Easy White Cupcakes are soft, delicate, and surprisingly simple to make from scratch. These moist and light-as-air cupcakes are perfect for weddings, events, and birthdays.
I believe that everyone needs a few staple cupcake recipes. First, I came up with my Easy Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes recipe. Then, I had my Homemade Classic Vanilla Cupcakes. Now, I’ve added my favorite to date, my Easy White Cupcakes.
These cupcakes are truly heavenly. They are light, tender, and moist. Best of all? They are shockingly easy to make. Plus, they’re the perfect palette for any favorite flavors you’d like to add.
This white cupcake recipe is also the base for my popular Strawberry Filled Cupcakes recipe. While they may be soft and light, these cupcakes will hold up to any frostings and fillings you may want to add.
Speaking of frostings, my favorite frosting to pair with these cupcakes is my Whipped Buttercream Frosting. Whipped buttercream is equally as soft and airy as these cupcakes, making them the perfect match.
If you’re making these cupcakes for a wedding, I have a little trick. Add in just a dash of almond extract to your cupcakes and/or your frosting. It will elevate the flavor of your cupcakes, without adding a heavy almond flavor.
I SWEAR by this method. When I add almond extract to my Whipped Buttercream Frosting, I call it my “fancy buttercream” because it truly tastes like an expensive wedding cake buttercream.
For my buttercream, I add 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract alongside the 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract that the recipe calls for.
How to Make Easy White Cupcakes
First, line your cupcake pan with liners and set aside. Then, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
For this recipe, you’ll need room temperature butter and egg whites. If possible, set out your ingredients ahead of time, about an hour before you begin baking.
To warm up butter more quickly, try slicing it into smaller pieces, then setting it out on the counter for 30 minutes. To warm up eggs, place in them in a bowl and cover with warm water. Your eggs will come to room temperature in minutes.
1. First, measure your milk and dry ingredients in separate bowls. Whisk your dry ingredients to remove clumps. Then, set aside.
2. Add your room temperature butter and sugar to a large bowl. Then, beat until fluffy – about 1 minute.
3. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
4. Last, add your egg whites and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
5. Now, bring back your dry ingredients and milk.
6. Add the dry ingredients to your butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk, until all ingredients are incorporated and batter is smooth. Do not overmix.
Example: Flour – milk – flour – milk – flour- milk
7. Your batter should be smooth and creamy. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides of your bowl as you work.
My favorite tool when it comes to making cupcakes is this large cookie scoop. I purchased mine locally but the link goes to the same sized scoop available on Amazon.
I use a large scoop to measure cupcake batter into perfect portions. This ensures that every cupcake turns out the same size, and you won’t overfill your liners or end up with the wrong number of cupcakes.
My cookie scoop holds exactly 3 tablespoons of cake batter. So, if you don’t have a large cookie scoop, measure 3 tablespoons of batter into each cup.
If you use the same methods I’ve shown as well as the same ingredients, you will get exactly 15 cupcakes from this recipe. If you substitute or add ingredients, I cannot guarantee the same quantity of cupcakes.
Bake your cupcakes for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. the edges of your cupcakes may be lightly browned. Transfer your cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Cupcake Frostings
Cupcake FrostingsFor white cupcakes, you can’t go wrong with a Whipped Buttercream Frosting. As I said before, it’s light, fluffy, and not as sweet as a traditional buttercream. I love using this frosting for weddings and special events, and have included it in the recipe card below.
For a birthday cupcake, you may want to go with a Classic American Buttercream Frosting, or my chocolate version, Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. These frostings are great for piping or knife decorating – they’re very easy to work with. Traditional buttercream frostings are also sweeter, so you generally need less to top your cupcakes.
For years I’ve used this simple Wilton Cupcake Decorating Kit to decorate my cupcakes. It comes with four piping tips, bags, and easy to read instructions. I also purchased this additional coupler to make it easy secure the piping tips and to change out tips halfway through decorating.
Decorating cupcakes doesn’t require any fancy or expensive equipment, and it’s easier than you think!
If you don’t have any piping tips at home, no worries. Check out this easy decorating hack: How to Frost Cupcakes with a Zip Lock Bag
Easy White Cupcakes
Ingredients
White Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup milk
Whipped Buttercream Frosting
- 8 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Instructions
White Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk (or sift) together the dry ingredients: cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and granulated sugar. Add vanilla, then beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add egg whites and beat for another 1 minute.
- Add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk, until all ingredients are incorporated and batter is smooth. Do not overmix.
- Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 full. Batter will properly fill exactly 15 cupcake liners. Bake in preheated oven for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove pan from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring cupcakes to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Whipped Buttercream Frosting
- In a large bowl, add room temperature butter, beat until creamy, about 1 minute.
