No-Fail Vanilla Cupcakes
Perfect vanilla cupcakes with a vanilla swiss meringue buttercream. The recipe that every baker needs to keep handy
Servings: 14 cupcakes
Calories: 392kcal
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup buttermilk at room temperature*
For the Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 1 batch Swiss meringue buttercream (recipe linked below)
Instructions
For the Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
- Beat butter, oil, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed 2 to 3 minutes or until color turns a pale yellow (use a large bowl and hand mixer or whisk, if you'd like to).
- Beat in egg and vanilla.
- Alternately beat in dry ingredients and buttermilk (3 additions of dry ingredients, 2 additions of buttermilk), starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Scrape down the bowl, and beat 30 seconds more on medium speed. Divide batter between muffin cups, filling each about 2/3-full.
- Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until the cupcake springs back when you touch the top or a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool completely in pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
For the Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Make 1 batch of this swiss meringue buttercream.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with desired piping tip. Frost onto cooled cupcakes.
Notes
*I typically place my buttermilk in the microwave for about 30 seconds and it's usually to room temp at that point!