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Go-To Vanilla Cupcakes

Golden memories: Smelling sweetly of butter, sugar and vanilla, these classic little cakes bring you right back to when you were a kid and Mom baked you birthday cupcakes.
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Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Snack
Cuisine british
Servings 12 people
Calories 5769.8 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Muffin Tin Standard 12-cup or two 24-cup mini
  • 1 Electric Mixer Handheld or stand mixer
  • 2 Mixing Bowls One medium for dry, one for wet ingredients
  • 1 Whisk For dry ingredients
  • 1 Wire Cooling Rack For cooling baked cupcakes

Ingredients
  

Main

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 sticks 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • Your favorite frosting for topping

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the middle of the oven. Line one 12-cup standard muffin tin or two 24-cup mini-muffin tins with cupcake liners.
  • Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.
  • In another medium bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until light and foamy, about 2 minutes. While beating, gradually pour in the melted butter and then the vanilla.
  • While mixing slowly, add half of the flour mixture. Then add all the milk, followed by the remaining flour mixture; take care not to overmix the batter. Divide the batter evenly in the prepared muffin tin.
  • Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, rotating the tin about halfway through baking time, 18 to 20 minutes for standard cupcakes or 10 to 12 minutes for minis. Cool the cupcakes in the tin on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on the rack completely. Frost and decorate as desired.

Notes

Ensure all cold ingredients, especially eggs and milk, are at room temperature for better emulsification and a finer crumb. When adding the melted butter, pour it in a slow, steady stream while the mixer is running to prevent the batter from breaking. Be careful not to overmix the batter once the flour is added, as this develops gluten and can lead to tough cupcakes. Cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack before frosting; frosting warm cupcakes will cause the frosting to melt.