- Add confectioner's sugar and slowly mix until ingredients are fully combined. Then, whip at high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Add vanilla extract. Then, add heavy cream and whip for an additional 3-4 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add additional heavy cream as needed to reach desired consistency.
- Pipe or spread frosting with a knife onto cupcakes and serve.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- Frosting will make enough to frost about 16 cupcakes with high, dramatic piped frosting, or 24 cupcakes spread with a knife, a 9x13 sheet cake, or an 8-9 inch two layer cake.
- Butter melts around 90 to 95 degrees, and so will your frosting. If your location is nearing this temperature, I'd recommend refrigerating your baked goods until an hour before you're ready to serve them. Refrigerating your frosted baked goods will not hurt them, but you will want to give them some time to come to room temperature before serving.
- Optionally, add 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract to your cupcakes and/or buttercream frosting for an elevated, light almond flavor.
I love a classic white cake! Thanks for sharing!
Can you make this into a cake instead of cupcakes?
Hi Marcy, the recipe as written for 15 cupcakes will also make a 3 tiered 6 inch cake. The baking time would be about 18-20 minutes for the 6 inch cake pans!
Can I make a double batch?
Hi Jessica, yes this recipe can be doubled to make 30 cupcakes! If you hover over the servings in the recipe card, a bar will pop up allowing you to adjust the serving size and will update the ingredients with the correct amounts.
Can I use all purpose flour… I can’t stand the taste of cake flour. If so would I add other ingredients or change the amount of flour.. if so what to?
Hi Makaila, yes, you can replace the cake flour with all-purpose flour in equal amounts.
The cupcakes stuck to the liners I used, and the tops are sticky. I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong, if anything. Any ideas? Can I save them or do I need to start over?
Hi Sarah! Sometimes cupcakes will be sticky on top if they’re cooling in a humid environment, or if they’re stored in a container before they’ve cooled all the way through, which causes condensation to collect on top. Could this be the case?
If you’re frosting the cupcakes, I wouldn’t worry much about the sticky tops, and just frost over them.
I’ve had cupcakes stick to the liners if they were still slightly warm in the middle, when I didn’t let them cool all the way through before unwrapping. Once they cool all the way, they should shrink a little, making them easier to pull away from the liners.
Heather, you were right. This was the perfect recipe to modify.
For the cake, I used lavender sugar instead of regular sugar and about .5 tsp of lavender
For the buttercream, I added lemon zest from one large lemon.
Thanks for getting me to the perfect lavender and lemon combination!
Hi Lisa, glad to hear you enjoyed the cupcakes!
These tasted amazing!! I also used your buttercream recipe and it too, was amazing!! However I did something wrong and my cupcakes didn’t crown very well, they actually look like flat pancakes on top. I know it is something I did, can you tell me what I should do differently next time?! 🙁
Hi Melisa, I’m glad to hear that you love the cupcakes! A few things can affect the rising of your cupcakes. Your baking powder could be expired. If you over-mix the batter, sometimes this can cause the cupcakes to sink in the middle as they bake. Or, opening the oven door while your cupcakes are baking can cause them to rise less. It’s hard to say without being in the kitchen with you, but these are a few things off the top of my head!
Heather,
Thank you so much for the quick response! I bet I over mixed the batter. My baking soda was brand new and I didn’t open the door. I had a feeling I over mixed as I was doing it. So I bet you that was it. Next time I’ll be more aware while mixing! Thanks again! 😁
Can we freeze these
Hi Jacqui, yes cupcakes can be frozen. I’d suggest allowing them to cool completely, wrap them in plastic, then store in an airtight freezer bag or container. Cakes and cupcakes are usually best within a month after freezing, but if stored well, could last up to three months in the freezer.
If you’d like to freeze frosted cupcakes, I’d suggest placing them, uncovered, in the freezer for an hour. Then, gently wrap in plastic and store in a tightly sealed container.
Is the butter salted or unsalted?
And in the cake mix recipe, is the vanilla, vanilla extract like in the buttercream recipe?
Thank you!
Butter is unsalted – if you only have salted butter, I would omit the salt in the recipe.
Vanilla is vanilla extract. I will update that in the recipe card!
Thank you so much! Making these today!
Love it my family loved it easy to make
Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe Lily!
If I were to use this recipe for a 9×13 pan would I need to double the recipe?
Hi Nicole, I haven’t tried this recipe as a cake, but according to King Arthur Flour (https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2019/04/25/how-to-convert-cake-to-cupcakes), 24 cupcakes would make a 9×13 cake. I’d suggest adjusting the servings to 25 cupcakes to get a nice round number for your egg whites (5). If you give it a try, let us know how it turns out!