White Velvet Cupcakes (Vanilla Cupcakes)

The best white vanilla cupcakes are soft, moist, fluffy and delicious with an amazing buttery vanilla flavor! A really classic cupcake! Top with vanilla buttercream or stabilized whipped cream and decorate!

The Best Vanilla Cupcake!

Tired of dry tasteless cupcakes that aren’t worth the calories? Me too! We are all after that perfect vanilla cupcake, aren’t we? This cupcake is indeed the perfect vanilla cupcake in my opinion! It’s moist, fluffy, soft – yet not too delicate and it is delicious! They are made from scratch and easy to make!

So what’s so different about this recipe? These cupcakes are made using a ‘reverse creaming method”, which is when all dry ingredients are combined and then coated with butter (and in this case, a small amount of liquid). This helps to prevent a tough crumb when over mixing/beating and it gives you that moist, fluffy soft texture.

Many cupcakes (and cakes) are made by the creaming method, which is when the sugar and butter are creamed together before the other ingredients are mixed in. This can lead to a tougher crumb.

Origin of Recipe….Why Try This?

The recipe for these vanilla cupcakes is based on Rose Levy Beranbaum’s white velvet butter cake recipe. Rose is a leading cake baking authority and author of the Cake Bible, which is a Culinary Classic Hall of Fame winner, and my go-to book for anything cake related. The book is still popular after 30 years! If you love to bake, it is a must own. Rose actually pioneered the reverse creaming method.

Rose does a beautiful job of explaining the different types of cakes, and also provides the basic formulations for major cake type (ie, butter, pound, sponge, Angel Food cake, chiffon cake, etc) in the event that you want to develop your own recipe (or just gain a better understanding of the various types).

With a name like white velvet, who can resist? Not me. Let me tell you, this cupcake will not disappoint! You know the ones that beg to be served with a tall glass of cold milk….ya, this is it!!

Overview of Ingredients and Method

1. Make the batter using a reverse creaming method (means you mix the dry ingredients together [see recipe card below for full details] and then add butter and a bit of milk); this method is used to prevent over beating of the batter, which can give you a tough cupcake.
2. Fill the cupcake liners about ⅔ full.
3. Bake! Test your cupcakes a few minutes before time is up by using a toothpick inserted in center. If it comes out clean, they’re done! You can also use the finger test by gently pressing down in center – if the cupcake springs back, it’s done! If a dent remains, they are under baked and need to be baked longer.
4. Decorate with vanilla buttercream frosting. Alternative frosting ideas are shown below (see Finding the Perfect Frosting).

Top Tips for Bakery-Quality Cupcakes

• Homemade baked from scratch will be better than the bakery cupcakes!
• Use good vanilla, not imitation extract – use genuine vanilla extract. The flavor will be amazing and you won’t be sorry!
• Use room temperature ingredients to ensure the ingredients combine well.
• Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl to ensure your batter is uniformly mixed.
• Bake cupcakes in the middle of the oven – if you need two racks, use upper and lower middle racks.
• Do not over bake your cupcakes. Test your cupcakes with a toothpick a few minutes before the bake time to monitor if they are finished. You can also press down lightly on top of cupcake. If they spring back, they are ready (if dent remains, they are not done).
• Use an ice cream or cookie scoop to ensure your cupcake liners are all filled uniformly
• Consider using an oven thermometer to ensure your oven temperature is accurate

Finding the Perfect Frosting

So, you have the perfect cupcake and now you need the perfect frosting, right?

One of the most popular frostings is simple, classic vanilla buttercream. And so I opted to use a vanilla buttercream consisting of butter, powdered sugar, milk, and flavorings (vanilla, salt). Easy!

If you are looking for other frosting options try a Mock Swiss Buttercream (no cooking required) or a Stabilized whipped cream frosting, which I use on my favorite Italian Rum Cake (that cake is a must try)! I’d also like to try this less sweet buttercream, made with a flour pudding base.

Decorating the Cupcakes

To decorate cupcakes, you can go “old school” and simply spoon some frosting on your cupcakes and swirl it around. If you do this, you’ll need much less frosting than this recpe provides (the recipe below makes 6 cups). If you’d like a more professional type of look, use a pastry bag fitted with a large decorator tip and pile on the frosting!

Want more information on decorating cupcakes? I love this tutorial which shows the differences in decorating tips and the outcomes. You can buy large decorating tips and pastry bags on Amazon or in hobby stores that sell Wilton products for baking.

