Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting – delicious, light and fluffy vanilla cupcakes with a luscious vanilla buttercream frosting, perfect for your next birthday party or other celebration.
My son requested vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting for his 7th birthday this January. My son can be picky when it comes to cake and cupcakes, so I am happy to say that this recipe was a big hit.
My son loved these Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting, all the kids loved them, and the adults loved them too. The cupcakes are light and fluffy and so delicious, the buttercream frosting is luscious perfection.
This buttercream frosting is one that I’ve been making for years. It’s a mixture of butter and shortening with a hint of vanilla. I love the consistency of the butter and shortening combined and it’s great for decorating. My son loves this frosting and would eat it by the spoonful, if I would let him.
The tricky part was finding a cupcake recipe that my son would love. I’ve made many cakes and cupcakes over the years, but have yet to find the perfect one for my son. He likes cupcakes that are light and airy, similar to the ones you get at supermarket bakeries.
I first made a test batch of this recipe from Food.com. I’d made the recipe before and they are good, but my son wasn’t a big fan. This time I tried the same recipe but used cake flour. My brother was visiting and he and my husband enjoyed those cupcakes declaring that they were “firm, evenly cooked, had a good texture and a nice sponge.” One of my daughters liked them too, but my other daughter and my son, not so much.
So, my search for the perfect cupcake for my son continued. I scoured the Internet, reading what seemed like hundreds of recipes and reviews. I finally settled on this recipe, by Glorious Treats, she describes her cupcakes as light and fluffy and that sounded just like what my son wanted in a cupcake.
These Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting turned out wonderfully. The cake is definitely light and fluffy, just the way my son likes it, and with the buttercream frosting, these cupcakes are amazing!
(A note about the frosting: My son requested frosting that was blue, green and a blue/green mixture for his cupcakes, you can pick whatever color(s) you like or have no coloring at all.)
These Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting are perfect for kids birthday parties, and would be a wonderful treat for any type of celebration or get together.
Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Notes
I used Wilton Icing Colors (that are made from a concentrated gel formula) to color the frosting. I used a pastry bag fitted with a 1M tip to frost the cupcakes in the photographs. Leftover frosting freezes well.
Ingredients
for the cupcakes:
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups cake flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup buttermilk
for the buttercream frosting:
- ½ cup shortening
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- icing color(s), preferably in gel/paste format, of choice (optional)
Instructions
for the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or place 16 cupcake liners in muffin tin(s). I used one 12-cup muffin tin and one 6-cup muffin tin (using only 4 of the 6 cups) .
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar.
- Add oil and vanilla to bowl and beat to combine.
- In a medium bowl, wisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
- Add half of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat on low speed to combine. Add half of the buttermilk and beat on low speed to combine, scraping down sides as necessary.
- Repeat step 5 with remaining half of flour and half of buttermilk.
- Divide batter evenly among 16 prepared cups of muffin tins. Each cup should be about 2/3 full.
- Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Place muffin tin(s) on racks and cool for 10 minutes.
- Remove cupcakes from tins and cool on racks until ready to frost.
for the frosting:
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat shortening and butter until well combined.
- Add vanilla to bowl and beat to combine.
- Add confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add milk and beat until frosting is light and fluffy.
- Add small amount of icing color to bowl (I use a toothpick), beat well until color is incorporated. Add additional coloring if needed to reach desired color. (optional)
- Frost cupcakes using a knife or pastry bag fitted with tip of choice.
Cupcake recipe adapted from Glorious Treats, frosting recipe adapted from allrecipes.com.
This recipe is featured at:
See Ya in the Gumbo
How did you get your frosting that color blue someone what’s me to make the same cologne blue
[…] since my son’s birthday last month, he has been asking and asking for me to make another batch of Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting. I typically only make cake and cupcakes with frosting for special occasions and birthdays. […]
These cupcakes are so beautiful and elegant 🙂
They’d be perfect for any party!
Thanks so much Winnie!
Vanilla is my son’s favorite flavor. I try to sneak in some chocolate chips or something…but nope. He likes vanilla all the way. Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting would be a dream come true for him! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Michelle! It sounds like our sons have similar tastes 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe at the party! Pinned! We love cupcakes I can’t wait to try your recipe.
Thanks Theresa!
Wow these look amazing. I am glad you found the perfect recipe for him. I like that he wants what he wants. Good boy!
Thanks Michelle! I’m happy I found the right recipe too, not that it was so bad testing cupcake batches 🙂
So exciting that you have a recipe your son enjoys. The mixture of blue and green frosting looks fabulous….He had such a great request 🙂 Love that you got the seal of approval from your dad, too!
Thanks Jamie! I’m so glad my son liked these too, he can be very particular 😉
I love cupcakes ( a little too much)! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us at the #HomeMattersParty this week. We hope you will link up again next Friday.
~Bonnie
Thanks Bonnie! I will definitely be back at the #HomeMattersParty 🙂
These look insanely yummy!!!
Thanks Erica!
These look delicious, and I want one now! Pinned and shared. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Thanks so much Christie!
oh boy! these are begging to be made! its going to be a cupcake day!! shared everywhere 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing Jessica!
I have never been able to make a buttercream right. I will try yours to see! Thanks for this post!
I hope you give the buttercream a try Stephanie! It really is so easy 🙂
Your cupcakes sound fantastic, Joy. I have to make your recipe so soon. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much Hadia! Hope you give them a try and enjoy!
These cupcakes look delicious! Pinned it! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Debbie! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
I can vouch for these cupcakes. They are yummy!! I am not biased on this, even though Joy is my daughter and I eat these right out out of her oven. It is hard to wait until they are cool enough to eat. Having just one is also hard for me! Love you Joy!
Thanks Dad! Love you! xxoo
I love cupcakes!! And this frosting – the colors are fantastic!
Thanks Jenny!
I love buttercream frosting! I could eat it all by itself! But your cupcakes do look delicious too!
Thanks Michelle! My son is the same, he would eat a bowl of buttercream frosting, if I would let him 🙂
They sound yummy! I love white /vanilla cake and buttercream is the only frosting for me!
Thanks AnnMarie! I love buttercream frosting too!
I Love Vanilla Cupcakes! I’m always looking to try out new recipes and I like the ingredient ratios of yours! It sounds and looks like a really soft cupcake 🙂
Thanks so much Dini!