I’ve been holding out on you guys…actually I feel like I’ve been cheating you because I have a couple of recipes that I’ve never shared before and are my ultimate make-all-the-time go to recipes. They’ve been my favourites for a long time and in all honesty, I feel bad about not sharing them sooner. This is one of them.
The best, the softest, the tastiest, the fluffiest, the lightest most delicious butter kissed vanilla-y vanilla cupcakes and this is the only recipe I keep coming back to no matter what other one I find.
I stumbled upon this recipe about 4 years ago and I’ve personalized and tweaked it over the years to become my perfect vanilla cupcake. Sure I have others that I make, let’s not forget these little bites of heaven, and love but whenever I need a solid, failproof recipe to impress, I turn to these.
The recipe is quite simple with all basic ingredients. It uses creamed butter and sugar for ultimate fluffiness, whole eggs for richness and a combination of milk and sour cream for the perfect moist and fluffy crumb.
I’ve picked up a few tricks and tips that I’d like to mention just to make sure that you guys have everything you need to give you the best results.
First and foremost, start with the best quality ingredients you can manage. Since these are vanilla cupcakes, this really matters as whatever you use makes for the best flavour and texture.
Make sure to cream your butter and sugar until very pale and fluffy. You should be able to clearly see a difference from when you start compared to when it’s ready. Check out this post for visuals.
One thing that the original recipe taught me is to make sure there is enough vanilla added. I never used to add alot but when I did, I really noticed a boost in flavour which is wonderful. In these specific cupcakes, I use 2 teaspoons vanilla extract plus a vanilla pod. This may seem like alot but just trust me, it’s not.
The batter of these is slightly on the thick side which is perfect for a beautifully fluffy crumb. Make sure to just barely whisk in the dry ingredients. That last step is crucial to ensure the texture so as little mixing as possible please. I always do this by hand, just in case! 😉
And finally, bake these at 160C/325F for a more even cupcake and make sure not to over bake them. They should be slightly golden on top, perfectly domed and smelling incredible.
And I mean incredible…. 😉
I love these cupcakes. I have other recipes that I love but these… these babies are the ones you hide away to sneak into bed late at night.
I really can’t wait for you all to try these cupcakes. I sincerely hope you enjoy them!
Stay tuned for my next post on how I created these cupcakes and all my tips on how you can take any cupcake recipe and tweak it to make it your own favourite. Please check the notes below for my favourite ingredient substitutions.
And remember to tag me with your pics @dutchbakerblog on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
My favourite substitutions:
- Instead of all purpose flour use cake flour
- For an even lighter cake use 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites
- Vanilla essence is okay but don’t add more than 2 teaspoons
- If you can’t find sour cream then plain yoghurt is okay to use but the cake may be slightly more dense