Easy Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes
These are my best ever small batch vanilla cupcakes! I seriously spent hours upon hours creating this recipe to get it just right. And the result is a soft and fluffy cupcake with tons of vanilla flavor. In less than 30 minutes, you'll have 6 gorgeous cupcakes!
Equipment
- Hand mixer
- Standard cupcake pan
- Paper cupcake liners
Ingredients
- 80 grams all purpose flour (⅔ cup)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 60 grams unsalted butter, softened (¼ cup)
- 75 grams granulated sugar (6 Tablespoons)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 80 milliliters whole milk (⅓ cup)
- 2 teaspoons neutral oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a standard cupcake pan with 6 paper cupcake liners. Then, combine the all purpose flour, baking powder, and Kosher salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Add the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar to a medium mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer with beaters, cream the butter and sugar until it's very light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula halfway through to ensure everything is well-mixed. Then, mix in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) to the wet ingredients. Mix until the batter is about 75% combined. Then, add the whole milk and neutral oil. Mix just until the batter comes together. Don't over-mix or the cupcakes will come out dense and dry.
- Using a cupcake scoop, evenly divide the batter between the cupcake liners. They should be about ⅔ of the way full.
- Bake the cupcakes for 16-18 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick has just a few moist crumbs. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then, transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost and decorate as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
With small batch baking, it's important to weight the ingredients with a scale instead of measuring cups. Even just a little extra flour can completely derail the recipe. But, if you don't have a scale, here's how to measure the flour. First, fluff it with a whisk. Spoon the fluffed flour into the measuring spoon and level it off without packing it in.
I used Diamond Kosher salt when I was testing this recipe. If you use Morton's, halve the amount of salt.
For high-altitude (around 4,500 feet), use half the amount of baking powder.
Try topping the cupcakes with my small batch vanilla buttercream or this small batch chocolate buttercream!
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcakeCalories: 206kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 3gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 120mgPotassium: 51mgFiber: 0gSugar: 13gVitamin C: 0mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!