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.
These easy white 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.
I've topped these cupcakes with my reader-favorite whipped buttercream frosting. For an even lighter frosting, try adding a dollop of homemade whipped cream to each cupcake instead.
Room temperature ingredients
For this recipe, you'll need room temperature butter, egg whites, and milk. If possible, set out your ingredients ahead of time, about an hour before you begin baking.
To warm up butter 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.
Microwaving milk for 10-15 seconds at a time can bring it to room temperature quickly. However, be careful with microwaving and do not walk away from it (it's easy to forget and scorch!).
Ingredients and substitutions
- Cake flour - I do not recommend substituting the cake flour in this recipe. Cake flour gives your cupcakes their tender, small crumb. If you substitute with all-purpose flour, your cupcakes will, in comparison, have a coarser crumb that readers often describe as a 'cornbread' texture.
- Baking powder - This cannot be substituted with baking soda - they are two different ingredients.
- Unsalted butter - If you need to substitute with salted butter, reduce the amount of salt to ¼ teaspoon.
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Egg whites - Egg whites can not be substituted with whole eggs. Using egg whites in this recipe makes your cupcakes light, fluffy, and white. If you want to use whole eggs (with the yolk) to make cupcakes, I suggest trying my vanilla homemade cupcakes recipe. It uses the same ingredients (in slightly different measurements) and is written to use two whole eggs.
- Whole milk - This recipe will technically work with a lower fat milk, like 2%, 1%, or skim, but whole milk will help keep your cupcakes moist from the added fat. For best results, use whole milk.
Cupcake tips and tricks
Here are a few tips for cupcake success, taken from reader questions and reviews!
- Make sure you're using baking powder and not baking soda. There is a difference, and baking soda will not work for this recipe.
- Properly measure your flour by using a spoon to scoop flour into your measuring cup, then using a knife to level off the top. Scooping using your measuring cup will compact flour into the cup, adding extra flour to the recipe.
- Do not substitute cake flour with all-purpose flour. Using all-purpose flour will give your cupcakes a 'cornbread' type texture.
- Only mix your batter until the ingredients are incorporated. Overmixing your batter can whip extra air in, causing your cupcakes to rise quickly and then fall in the center when they bake.
- Do not unwrap your cupcakes while they're still warm. Your cupcakes will stick to the liners until they are fully cooled throughout. Once cooled, your cupcakes will easily unwrap.
- Are your cupcakes sticky on top? This can be caused by humidity in your home or storing cupcakes while they're still warm. This can't really be fixed, but can easily be covered with frosting.
- Do not frost warm cupcakes! Buttercream is sensitive to heat and will melt between 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cupcake frostings
Cupcake frostings- Whipped Buttercream Frosting - fluffier than a traditional buttercream (this recipe is included below)
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting - sweet, traditional buttercream frosting
- American Buttercream Frosting - sweet, traditional buttercream frosting
- Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting - slightly less sweet and tangy
- Homemade Whipped Cream - light and much less sweet than buttercream
Traditional buttercream frostings are very sweet, so you could use less (if you want) 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.
Easy White Cupcakes
Ingredients
White Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large egg whites room temperature
- ½ cup milk room temperature
Whipped Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 cups confectioner's sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup heavy cream very cold
Instructions
White Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit 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.
- Add butter and granulated sugar to a large bowl. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together until light and fluffy, about one minute. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated. Then, add egg whites and beat until light and fluffy, about one minute.
- Add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk, just until each ingredient is incorporated and batter is smooth. Do not overmix.
- Divide batter between 15 cupcake liners, filling each about ⅔ full. Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 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 and beat until creamy, about one 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, salt, and 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 Recommendations
Video
Notes
- Recipe makes enough frosting to frost 15 cupcakes with high, dramatic piped frosting (as shown in the photos), 24 cupcakes spread with a knife, a 9x13 sheet cake, or an 8-9 inch two layer cake.
- Buttercream frosting will begin to melt between 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. If your location is nearing this temperature, I 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.
- Do not substitute cake flour with all-purpose flour - this will give your cupcakes a 'cornbread' type texture.
- Do not substitute egg whites with whole eggs.
Tried this recipe followed all the instruction and it turned out beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Good morning! Can I use buttermilk opposed to whole milk in this recipe?
