Looking for that perfect vanilla cupcake recipe that’s super soft and fluffy, quick and easy to whip up…and pretty to boot? My Vanilla Cupcakes with Fluffy Heritage Frosting checks all the boxes!
This Vanilla Cupcake recipe gives you 20 perfectly fluffy, soft and delicious cupcakes every single time. They’re ready in 30 minutes, are made with a handful of basic ingredients and I’m pretty sure they’re going to be your next favourite cupcake! And that frosting….. it’s silky smooth, light and fluffy and, unlike regular buttercream icing that can sometimes be overly sweet, the taste is to die for. Plus my kids don’t end up scraping it all off!
WHY IS THIS MY GO-TO CUPCAKE RECIPE?
I have been obsessed with making (and eating!) perfect cupcakes. I’ve made it my life’s mission to not only find the perfect cupcakes, but to take everything I love about each and every one and create my own perfect cupcake recipe. From my first visit to Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village, NYC in 2013 (and multiple visits every other time I’ve been lucky enough to get to NYC!), to Georgetown Cupcakes, Sprinkles Cupcakes and just about any other cupcake store I’ve come across when travelling the USA, I’ve tried them all. And loved them all! So of course, I had to make my cupcakes just as good….and I’m pretty sure I have!
I have been making these fluffy vanilla cupcakes since my boys were in primary school (that’s a long time, believe me!). They’ve been made (in bulk!) for the boys’ school graduations, cake stalls, sports days…you name it, I made them! And they never disappoint. They’re always soft and fluffy, always the perfect size, never stick to the papers and always delicious! They have the most divine vanilla flavour that can be topped with any flavour frosting and they’re sturdy enough to scoop out the centres and fill them with lemon curd, caramel, jam etc. My favourite way to top them though, is with my creamy, fluffy Heritage Frosting, which is lovely and light, rather than overbearingly sweet.
WHAT MAKES THE FLUFFIEST CUPCAKES?
When making something so simple in flavour, you need to make sure you use great quality ingredients.
CAKE FLOUR
Is softer, finer and lighter than regular flour and contributes to a softer, more tender crumb. If you can’t find cake flour in your supermarket though, regular flour will work fine.
FREE RANGE EGGS
Apart from the ethical reasons, free range just tastes so much better!
VANILLA EXTRACT
This cupcake recipe has quite a lot of vanilla extract. Use the good stuff -you can taste the difference! I use Nielsen Massey Vanilla Extract that I buy from Williams Sonoma, but you can also find it online.
MY TIPS FOR PERFECT CUPCAKES EVERY TIME
WEIGH YOUR INGREDIENTS
Yes, it’s my number 1 tip! Always weigh your ingredients, especially in baking. The preparation is cleaner and easier and the results are consistent.
MIXER SPEED
By mixing the butter and sugar at a medium speed, you’re producing lots of tiny, evenly distributed air pockets, which gives a more even rise.
SCOOP YOUR BATTER
I always use a large ice cream scoop for my batter. Simply scoop, scrape the excess off as you slide it out of the bowl, then plop it into the papers. Perfectly uniform cupcakes every time!
OVEN TEMPERATURE
Make sure you preheat the oven to the correct temperature, before placing the cupcakes in. This helps the cupcake batter to establish and rise correctly. I use the centre rack of my oven and bake one tray at a time, using a conventional setting at 180 celsius. If you want to bake them together, in a fan-forced oven, reduce the temperature to 165 celsius.
WHAT IS HERITAGE FROSTING
I’m so glad you asked! Heritage frosting is an old fashioned frosting that is made with (wait for it!) cooked flour and milk! I know, it sounds odd, but it is sooooo good! You simply beat the cooled flour and milk mixture with butter, sugar and vanilla, to create the most amazingly super fluffy and silky frosting that pipes so beautifully. It’s something that I picked up from Magnolia Bakery all those years ago and I’ve never looked back. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good buttercream frosting, but it can be too sweet for some people (again, my boys!). This fluffy Heritage Frosting is the perfect topping for my Vanilla Cupcakes as it pipes so beautifully and tastes insane!
HOW TO MAKE THE FLUFFIEST FROSTING
It’s actually very simple! In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, you whisk together the flour and milk until it becomes thick. I place some waxed paper directly on the surface of the mixture and allow it to cool, while I make the cupcakes. That way, the mixture has cooled enough to use when the cupcakes have cooked.
In a stand mixer, you beat the soft butter until creamy, then gradually add the sugar. Next, add the cooled flour and milk mixture, along with the vanilla paste (and colour, if using) and beat on high for 5-10 minutes, until it’s lovely and fluffy.
If these Vanilla Cupcakes with Fluffy Heritage Frosting are your jam, then you’re going to love
Vanilla Cupcakes with Fluffy Heritage Frosting
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 400 g Cake flour
- 2½ tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 150 g Unsalted butter room temp
- 350 g Sugar
- 2 Large eggs free-range, room temp
- 1¼ cup Milk room temp
- 3 tsp Vanilla extract use the best quality you can find
Heritage Frosting
- 1 cup Milk
- 4 tbsp Plain flour
- 125 g Unsalted butter
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla paste or extract is fine
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Pre heat oven to 180° C / 350° F / 165° fan forced
- Line 2 muffin trays with 20 cupcake papers
- Sift the cake flour and baking powder and set aside
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on low speed for 1 minute
- Scrape the bowl with a spatula, return to low speed, then gradually add the sugar and salt. Increase speed to medium and beat for 8-10 minutes, until light and fluffy
- Combine the milk, eggs and vanilla in a jug.
- With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the bowl, alternating with the milk mixture. Do this in 3 batches of each and mix until just combined.
- Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop out the cupcake batter (scraping the scoop along the side of the bowl for even measurement) and place into papers.
- Bake for 16 minutes, until cake tester comes out clean
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, before transferring cupcakes to a cooling rack.
- Once cooled, cupcakes can be topped with frosting
Heritage Frosting
- *You can make the milk/flour mixture before making the cupcakes, to allow time for it to cool
- In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, whisk flour and milk
- After a few minutes, the mixture will be quite thick. Remove from heat and place a sheet of waxed paper directly on the mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy (you may need to scrape the side of the bowl)
- Turn mixer to low and gradually add the sugar. Increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy
- Add the cooled milk/flour mixture, along with the vanilla (and any chosen colour) and beat on high speed for 5-10 minutes, until silky smooth and fluffy
- Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and decorate as desired
Notes
- Frosting can be flavoured with any desired extract or flavour.
- Colour as desired
- Decorate as desired -the pink frosting in these photos is vanilla flavoured and tinted with a soft pink gel colour. I have topped it with Persian Rose Fairy Floss, which gives the most amazing, subtle rose flavour. Use just before serving, as it quickly absorbs moisture and goes flat!
- This recipe can be easily halved (I always bake in bulk!)
- Cupcakes can be frozen with or without frosting
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