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!
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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.
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. 🙂
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!
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!
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. 😉
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/
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!
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! 🙂
Shantana says
Great recipe.
Tracy says
Thank you!
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!
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??
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!! 😉
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! 🙂
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!!
Patty @ Spoonabilities says
There is nothing a perfectly moist, frosted cupcake won’t cure 🙂 These look delicious!
Tracy says
Exactly! 😉 Thanks, Patty!
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!!