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holding up a vanilla cupcakes cupcake showing the frosting
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5 from 1 vote

Best Vanilla Cupcakes

These vanilla cupcakes are the gold standard of cupcakes—ultra-soft, incredibly moist, and bursting with rich, bakery-style buttery vanilla flavor. After extensive testing of every possible ingredient and ratio, this perfected recipe had my friend raving for her birthday, "Literally never had a better cupcake. 43 years, today was the best one."
Course Dessert
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 48 minutes
Servings 12 cupcakes
Author [email protected]

Ingredients

  • 1⅓ cups (160g) cake flour (Measured Correctly - see Notes)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large egg whites, room temperature (See Notes)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup sour cream, room temperature (See Notes)
  • 1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature (See Notes)

Serving Suggestion

Instructions

  • Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
  • Dry Ingredients: Whisk the cake flour (measure correctly! See Notes), baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
  • Cream Butter and Sugar: Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, until very creamy and fluffy, scraping down the bowl occasionally.
  • Add Wet Ingredients: Scrape down the bowl. Add the egg whites, oil, and vanilla extract, and beat on medium-high for 1 minute, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add the sour cream and beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
  • Alternate Ingredients: With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk (begin and end with dry ingredients). Stop mixing when a few steaks of flour remain, then stir the rest by hand. There should be some small lumps—do not overmix.
  • Fill liners: Divide the batter among the 12 liners, filling each about 2/3-3/4 full (a 1/4-cup large cookie scoop is perfect) to achieve a bakery-style domed top. There should be just a little batter left over; do not scrape the mixing bowl clean, otherwise you can overfill the liners.
  • Bake: Bake for 17–22 minutes (closer to 17 if your oven runs hot), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out barely clean.
  • Cool: Let the pan rest for 5 minutes, then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
  • Frost: Frost the cooled cupcakes with the desired frosting. I love them with Cream Cheese Frosting (pictured)!

Notes

Measure flour correctly: It’s best to weigh it on a kitchen scale to avoid dense, dry cupcakes. If you don’t have one, then fluff the flour in the container with a spoon to loosen it, then gently spoon it into the measuring cup without packing it down, then level it.
Use room-temperature ingredients: Egg whites, sour cream, and milk must be at room temperature so everything blends smoothly and easily, resulting in a uniform, tender crumb.
  • The butter should not be greasy or melty. It should only give slightly when pressed with your finger, AKA 67°F. (Never microwave!)
  • The milk and sour cream can be microwaved for 20ish seconds to bring them to room temperature.
  • Place eggs in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 10 minutes to quickly bring them to room temperature.

Storage and Serving