Make Ahead, Storage, and Freshness

The texture and moistness of these cupcakes is best the day they are baked, however they can be made ahead or stored (leftovers). Here are some tips:

• You can store frosted (with buttercream) cupcakes for 2 days in an airtight container at room temperature
• The cupcakes will keep for 5 days refrigerated but should be brought to room temperature before eating.
• If freezing, the cupcakes can be stored for 2 months (unfrosted, wrapped well).
• Generally, buttercream can stay stable at room temperature for 2 days or up to one week in the refrigerator.
• For longer periods, freeze buttercream for up to 3 months.
• Buttercream that has been frozen or refrigerated will need to be rewhipped after bringing it back to room temperature.

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White Velvet Cupcakes (Vanilla Cupcakes)

The best white vanilla cupcake! These classic cupcakes are soft, moist, fluffy and delicious with an amazing buttery vanilla flavor! Top with vanilla buttercream or stabilized whipped cream and decorate!

4.75 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes

Servings: 24 cupcakes

Calories: 423kcal

Author: Marie

Ingredients

For the cupcakes (makes 24 to 30 cupcakes):

• ▢ 4.75 ounces (134.66 g) egg whites (4.5 large eggs)
• ▢ 1 cup (244 g) milk
• ▢ 2 ¼ teaspoons (2 ¼ teaspoons) vanilla
• ▢ 2.5 cups (312.5 g) sifted cake flour
• ▢ 1.5 cups (300 g) sugar
• ▢ 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) baking powder plus 1 teaspoon
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon (¾ teaspoon) salt
• ▢ 12 tbsp (12 tbsp) unsalted butter must be softened (not melted)

For the frosting (makes 6 cups of frosting):

• ▢ 2 cups (454 g) unsalted butter room temperature (NOT microwaved)
• ▢ 6 cups (1080 g) powdered sugar (sifted) (up to 9 cups, see note)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) salt
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) vanilla
• ▢ 3 tbsp (4 tbsp) milk up to 5 tbsp

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare cupcake tins by inserting cupcake liners
• In a medium bowl, lightly mix egg whites, ¼ cup of milk, and vanilla and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix on low until combined, then add the butter and the remaining milk. Mix on low until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Then, increase speed to medium and continue mixing for 1.5 minutes to build the cake’s structure.
• Scrape down the sides and gradually add the egg mixture in three batches, beating for 20 seconds between additions and scraping down the sides with a spatula.
• Fill cupcakes liners about ⅔ full and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool cupcakes in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack and cool for another hour before frosting

For the frosting:

• Cream the butter on low for 2 minutes.
• Gradually add sifted sugar slowly on low speed (to prevent sugar blowing all over) until it has all been incorporated.
• Increase to medium speed, add the vanilla and salt, and mix for 3 minutes
• Gradually add the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
• If you find the frosting is too thin, add more sugar until desired consistency is reached

Storage and Make Ahead

• The texture and moistness of these cupcakes is best the day they are baked, however they can be made ahead or stored (leftovers). You can store frosted (with buttercream) cupcakes for 2 days in an airtight container at room temperature. The cupcakes will keep for 5 days refrigerated but should be brought to room temperature before eating. If freezing, the cupcakes can be stored for 2 months (unfrosted, wrapped well). If you want to make the buttercream ahead of time, generally, buttercream can stay stable for 2 days at room temperature or up to 1 week in the refrigerator. For longer periods, freeze buttercream for up to 3 months. Buttercream that has been frozen or refrigerated will need to be rewhipped after bringing it back to room temperature.

Notes

• Use good vanilla, not imitation extract – use genuine vanilla extract. The flavor will be amazing and you won’t be sorry!
• Use room temperature ingredients to ensure the ingredients combine well.
• Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl to ensure your batter is uniformly mixed.
• Bake cupcakes in the middle of the oven – if you need two racks, use upper and lower middle racks.
• Do not over bake your cupcakes. Test your cupcakes with a toothpick a few minutes before the bake time to monitor if they are finished. You can also press down lightly on top of cupcake. If they spring back, they are ready (if dent remains, they are not done).
• Use an ice cream or cookie scoop to ensure your cupcake liners are all filled uniformly
• Consider using an oven thermometer to ensure your oven temperature is accurate
• If you’d like pure white frosting, use clear vanilla extract and substitute half of the butter with shortening. 
• For those who like a less buttery frosting, add up to 3 cups of powdered sugar to the frosting. 
• 6 cups of frosting is enough to give you a “decorator” frosting look (lots of piped frosting). If you like less frosting or would like to simply spoon and swirl on the frosting (and save calories), cut back on recipe by at least ⅓. 

Nutrition

Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 140mg | Potassium: 99mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 670IU | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg

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Originally published January 2012; Updated September 2020 with many additional recipe tips, how-to information, and new photos.

Photography by Sam of QuarterSoulCrisis