your liners. This is a really helpful video on liners sticking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miW5AexCLWE
Hope that helps and you enjoy the cupcakes! Please let me know how they turn out. 🙂
Amanda says
I don’t know what the problem is but this is the worst cupcake recipe I have ever used. It failed not once, but twice. Cupcakes overflow and then sink. I live at altitude but have never in my entire life had a recipe fail me as spectacularly as this one, especially not something as simple as cupcakes. Beyond disappointing 🙁
Tracy says
Hi, Amanda. Sorry to hear your cupcakes didn’t turn out. If you’re baking at altitude, particularly with cakes/cupcakes, you’ll need to make altitude adjustments to the recipe to ensure it bakes up correctly. You might find this article helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Sephonnie says
Dude. I am steadfastly anti-cake. I am of the mind that every other dessert in the world is better. But. I made these for my two year old’s birthday. (She’s kid Number 5. We do last minute desserts for them. )
Anyway. We made these for her, with your chocolate buttercream. Um, I ended up eating 5 of the 6 cupcakes. I’ve made this recipe three times since then. I’m still not a cupcake fan, but I’m a THESE cupcakes fan. You’ve created something spectacular here, and I cannot get enough.
Tracy says
LOL, so glad these managed to find a place in your anti-cupcake heart! 😉 Thanks for reporting back. This comment made my day!
Reba says
Thank you for the small batch frosting recipe, I just made some and it came wonderfully. I used salted butter and didn’t add the pinch at the end.
jane says
Made these for my dog’s 10th birthday. They are delicious. The dog had a tiny piece. He loved them. I’ll make the ultimate sacrifice and eat them over the next few days. Thanks for writing the recipe in grams. No chance of adding too much or not enough of ingredients when you’re working in grams.
Tracy says
LOL thanks, Jane! I’ll admit, Ella, my lab mix, was also a taste-tester on these. And I so agree, baking by weight is the way to go!
Myra Niphoratos says
UGH, I don’t know what happened but I was in the mood for a small batch and found your recipe and it looked easy and yummy! Came out AWFUL! And I mean awful! Cupcakes sank in center, then got hard, batter looked funky as well,( probably shouldn’t have used it) Baked it exactly as directions specified. And I am not at a high altitude either. Ended up using another recipe.
Tracy says
Sorry these didn’t work out for you, Myra! Is it possible your butter wasn’t soft enough to cream completely with the sugar? That could definitely account for the odd looking batter and sinkage.
Imelda says
Funny, this happened to me, but the other way around, I tried other recipe and it overflowed and sunk and were very crumbly, then I tried yours and it came out so perfect, i think i like this better than my other regular vanilla cupcake recipes, and yes, this small batch is a life saver! I lost count on the extra cupcakes I had to throw away just because I couldnt finish them all, so thank yo for saving me ingredients, calories, and guilt (for throwing the extras away) what i would do differently if probably reduce the sugar just a tad <3
Tracy says
Thanks, Imelda!! I’m so glad to hear that these worked out for you!!
Olivia says
My nearly three year old had been begging me to make watermelon cupcakes for a while but I only wanted to make a small batch because sugar and toddlers don’t mix..lol. I came across this recipe and decided to cook it in a mini muffin tin and they were delicious! It’s hard to find a vanilla cupcake recipe with such a light and airy texture so this will be my go-to recipe from now on.
Tracy says
LOL, thanks, Olivia!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes!
Sydne says
Finally an awesome small batch cupcake recipe! I have tried quite a few but find they are dense or dry, these are soft and fluffy and just amazing! I made 15 mini’s at 160C fan forced, so roughly 350F, for 13 minutes and they were perfection. About to make strawberry butter cream icing for my daughter’s first birthday. Thanks for the recipe, it will become a go to for me from now on!!!!
Brea Pince says
I made a mini cake in my easy bake oven and it was most likely the best tasting cake that I have ever made (plus the only possible cake that didn’t crumble in my hands).
