Homemade vanilla cupcakes are tender and moist, and made entirely from scratch. These yellow cupcakes are topped with a sweet and velvety American buttercream frosting.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cupcake pan with liners and set aside.
In a bowl add your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to remove clumps and set aside.
In a large bowl, add butter and sugar. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat until creamed and fluffy, about a minute Add eggs and vanilla extract, beating until smooth and fluffy, about a minute.
Add half of your dry ingredients to butter mixture. Stir until just combined. Add half of milk, again stirring until just combined. Repeat once more, adding remaining dry ingredients and remaining milk, stirring until just incorporated.
Portion batter between 15 cupcake liners, filling about halfway full. Bake in preheated oven for about 18-20 minutes, or until centers pop back when gently pressed in the center. If an indent is left, your cupcakes need more time.
Remove pan from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring cupcakes to a wire rack to finish cooling.
American buttercream frosting
In a large bowl, add room temperature butter. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat until creamy and smooth, about a minute.
Add confectioner's sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing slowly until combined. Then, whip at high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla extract and heavy cream, then whip until fluffy, another 1 to 2 minutes.
Pipe or spread frosting with a knife onto cupcakes and serve.
Video
Notes
Cupcakes are best served the same day of baking, but will remain moist for up to 48 hours when covered in a sealed container.
This recipe can be made with all-purpose flour instead of cake flour, but the texture will be coarser and cupcakes will not turn out as tender. I highly recommend using cake flour.
The frosting recipe makes enough to pipe tall, dramatic frosting onto each cupcake (like shown in the photos). If you'd like to make less frosting and spread on with a knife, cut the recipe in half.
I do not suggest substituting or omitting any of the ingredients that add moisture to this recipe, including eggs, butter, whole milk, and granulated sugar. Otherwise, cupcakes can turn out dry.