How to make vanilla cupcakes
As a nation we just love all things vanilla and these cupcakes are no exception. But have you ever wondered how you can make vanilla cupcakes from scratch? They're incredibly easy to make. Even better this cupcake recipe has the very best vanilla flavour and that is because we have used Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Bean Paste. That’s right a double whammy of yummy Vanilla.
Light and moreish, this is just what you are looking for in a fluffy vanilla cupcake recipe. You are definitely going to want to snuffle more than one of these vanilla cupcakes, for research purposes obviously…
Sneak a peek at our ‘how to make vanilla cupcakes’ video for extra tips and find out below how you can make our delicious vanilla cupcakes from scratch!
Tips for making the best homemade vanilla cupcakes:
1. Do not overfill your cupcakes
For the perfect-shaped cupcake with a lovely golden dome, only fill 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up the cupcake liner. If it's too full it looks messy and sometimes, it can even sink. As a rule, we say it's better to underfill rather than overfill.
2. Best buttercream for cupcakes
We recommend using our delicious vanilla buttercream recipe, but if you're after something a little different on top of your vanilla cupcakes, try out our citrus buttercream or maple buttercream.
3. How do I store my vanilla cupcakes?
Once your cupcakes are cool, get them into an airtight container as soon as possible. Cupcakes can last for around 4 days before losing their freshness. Cupcakes with buttercream/frosting on top will need to be stored in the fridge.
Method
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (gas mark 4), and line a tin with 12 cupcake cases.
Step 2:
In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Step 3:
Add the eggs, one at a time mixing well between each addition, then add the vanilla extract.
Step 4:
Carefully fold in the flour then spoon into the cupcakes cases, until they are about 2/3 full.
Step 5:
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Step 6:
Leave to cool completely on a cooling wire.
Step 7:
To make the buttercream beat together the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy then add the vanilla bean paste and mix until well distributed.
Step 8:
Fill a piping bag with the buttercream and pipe onto the cakes.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 250g Unsalted butter (softened)
- 250g Silver Spoon Caster Sugar
- 4 Free range medium eggs
- 250g Allinson's Self Raising White Flour
- 2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the Buttercream
- 150g Unsalted butter (softened)
- 300g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar
- 1 tbsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste
Utensils
- Cupcake case
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
Recipe Reviews
They were pretty easy to make and tasted really good!
Used this recipe 5 times already!
Idk if my standard cupcake holders are small or what but filling them 2/3 of the way makes them overflow. Otherwise a nice simple recipe
Definitely my favourite cupcake recipe !
Delicious!
Absolutely delicious and very easy to make. Lots of icing to do great big traditional cupcake swirls which I love.
Delicious but my cake mix made loads more and the cakes were still huge, I also had lots of buttercream left but that wasn’t a problem as I halved it and froze the rest for the next batch another day. Easy to make and tasty 😋
Delicious!
The recipe made 12 large muffins, although the buttercream ingredient quantities are too large, I used 200g butter and 400g icing sugar and still had icing left over.
Thank you for your review Fiona. We've revisited the recipe and revised the quantities for the buttercream to reduce the volume it produces as you're right- there's a bit more than a spoon lick's worth at the end! Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 250g Unsalted butter (softened)
- 250g Silver Spoon Caster Sugar
- 4 Free range medium eggs
- 250g Allinson's Self Raising White Flour
- 2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the Buttercream
- 150g Unsalted butter (softened)
- 300g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar
- 1 tbsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste
Utensils
- Cupcake case
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon