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A vanilla cupcake decorated with white frosting and pink sprinkles on a red book.
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4.80 / 5 votes

Vanilla Cupcakes

Vanilla cupcakes with a moist, poundcake-like texture and a stunningly silky icing that begs to be licked off the spoon. Here's how to make them from scratch.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 450

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 2/3 cup superfine sugar, (or just blitz granulated sugar in a blender until finely ground but not powdery)
  • 9 tablespoons (4 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting

  • 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
US - Metric

Instructions

Make the cupcakes

  • In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the superfine sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla on the highest speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture, and beat for 30 seconds.
  • Spoon the batter into 10 paper liners placed in the cups of a muffin tin. Let the batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
  • Bake the cupcakes until golden and firm, 18 to 25 minutes. The interior of the cupcakes should be very light and fluffy, and a toothpick or tester inserted in the center of a cupcake should come out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the frosting

  • The butter should be as soft as possible without being melted. Place it in the clean bowl of the stand mixer, add the confectioners' sugar, milk, and cream, and beat until smooth and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Swirl the frosting thickly over the top of each cupcake. If by some uncanny turn of circumstances you have any cupcakes left over, don't worry; the frosting will keep its shape if left at cool room temperature. Originally published April 25, 2014.

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 450kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 33mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 49g