Buttermilk would change the chemistry of the recipe (it is more acidic than whole milk), so you'd also need to adjust the leavening agents to get the correct balance. Here are a few recipes for cupcakes using buttermilk that might work for you:
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/white-cupcakes
https://aclassictwist.com/vanilla-bean-buttermilk-cupcakes/
https://sugargeekshow.com/recipe/vanilla-cupcake-recipe/
I LOVE THIS RECIPE! I HAVE FOUND THE BEST VANILLA CUPCAKE RECIPE I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR! One question though, I want to try this in chocolate, so how much cocoa powder should I put in?
Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! I have not tested adding cocoa powder to this recipe, so I can't say for sure if simply adding cocoa powder would work (without making the cupcakes too dry or changing the chemistry). However, I do have a chocolate cupcake recipe that you can find here: https://thetoastykitchen.com/easy-homemade-chocolate-cupcakes/
I finally found it! A recipe that makes perfect fluffy cupcakes! I have tried decades worth of recipes, only to have my cupcakes be dry, dense, and corn muffin-like every time. I am happy beyond words. Thank you so much for this recipe and for explaining why all my other attempts failed.
Hi Heather,
Can you use whole eggs? How many would you use? Would that change the flavor much?
I would not recommend substituting egg whites with whole eggs - this would change the structure of the cake and make it heavy and wet, rather than light and fluffy. I do have a vanilla cupcake recipe that uses whole eggs that might work better for you: https://thetoastykitchen.com/homemade-classic-yellow-cupcakes/
So I’m using a twelve cupcake tin, how long would that be via cooking time?
I wouldn't recommend splitting the batter between 12 tins instead of 15, I'd just fill them about 2/3 of the way full, discard the remaining batter (or make a second batch of 3 later), and bake for the directed amount of time in the recipe card.
Bonjour je souhaiterais réaliser votre recette serait il possible d avoir le poids des ingrédients svp e' grammes car je ne sait pas quel taille utilisez pour la tasse
Bonjour, si vous cliquez sur "métrique" sous la liste des ingrédients, les ingrédients seront affichés en grammes.
Hello! Can I use non-fat milk or evaporated milk for this recipe?
I highly recommend using whole milk instead of non-fat milk in baking because the fat content makes your cake tender and moist. Using non-fat milk can cause your cake to turn out dry. I haven't tried using evaporated milk, but found this article online where testing was done and results were inconsistent: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/5860-substituting-with-evaporated-milk
Long story short - your batter will likely bake up into a cake using other types of milk, but the texture, structure, and moisture will change.
This is the most dry cupcake I've ever tried to force down my throat. No idea where I went wrong. Followed recipe to a T.
Hi Heather, I'm sorry to hear you had trouble with your cupcakes! It's hard to say what happened without being in the kitchen with you, but these are the most common reasons why cupcakes would turn out dry:
- Substituting any ingredients, especially the fats or sugar - these ingredients make your cupcakes moist.
- Accidentally adding too much flour. Scooping with a measuring cup directly from a bin of flour (especially flour that has been sitting for a while and has compacted in the bin) can add up to 25% extra flour by compacting it into the cup. I suggest weighing flour using a kitchen scale, or scooping the flour with a spoon to fill your measuring cup.
- Ovens can sometimes run hotter than others, causing your cupcakes to overbake using the baking times I've listed above. If this is your first time using this recipe, I'd suggest watching the cupcakes starting 5 minutes earlier than the times listed, just in case your oven does run hot.
Can this be make with cup for cup gluten free flour?
Hi Debra, I have not tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, so I can't say for sure if it would work or not. If you decide to give it a try, let us know how it goes!
Hi Heather:
Thank you for your reply. I am going to try it with a cup for cup measure since I have to be gluten free. I will let you know how it turns out.
Thank you!
HI Heather. I made these cupcakes with King Arthur Gluten Free flour. Cup for cup measure. Other than being slightly salty , I think it might have been the flour and I might need to adjust the recipe to omit the salt next time.they came out perfect!
So glad to hear, thank you for reporting back Debra!
I will be baking these a day in advance. Should I replace the butter with oil since they will be stored in the fridge overnight?
