Vanilla Cupcakes

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Sometimes the plain and simple things are best. These Vanilla Cupcakes might not look as fancy as something clobbered in chocolate and caramel but they sure are good. Plus the bonus about such a nice simple recipe you can add things to it as needed. Maybe a flavored frosting, chocolate chips, or anything your heart wishes. Mix up just the dry ingredients of this recipe and store in a mason jar in the pantry for a quick cupcake mix!

Vanilla Cupcakes

What you need:

  • 2 c. flour
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 2 t baking powder
  • 1/2 c. butter
  • 3/4 c. turbinado sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 c. milk
  • 1 t vanilla

Mix all ingredients together. I found that if I ground the turbinado sugar first the cupcakes came out a little denser which was super yummy. After all the ingredients are mixed, give them an extra whipping with a hand mixer. If you don’t have one don’t worry, they will still come out fine. Drop into a cupcake pan and bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. This recipe makes about 15 cupcakes.

I’ve also discovered this recipe freezes great! Just put in a freezer bag after the cupcakes are baked and store until you need them.

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55 Comments

    1. I had leftover regular cream cheese/powdered sugar frosting from a party I threw so we used that. I’m working on a new frosting recipe though!

  1. I just whipped these up and lightly topped them with chocolate frosting. Yum-O!!! The kids devoured them! Thanks for the recipe…it’s a keeper!

  2. They look delicious. Could I use regular white granulated sugar in place of turbinado? Would I use the same amount? Thanks.

  3. Those look so pretty! My cupcakes never look that nice! lol Thanks for linking up at Whip It Up Wednesday. 🙂

  4. Freshly baked and very yummy! Thanks very much as I was looking for a quick cupcake recipe earlier 🙂

  5. Oh btw, I didn’t know what Turbinado sugar was either, but googled it and it looks close to our brown sugar which I used and worked really well.

  6. Am going to try these today – they look yummy and I love vanilla cake/cupcakes. Your frosting looks really creamy – can you share that with us???? Thank you

  7. I was looking for a simple cupcake recipe for my sons birthday in a couple weeks and this looks perfect! Thanks!

  8. Always looking for easy simple recipes like this; I prefer these to the fancy dolled up cupcakes and cakes; thanks!

  9. Thanks so much for visitng my Fabulous Friday Party.. These cup cakes are perfectly.. Maria

  10. This looks yum!! I have not been successful at making a homemade cupcake. Mine are always heavy and slightly crumbly. So, I am up for a new recipe!! Thanks!

  11. Hi I signed up to receive your newsletters but never received the free ebook canners cookbook. Maybe I did something wrong, or just didn’t see it, I don’t know.
    Thank you.

  12. Hi Merissa – Yes, sometimes simple is best. Thanks so much for sharing with the Let’s Get Real Party.

  13. Before I clicked into your site, I thought, “Sometimes the simple things are the best.” Like minds! Pinned and stumbled!

  14. I love the fact that you can make these cupcakes and then freeze them for later! This would be a great time saver for me! I’ll be featuring this at our next Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop. Thanks so much for linking up with us!

  15. I love vanilla whether its with another ingredients or on it’s own, these look delicious. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!! Laura@Baking in Pyjamas

  16. You are so right that simple things can be the best. Thank you for sharing on our Four Seasons Blog Hop.

  17. Looks really yummy, I wanted to let you know that I will be featuring this post on my blog tomorrow at Tuesday’s with a Twist link party, please stop by and take a peek. Have a great day. 🙂

  18. Hi there Merissa! Guess what? You are being featured this week as one of Nibbles By Nic favorite recipes at WONDERFULLY CREATIVE WEDNESDAYS! I hope you stop by and share the great news!!! xo Nic

      1. Thank you! I was looking for a simple cake recipe to make rosewater cupcakes. So I just used regular sugar and left out the vanilla. I liked the fact that it didn’t make 24 or more cupcakes!

  19. Hello! I was unsure if I need to cream the butter and sugar together first or if I just put everything in a bowl and whip it up? Thank you!

  20. Have you ever used almond milk instead of regular milk? My daughter can’t have dairy, so I’m thinking I’ll have to use dairy free “butter” and almond milk…just worried it won’t work and seeking advice! 🙂

    1. I haven’t but I’m pretty sure it would work just fine in this recipe. Neither of my children can have dairy so I’ve substituted coconut milk in most of my recipes 🙂

  21. I would love to make this recipe for my daughter’s birthday, does it convert to a 9″ round 2 layer cake?

  22. I selected this recipe for my daughter and some of her friends who wanted to make cupcakes. It was simple enough, however the cupcakes came out dense, but had a nice flavour.

    I decided to try the recipe myself since i could see no reason why it they did not come out as expected. When i made them they were very good, i realised that the recipe does not say how long to beat the mixture and i think that they did not beat it enough to incorporate enough air. I beat my mixture for approx 4-5 minutes,it might be nice to include this in the method. This is now the recipe which my daughter and her friends can make with minimum supervision.