Looking an easy vanilla cupcakes recipe? Try this one! This recipe for simple vanilla cupcakes can be used as a base for other flavours of cupcake, and as it’s based on a Madeira cake the cupcakes last longer than your average cake – I’ve still had moist cupcakes after 5 days!
I like to make my cupcakes in muffin tins and use muffin wrappers to get a decent size cupcake, then pipe a swirl of buttercream on the top to add a sweet touch. You could also add sprinkles (my daughter would be nodding along to this suggestion – she is the sprinkle queen!), salted caramel glaze, fruit coulis – these vanilla cupcakes are a blank canvas! I’ve used them as a base for decorating cupcakes, including these monster cupcakes for Halloween and witch hat cupcakes for Halloween.
Here’s the easy vanilla cupcake recipe.
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Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
Equipment
- Piping Bags
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 170 grams caster sugar
- 170 grams Stork or buttercream
- 3 medium eggs
- 225 grams self raising flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
For the buttercream
- 150 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
- 300 grams icing sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- white food colouring
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC/160ºC Fan/Gas 4. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake wrappers. I like to use cupcake wrappers from Purple Cupcakes.
- In a stand mixer, or large bowl using a hand mixer, cream together the Stork/butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
- Crack the eggs into a jug and lightly whisk. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mix, then the vanilla extract, and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour, mixing until only just combined. Using an ice cream scoop (for level cupcakes) or a spoon, divide the mixture between the cupcake cases. They should each be about 2/3 full.
- Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes or until they’re firm to touch and golden brown in colour. As this is a Madeira cake recipe, the cupcakes will not be as pale as other recipes. Allow to cool in the tin for a couple of minutes, then lift them out (I like to stab them with a fork and lift them out of the baking tin) and put them on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Whilst the cupcakes are cooling, make your buttercream. Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and gently beat until soft.
- Start adding your icing sugar, a little at a time until it’s all combined. Add the vanilla extract and white food colouring.
- Pipe a swirl into the centre of each cupcake and the cupcakes are ready for sprinkles, cookies or whatever topping you'd like (or just leave plain, because sometimes all you need is vanilla).
The cupcakes are best enjoyed on the day you bake them, but if there are any left over they should keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container. The Madeira cake base to the recipe means the cupcakes stay moist for longer. Enjoy!