Hi Steph, I haven't tried this particular recipe using oil, so I can't say for sure how that would turn out. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!
Hi! Excellent recipe! I’ve made these a few times now and they’re always SO fluffy & light! Is it possible to make a chocolate sponge using the same recipe, rather than just using a different chocolate sponge recipe (sub in some cocoa for flour)? They’re just so fluffy I wanted to try and stick with this recipe. Thanks!
Hi Laura! I haven't tried adding cocoa to this recipe, so I can't be sure how it would turn out. Cocoa would change the acidity of the recipe, so I think the leavening agents would need to be adjusted and the flour reduced slightly.
I do have a chocolate cupcake recipe on the site, but it uses some different ingredients: https://thetoastykitchen.com/easy-homemade-chocolate-cupcakes/
This is truly one of the absolute BEST cupcakes I have ever had or made!!!!
I made them for a friends birthday yesterday and could not believe how delicious!
So I made another batch this morning too be sure I want dreaming.😋
Thank you very much!
Happy New Year 🥳
Hello 🙂 , was wondering what kind of milk you use 2% or whole?
Hi Kayla, I've made this recipe with whole milk and 2% and both work just fine!
Hello,
I made these but must have done something wrong. They turned out delicious but very dense. Help me. What did I do wrong?
Hi Merrilee, there are several factors that could cause your cupcakes to turn out dense. Is your baking powder possibly expired? Creaming together the butter and sugar also creates an emulsion that when baked, helps your cupcakes rise - possibly they weren't creamed together long enough? Did you use cake flour? All-purpose flour will make a less tender cupcake too. It's hard to say without being there what went wrong, but I hope this helps!
Made these with my 3 1/2 yr old granddaughter and they were amazing. Had so much fun piping on the icing: hers were squiggles but she was so proud. Cannot wait to try your other recipes!
Ms. Heather, I'm 61 years old, This is the BEST TASTING CUPCAKE EVER!!!!, HOWEVER WOULD YOU PLEASE HELP ME, I TRIED USING THE RECIPE SERVING BAR TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF CUPCAKES I NEEDED, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A BATCH OF THREE DOZEN (36) WOULD I ROUND UP OR DOWN. WHAT WOULD 3.6 CUP CAKE FLOUR, 4.8 TEASPOONS BAKING POWDER, 1.2 CUP BUTTER, 3.6 TEASPOONS EXTRACT, 2.4 CUPS SUGAR, 7.2 LARGE EGGS, 1.2 CUP MILK. PLEEASSSE!!!! HELP ME WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THEM FOR THE WEEKEN, SPECIAL LITTLE GIRL BIRTHDAY!!!!! THANKS IN ADVANCE.
Hi Carol, I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe! I'd recommend making enough batter for 40 cupcakes, then either discarding the leftover batter or making a few extra just in case. This way, your ingredients (like egg whites) will have even measurements. I also noticed that the servings are only going to 30 in the recipe card - I will work on fixing that. Here are the measurements for 40 cupcakes:
4 cups cake flour
5 1/3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 teaspoons salt
1 1/3 cups unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 large egg whites (room temperature)
1 1/3 cups milk (room temperature)
THANKS A MILLION!!!!!, WILL CONTINUE TO CHECK FOR THE UPDATED SERVING AMOUNT, THIS IS WHAT I COULD ALSO USE WHEN MAKING SOMETHING SWEET FOR A BIZZARE OR FUND RAISER!!!!, IT WOULD REALLY HELP AND MAKE THINGS EASIER!!!!!
You're welcome! I've updated the adjustable servings in the recipe card - it should now show as a field where you can type in any quantity you like.
Can you make this into mini cupcakes?
I haven't tried it myself, but it should work! Mini cupcakes are made with 1/3 the batter, so this recipe will make 45 mini cupcakes. I'd try baking them for about 9-11 minutes. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Thank you so much for the quick reply!
Disappointed in that the recipe only made 11 cupcakes (filled 3/4 way up the liner). They taste great though! I followed the recipe exactly, but the batter only whipped up to be a very small amount. Now I have to go make another batch.
I can't wait to try it out
Yum! Looking forward to trying it... like, now!
What size scoop is used in the video? Thank you.