Fiona says
I made these last night and they are so good! Maybe the best I’ve ever made. Thanks for the small batch recipe, that’s really handy when you’re making for one or two people!
Tracy says
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Fiona!!
Tracey F says
Just an FYI that I’ve made your recipe for a couple of years now and it’s great. I’ve tweaked it to give it a “wedding cake” flavor, and blogged about it today. https://singlegrrlkitchen.blogspot.com/2020/01/small-batch-wedding-cake-cupcakes-one.html
Thanks again for such a great recipe.
Tracy says
Thanks for the heads up, Tracey! So glad you enjoyed them enough to do a version for your site!!
Nife says
Just made these and wow. They are perfect. Light and fluffy and the sugar rose to the top and formed an amazing hardness. If anyone is a beginner like me and is scared that the butter and sugar look weird when whisking, don’t worry. It’s fine. I’m making these again because do finished all 6. This is amazing. Thank you
Tracy says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them!!
Melanie Budd says
I made these, used buttermilk and whole egg. Yummy, light, fluffy and delicious. I will make again. I had some leftover Italian meringue buttercream with caramel flavoring. It went well with this wonderful cupcake. Thank you for the great recipe.
Tracy says
That buttercream sounds amazing! So glad the cupcakes worked out for you!!
Andrea says
These are so yummy and moist and fluffy! They totally hit the spot when I was craving a sweet treat. I used salted butter and added a pinch of salt to the frosting (by accident, oops!) but it was perfect. I shared one with my neighbor and she keeps talking about how good it was.
Ann says
Made these, exactly as directed and they were lovely. Tasted exactly like a cake from the bakery, right down to the smooth buttercream frosting!!!
Trish says
Just made these, and it was my first time baking cupcakes/cake from scratch! They turned out perfectly moist and delicious, but I added about a quarter cup of white chocolate chips to the batter and that took it to a whole new level! I highly recommend it! Thanks for a great recipe!
Tracy says
Love the white chocolate chip idea!! So glad you enjoyed them, Trish!
Alice Samala says
I really love the cupcakes
And so does my judgy family !! Lol
The only problem with it is that it’s a little bit too sweet.. other wise it’s amazing
Thanks so much !!!!
Andrea says
Perfect snack…made 3 larger ones using aluminum foil liners..baked 2 minutes longer….perfect rounded tops…
Tracy says
So glad that you enjoyed them, and love the idea of making them jumbo!!
Kira Urie says
I have made this recipe so many times I’ve lost count. Its a great way to have just a few when needed, and I’ve doubled it with success as well. I have substituted a teaspoon of almond extract for the vanilla, and then filled with tart cherry filling and chocolate buttercreme as well, which seems to be a huge success. As is its a great recipe and easy to customize.
Jane says
We make these all the time. We love them! Thanks.
Tracy says
So glad to hear it, Jane!!
Soomy says
Thank you for this amazing recipe!
I was looking for a fun and easy small batch recipe for my little bakers( 3 and 5 years) and these came out perfect.
We followed the instructions and out came the yummiest cupcakes ever! I put them in a mini muffin tin and out came 12 amazing mini muffins we devoured!
These are kid-proof and frazzled mom proof I’m happy to report.
JENNIE says
These were the most delicious little cupcakes. We even ate them without any frosting! YUM!
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Chayla says
I’ve just come across your website and have made so many in the last days. With these, as soon as I added the milk they started to look off. Once cooked they came out with a cornbread texture. Still delicious and my family ate them up as soon as they were iced. Any idea why that might have happened?
Jonathan says
This was soooo easy and tasted DELISH, 10/10 recommend for anyone in need of cupcakes with a few ingredients 🙂
Brookie says
Wow, these are so yummy! I made a winter one with your your buttercream, It was the best buttercream I have ever had in my whole life!!!!!!!!!!!
Tracy says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
Kathie says
Perfect! Wanted to take cupcakes for my mom’s birthday. Since only 4 of us would be celebrating, I found this recipe-so glad I did! We all enjoyed and the ratio cupcakes to frosting was spot on!