Need a last minute dessert? Or a birthday treat without any leftovers? Learn how to make vanilla cupcakes for two. This recipe will give you just two moist and fluffy vanilla cupcakes with creamy vanilla frosting. No leftovers, just two perfect cupcakes.
If you need a quick and easy dessert without any leftovers, then these vanilla cupcakes for two are just the thing. They have the same delicious buttery vanilla flavor and moist, fluffy texture as my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe – but the recipe yields just two cupcakes. I love this recipe for surprising a friend with a midweek birthday, or when you’re really craving a cupcake but don’t feel like leaving the house and spending $7 on something from a bakery.
Because these vanilla cupcakes are better than that.
How to Make Just Two Vanilla Cupcakes
This recipe is very simple and can be made without an electric mixer. I actually recommend doing all your mixing with a fork or small wire whisk to avoid overmixing. Overmixing will cause air tunnels in your cupcakes.
- First, preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and place two cupcake liners in the middle of your muffin pan. It’s important to place the liners in the middle of your pan, because this will help the cupcakes to bake the most evenly.
- Then in a small bowl, whisk together the egg white and sugar. Make sure to just use the white – if you use the entire egg the cupcakes will taste far too egg-y. You don’t need to whisk them together until peaks form or anything like that – just a quick whisk to help dissolve the sugar.
- Add in the melted butter and vanilla extract and keep whisking until combined. We’re using butter for more flavor – which I find is key in any vanilla cake or cupcake recipe.
- Then add in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. If your flour looks lumpy, then I recommend sifting in the flour. This is to make sure there are no lumps of flour in your cupcake batter, and avoid the need to overmix to get rid of those lumps. Then whisk together with your fork.
- From there, you’ll whisk in the milk. Note that the batter will be quite thin – this is expected.
- Then spoon the batter into your prepared muffin pan, dividing the batter evenly between the two muffin papers. Note that you should only fill each muffin paper about â…” to ¾ full. If the cupcake liners are filled too full, your cupcakes will overflow and sink in the middle. This may mean that you have a tablespoon of batter leftover and that’s ok!
- The cupcakes will bake in the middle of the oven for about 15-19 minutes, or until the tops look set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If an inserted toothpick comes out with cupcake batter, then the cupcakes aren’t done baking yet.
Serving Ideas
Below, I’ve included a recipe for vanilla frosting to top your two vanilla cupcakes with. It’s definitely enough for a generous amount of frosting for each cupcake. Of course, you could always use a tub of frosting if you have some on hand. I also love these cupcakes with:
- a scoop of ice cream and maybe a few berries
- topped with Nutella or cookie butter
- decorated with chocolate frosting – you can use the chocolate frosting recipe I used for my chocolate cupcakes for two recipe
This simple recipe for vanilla cupcakes for two is perfect for when you don’t want leftovers but are yearning for a quick, easy vanilla dessert. The cupcakes are fluffy and moist and the frosting is sweet and creamy. Cupcake perfection.
And if you need more inspiration for small batch and single serving desserts, then be sure to try:
- Vanilla Mug Cake – it’s made in the microwave, so it’s super quick
- Chocolate Chip Cookie for One – technically big enough to share, but I doubt you’ll want to
- Double Chocolate Cookie for One
Vanilla Cupcakes for Two
Equipment
- 12-cavity muffin pan
Ingredients
Two Vanilla Cupcakes
- 1 large egg white discard the yolk
- 2 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar (31 grams)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (28 grams) melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour (40 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons milk (30 ml)
Vanilla Frosting
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (42 grams) softened
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ - ¾ cup powdered sugar (55 - 83 grams) you may need a little extra
- pinch salt
- 1-2 teaspoons milk (5-10 ml) or cream (heavy cream or whipping cream work well)
- food coloring optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and place 2 muffin papers in the middle of a 12-cavity muffin tin.
- In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together the egg white and sugar.
- Whisk in the melted butter and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl. If the flour is lumpy, sift it into the bowl. Whisk until combined.
- Whisk in the milk until smooth and even.
- Spoon the batter into the two muffin liners. Fill each about ⅔ to ¾ full. You may have an extra spoonful of batter leftover. Do not over fill the muffin liners - otherwise, the cupcakes can overflow and sink in the middle.
- Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for about 16-20 minutes, or until the tops look set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist cupcake crumbs.
- Cool the cupcakes for at least 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Vanilla Frosting
- In a small bowl, beat the butter until smooth. You can also do this by whisking with a fork, but it will take a bit more arm muscle.
- Add in about ½ of the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla extract and optional food coloring. Start mixing on low speed, then gradually increase until combined.
- Mix in the rest of the powdered sugar a little at a time. Mix in 1-2 teaspoons of milk/cream as needed until the desired sweetness and thickness is reached.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes, either with a knife or transfer the frosting to a piping bag and swirl the frosting on top. I used a piping bag with a 1M tip.
Notes
- Storage: Cupcakes are always best the same day they're baked. Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours, or in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 cupcake with frosting, assuming the recipe yields 2 uniform cupcakes and all the frosting is used.Â
Nutrition
Leave a Reply