Hi Tony, I used a large cookie scoop in the video, which is 3 tablespoons.
Do i need to sift the dry ingredients?
Hi Lee-Ann, yes, you will sift your ingredients in step two.
It is very very good ,thank you .
Hi Heather!
Looks like a great recipe and was hoping to make rainbow cupcakes for pride. That being said I have two questions. 1. Is this a good recipe to add food colouring to? Gel colouring of course. 2. Can you use carton egg whites instead of egg whites from fresh eggs?
Thanks!
Yes, this is a great recipe to add gel dye, and yes you can use egg whites from a carton! One egg white should be about 2 tablespoons of liquid egg whites.
Amazing! Thanks for the reply!
Hi Heather. Just wanted to thank you for the great recipe. I added baking cocoa as well. The taste and the texture was perfect. Thanks again.
Wait so do the egg whites have to be whipped up before I put them in? Or I just add them from the shell? Sorry, just once I used a recipe that had to have the egg whites whipped up but I didn't do it. Just being cautious 🙂
ALso I LOVE your blog. Keep up the great work!
Hi Anna, the egg whites can go directly into the bowl and do not need to be whipped first. I'm so glad you enjoy the site! 🙂
I am so disappointed in how my cupcakes turned out and I’m trying to figure out what happened 🙁 Mine look absolutely nothing like yours look in your photos (I’m assuming the cupcakes in the photos are yours from this recipe??). I followed the recipe to a T. Mine are not white at all and are the furthest thing from a small tender crumb like yours show in your photos. Mine are yellow and have a very large spongey crumb. They don’t taste light fluffy and tender/delicate at all. How long do cream your butter and sugar? Do you use white refined granulated sugar or unrefined cane sugar (what I used)? What kind of vanilla do you use? Dark brown organic vanilla extract (what I use) or a clear vanilla extract? What brand of cake flour do you use? Please help! I was so excited about this recipe because they look amazing in photos so trying to figure out how I can make mine turn out.
Hi Charity, I'm sorry hear that your cupcakes didn't turn out. Yes, all of the photos on the website are my personal photos of each recipe. There is also a video posted of the recipe (which is also my own). It's hard to say without being in the kitchen with you as to what went wrong.
Creaming together the butter and sugar shouldn't take long, maybe one minute with a hand mixer. I used regular white granulated sugar and brown vanilla extract (but clear vanilla extract would also work and shouldn't affect the texture of the cupcakes). I use Swans Down cake flour.
Did you use eggs or egg whites for this recipe? Using whole eggs (instead of just the whites) would make the cupcakes yellow instead of white, and also change the texture. The cupcakes will brown very lightly on the tops but shouldn't be yellow throughout.
Thank you! Looking forward to having these for Easter dessert! 🙂
If I were to use this recipe for a 9x13 pan would I need to double the recipe?
Hi Nicole! Yes, you'd want to double this recipe to bake in a 9x13 pan. I have a post for vanilla sheet cake that may help (it's not this exact recipe, but can be followed to turn this recipe into a sheet cake as well): https://thetoastykitchen.com/vanilla-sheet-cake/
Love it my family loved it easy to make
Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe Lily!
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!
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.
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! 😁
Not sure if you will see this but the recipe calls for Baking POWDER, NOT Baking SODA. Maybe that was your issue.
I accidentally grabbed the baking soda instead of powder didn’t realize til I mixed it in! 🙁 ended up sinking when I took them out! People said they were great but I was so disappointed I messed up!
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!
hii thk u so much its so delicious my kids love it
thk u 😘😘😘
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.
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. Your cupcakes will have a coarser texture that readers have described as a 'cornbread' type texture, in comparison to using cake flour, which makes a tender, smaller crumb.
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.
Does this taste like a normal cupcake mix or does it have a different taste
Hi Sonia, to be honest I've never compared it to a boxed cupcake mix, but they probably taste similar. The biggest difference would probably be the texture, these cupcakes will have a smaller crumb, and will be more tender and moist.
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!
He can I turn this recipe into a 2 layer 8 inch cake?
Hi Laura, yes this recipe written as is should make a 2 layer 8 inch round cake!
I love a classic white cake! Thanks for sharing!