Moist Vanilla Cupcakes

A simple vanilla cupcake for any occasion! So moist, fluffy, and delicious you'll make them every week!   

Prep time: PT15M

Cook time: PT20M

Total time: PT35M

Rating

4.97 stars (4741 reviews)

Keywords

How to make vanilla cupcakes, moist vanilla cupcake recipe

Ingredients

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (213g)
1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter (170g, melted)
3 egg whites (room temperature)
1 tbsp vanilla extract (15mL)
1/2 cup sour cream (120mL, room temperature)
1/2 cup whole milk (120mL, warm)
2 lb confectioners sugar (900g, sifted)
1 lb unsalted butter (450g, room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp heavy cream
1 pinch kosher salt
1 tsp whole milk

Cuisine

American

Steps

For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake papers in a cupcake pan.
- Sift the flour, sugar salt, baking soda and powder into a large bowl, and whisk together.
- Separate the eggs. You can use the yolks for a custard or a batch French buttercream.
- In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until combined. (The batter may be clumpy, do not worry!)
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Distribute the batter evenly into cupcake papers, filling each paper with about 2/3 the way up.
- Bake for about 18 minutes or until centers are springy to the touch.
For the Buttercream:
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter. Add in the confectioners sugar in two batches. Add salt, milk, cream and vanilla. Mix until fluffy.
- Transfer to a piping bag.
- Pipe a large dollop of buttercream on each cupcake.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
Calories: 270 kcal
Carbohydrates: 29 g
Fat: 7 g
Saturated Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 55 mg
Sodium: 98 mg
Sugar: 15 g
Unsaturated Fat: 1 g

Reviews

Amy Gursky on 2025-07-07 (5 stars):
These are moist, delicious and so simple to make!! I love that they are made using a whisk ! So easy!!
Marilyn on 2025-06-16 (5 stars):
Oh my goodness! I made these for a couples shower and they turned out absolutely perfect! They were a hit. I received a lot of rave reviews for your wonderful recipe. The french buttercream also received rave reviews. Hope I can post a photo. My decorating skills are out of practice but these were incredible. Thanks for your terrific recipes and great tips!!!
Ludmila on 2025-03-26 (5 stars):
This is the best Vanilla Cupcakes ever. Thank you fór recepce🙏
Natalia Pena on 2025-03-24 (5 stars):
Amazing !!!! Super moist . Raise beautifully.
Hayley on 2025-03-21 (5 stars):
I've made lots of John's recipes and just like the rest these were easy and taste wonderful! I doubled the recipe for my son's birthday party (along with his banana cake recipe) and was able to make 36 somehow haha. They are wonderful. I did substitute the sour cream with the same amount of plain Greek yogurt, as that's what I had on hand, and they turned out perfectly moist and tender. Would highly recommend!
Lauren on 2024-06-05 (5 stars):
This recipe is phenomenal!!! So moist and flavorful. My new go to vanilla cupcake recipe!!
Brittney on 2024-02-15 (5 stars):
Easy to make and so delicious! I made mini cupcakes for my 5 year olds birthday party and they were a hit! The recipe made 48 minis, baked for 13min and I rolled the frosted cupcakes in sprinkles so I was able to 1/4 the frosting recipe. To pipe pretty frosting I would’ve made a 1/2 batch.
Carmel on 2023-07-11 (5 stars):
As always your recipes are the best, thank you.
Violeta Yaneva on 2020-09-26 (5 stars):
Easy to make, elegant and oh so tasty. I love vanila so thank you for this heavenly recipe. I chose a Lemon Buttercream (yours) and that's the reason why I am the star chef baker at home right now. Thank you and greetings from Bulgaria.
Christie Johnson on 2020-09-24 (5 stars):
I’ve made these and they are the best cupcakes! Question though, could I use this recipe to make a cake instead of cupcakes?
Grace Pham on 2020-09-24 (5 stars):
In the description, you said that we could substitute some of the butter for vegetable oil. But how much do you think should be subbed, and how much oil should be added? Could I just keep the same amount of butter and add in tablespoon of oil to keep it moist?
Juan on 2020-09-20 (5 stars):
I made these during the 4th for my partner’s 30th and they were a big hit. We are not big on sweets but he loved them. Our family devoured them the same day. I did add food coloring to the frosting to create a red, white and blue theme besides that I stuck to the recipe. My family has started to expect freshly baked desserts since!
Kathy on 2020-09-20 (5 stars):
This is my new go-to vanilla cake recipe. Delish!!
Jayla Vazquez on 2020-09-15 (5 stars):
OMG this recipe was sooo good . Will be making tons and tons of times again and I will highly recommend it to anyone
Kelly L on 2020-09-14 (5 stars):
Absolutely love this recipe. Such a delicious vanilla flavor. Wonderfully moist! They were a hit! Quick question: How can I modify this recipe for three 8-inch pans?
Patty on 2020-09-14 (5 stars):
You are my go to for EVERYTHING! These vanilla cupcakes, which I thought would be dry, were moist and soooo good! I made them with the vanilla buttercream. Everyone LOVED them! Can’t wait to make them again a!
Beth on 2020-09-12 (5 stars):
These were next-level amazing! I think they are probably the best vanilla cupcakes I’ve ever had. I made them with homemade strawberry buttercream frosting for my daughters bday and no one could stop eating them. I subbed two whole eggs for the three egg whites but they turned out great. Thank you!!