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Vanilla cupcakes with pink frosting on cooling rack.
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Small-Batch Vanilla Cupcakes

This small-batch vanilla cupcake recipe makes 6 perfect cupcakes. They're moist, tender and won't leave any leftovers.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Cooling 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 18 minutes
Servings 6 cupcakes
Calories 455kcal

Equipment

  • electric hand mixer*
  • muffin tin
  • muffin papers

Ingredients

Vanilla Cupcakes

  • 1 large egg
  • cup white sugar I prefer caster/super fine sugar
  • cup all-purpose flour* measured correctly
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • teaspoon salt a small pinch
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup whole milk 2% works too
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Vanilla Frosting - if you like less frosting, feel free to half this recipe*

  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • 2 cups powdered sugar a little more or less to taste
  • teaspoon salt a small pinch
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream

Instructions

Vanilla Cupcakes

  • Preheat the oven to 350F degrees (180C). If your oven is a convection oven, be sure that the temperature is reduced to 325F (160C) degrees (some convection ovens to this automatically).
  • Line the 6 middle cavities of a regular-sized muffin tin with muffin papers.
  • In a medium bowl using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the egg and sugar for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is very pale in color and has significantly increased in volume.
  • Sprinkle the flour, baking powder and salt over the eggs and gently whisk in the dry ingredients.
  • Add the butter and milk to a liquid measuring cup. Microwave in 30-second increments until the butter is melted. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
  • Whisk the warm milk mixture into the batter until smooth.
  • Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners filling each about ⅔ to ¾ full. You should end up with 6 cupcakes.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until the tops look set and are slightly firm/springy to the touch, or an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and continue cooling on a cooling rack.

Frosting

  • In a small bowl, beat the butter until smooth.
  • Add in the salt and vanilla extract. Starting with the mixer on low speed, beat in 1 cup powdered sugar.
  • Mix in the rest of the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time, alternating with a tablespoon of milk or cream until the desired sweetness and thickness is reached. Optionally, mix in a few drops of food coloring.
  • Either frost the cupcakes with a knife, or transfer the frosting to a piping bag and frost. I used a piping bag and a 1M tip.

Notes

  1. I recommend using a bowl and hand-held mixer instead of a stand mixer for this recipe. Because there isn't a lot of batter, you will need to constantly scrape down the sides of the bowl with a stand mixer. 
  2. When measuring flour, whisk it first. Then spoon into a dry measuring cup and level off the top. Or use a scale. ⅔ cup flour weighs 83 grams.
  3. The frosting recipe provided makes a lot of frosting - enough to pipe each cupcake with a very, very thick amount. If you'd like less frosting, divide the frosting reicpe in half. You'll need:
    • ¼ cup unsalted butter
    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • tiny pinch of salt
    • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 tablespoon of milk or cream
  4. Store unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Frosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the fridge for up to 4 days. Remove cupcakes from the fridge 30 minutes before enjoying. If your kitchen is warm, store cupcakes in the fridge. 
  5. Nutrition information is an estimate only and based on 1 cupcake with frosting, assuming all the frosting is used and divided between 6 equal-sized cupcakes (without the frosting recipe divided in half). 
  6. Recipe adapted from Recipe Tin Eats

Nutrition

Calories: 455kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 118mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 51g | Vitamin A: 709IU | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg