The Best Birthday Cupcakes are the perfect dessert recipe for your special celebration! A light and moist homemade vanilla cake is topped with the perfect whipped buttercream and rainbow sprinkles for a sweet treat great for any occasion!
Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
What’s a birthday celebration without the Best Birthday Cupcakes?! Whether it is Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes, Candy Cane Cupcakes or this simple vanilla cupcake recipe, cupcakes are perfect for celebrating any special occasions.
I am sharing this cupcake recipe video in celebration of my five year blog birthday! It is hard to believe that I have been sharing recipes with you on this little blog of mine for five whole years now. I guess the old adage holds true though, ‘Time flies when you are having fun!’.
How to make moist cupcakes
I have a confession to make. OK, I lied, I have two confessions to make. First of all I don’t bake all that often. I don’t enjoy it as much as cooking where I can haphazardly toss things together and make it work as I go.
Baking is a science and requires diligent measuring and testing. With that said, when I do bake, I want it to be something amazing and completely worth the effort. Hence these Best Birthday Cupcakes!
My second confession is that I only started using cake flour a few years ago! This may be shocking to seasoned bakers, but many everyday cooks may be like myself asking yourselves, what is the big difference?
The idea of stocking my overflowing pantry with a third flour option in addition to my all-purpose and whole wheat flours seemed unnecessary before.
What is cake flour?
Cake flour has a lower protein (gluten) content and that makes a difference in the texture of the cake crumb.
I was skeptical that it would make a difference, but I am here to tell you that I was SO wrong. My family can tell you that I don’t often admit I am wrong, so please know this is a very serious deal! 😉
Can I substitute all-purpose flour for cake flour?
For every cup of cake flour, replace it with one cup of all-purpose flour. Remove two tablespoons of each cup of all-purpose flour and replace it with two tablespoons of corn starch.
While cake flour is the ideal ingredient for the best birthday cupcakes, it’s not in everyone’s pantry.
Homemade Cupcakes
I decided I should give cake flour a try recently when I was working on making vanilla cupcakes and wanted to see if it would make a difference.
On the first try, I instantly realized it created such a like and airy crumb to the homemade cupcakes, which was better than anything I could have achieved with all-purpose flour.
I will officially never use anything but cake flour in cakes again. So I implore you to take the leap and give cake flour a try!
What kind of frosting should I use on birthday cupcakes?
If you are going through the effort of making homemade cupcakes, the frosting isn’t a good spot to cut corners. Make this amazing homemade Buttercream. You will thank me later!
If you really want to take your cupcakes to the next level for a special occasion, try this Brown Butter Buttercream.
How do I make the perfect cupcake?
Homemade cupcakes seem intimidating, but really they are quite simple to make. It really is worth the the extra 10 minutes to make these amazing birthday cupcakes opposed to a box mix.
For these vanilla cupcakes, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and then mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl with a beater.
- 1 c. salted butter
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 c. milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
If you don’t have almond extract, you can substitute additional vanilla extract. The almond extract really gives it an extra subtle flavor that is fantastic though.
If you are feeling particularly ambitious, you can sift all the dry ingredients together, but honestly I usually skip that step. Just add the flour to the bowl topped with the remaining dry ingredients.
On low speed, mix the dry ingredients on top for a few seconds before blending them into the wet ingredients. If you want to add extra birthday flair to your cupcakes, you can add 1/3 cup of rainbow sprinkles to the batter at this point.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour (see notes above for substituting all-purpose flour)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Using a #20 Scoop, scoop the batter into lined muffin tins. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- 1/2 batch buttercream
- 1/4 c. rainbow sprinkles
Frost each cooled cupcake with a swirl of buttercream and top it immediately with sprinkles. If you frost all of the cupcakes before adding sprinkles, the buttercream will set just slightly and delicate sprinkles won’t stick well to the frosting.
If you are letting the kids help with adding sprinkles, I recommend putting the cupcakes in a baking pan so it catches all the extra sprinkles. You can then pour the excess sprinkles back into the sprinkle jar. It’s much better than them rolling all over your floor!
Best Cupcakes Ever!
When I made these cupcakes for my sister’s birthday while she was home last, her husband stole one while we were waiting for dinner to be made.
After the first bite he exclaimed, “I think these are the best cupcakes I have ever eaten!”. NO JOKE! I thought surely he is just overly hungry and that is influencing this proclamation.
That was clearly not the case, because he continued to insist throughout the weekend that these were the best cupcakes ever! They now want me to make these for their daughter’s upcoming baptism, which I happily agreed to as the godmother.
These cupcakes are truly the perfect treat for any special occasion and will certainly please a crowd!
More Birthday Cake Ideas!
If you want to add more variety to your birthday celebration or try something new this year, check out more great birthday cake ideas below.
- