Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing
You can’t go wrong with classic vanilla flavored cupcakes–especially when they taste this good.
It was someone special’s birthday the other day. Lyla, our favorite neighbor girl, turned 7 on Saturday. She and her brothers come down to our house every morning to wait for the bus so when she walked in the door on Friday, we all wished her a happy birthday. I then offered to make some cupcakes for her to share with her school friends (Lyla’s momma passed away 2 years ago so I try to help when I can). She then proceeded to tell me what she wanted–vanilla cupcakes with vanilla icing and rainbow sprinkles on top. Done, done, and done. I happened to be watching her little brother that afternoon, so once I got these all baked up and iced, we headed in to school for the special delivery. It was a fun time. And I knew I had to share this recipe with you guys. They’re a must-make for any birthday celebrations you might be having.
Sometimes vanilla gets a bad rap for being boring. But boring is not what these cupcakes are. They’re full of that wonderful vanilla flavor–both in the cake as well as the icing. That’s the first thing Mitch (my husband) said when he bit into one–“You can really taste the vanilla!”
These cupcakes are spongy–that’s the first thing I thought when I bit into one. 😉 Delightfully light and spongy and full of vanilla flavor. Yum.
Birthday or not, you should surprise someone you love with some of these vanilla cupcakes. They’re sure to put a smile on their face. They did that for Lyla. 🙂
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 eggs (room temperature)
- 2 cups Golden Barrel organic cane sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
- 4 Tbsp butter, cut up
- 1/3 cup Golden Barrel Coconut Oil
- 3 sticks butter, at room temperature
- 6 cups Golden Barrel confectioners' sugar sifted
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 Tbsp half and half or heavy cream
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare cupcake pan by placing cupcake liners in pan. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a bowl attached to a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat together (with whisk attachment) eggs, sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes (or if you only have paddle attachment, for 5 minutes).
- Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix to just combine, scraping down bowl once in between.
- In a saucepan over medium heat (or in a microwave), heat the milk until simmering. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and coconut oil until both are melted.
- With mixer on low speed, slowly add the hot milk mixture to the batter, and mix until everything is combined. Scrape down bowl and briefly mix, making sure to not overwork the batter.
- Using a large cookie scoop, fill cupcake liners till they are about 2/3 of the way full.
- Bake cupcakes on middle rack for 19-22 minutes or until tops spring back when touched. Cool completely on wire rack before icing them.
- In a bowl attached to a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat butter for about 2 minutes until creamy. Add in sugar, cream, and vanilla extract and mix on low speed for 30 seconds then on high speed for 3 minutes. If using unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt to icing to enhance flavor. (I always use salted butter in my icing recipes.)
- Pipe icing onto cooled cupcakes and store in airtight container.
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.
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