The Best Vanilla Cupcakes with Old Fashioned Vanilla Frosting
This is my favorite recipe for vanilla cupcakes. It is easy to make. They are moist with the sour cream added to the batter. I keep wanting to try making it with cake flour instead of all purpose to see how they turn out but I know I love this recipe so much that I haven’t yet.
My new thing is making frosting without powdered sugar. I make it the old fashioned way using regular granulated sugar instead. I share the recipe for it below. It works out great if you don’t always keep powdered sugar around or if you are out.
If you are piping the frosting on to the cupcakes you can add extra sugar to the frosting to thicken it up if you need to, the frosting recipe is pretty flexible. You can also frost the cupcakes with regular vanilla frosting that is made with powdered sugar if you prefer. I just love this newly found recipe for old fashioned vanilla frosting that I keep using it to frost everything I bake lately. Warning: It is not as sweet as normal frosting that uses powdered sugar, it has more of a butter & vanilla flavor to it. I love it!
Recipe makes about 18 cupcakes.
- -Cupcakes-
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup soybean oil or vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup milk (I used 2%)
- -Frosting-
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons flour
- pinch of salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with paper liners or grease cupcake pan.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt & mix together.
- In another bowl cream sugar & butter together with electric mixer until light & fluffy.
- Add the creamed butter & sugar to the flour mixture & mix on medium-low speed for about a minute, you will end up with a crumb texture.
- Add eggs, oil, sour cream, & vanilla to the flour mixture & beat on medium speed until just combined.
- Slowly add in the milk on low speed until just combined.
- Fill cupcake liners ½ full. Bake for 14-16 minutes. Insert toothpick in center of a cupcake until it comes out clean or you can gently tap the top of the cupcake with your finger, if it springs back its done.
- Remove from oven & let cool in pan for a few minutes then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- For the Frosting:
- Whisk milk, flour, and salt together in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Keep stirring until the mixture gets very thick and bubbly.
- Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
- In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer beat sugar and butter together until smooth and creamy. Beat in the cooled flour mixture until it is light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla.
- Frost cooled cupcakes.
Hi mine is very liquidy and adding suger isn’t working. What can I do?
Hi, When I mix mine it looks like it is not thickening up when actual it is and it works just fine for frosting cakes and cupcakes. Putting it in the frig after you spread it will cause it to harden up even more. Thanks!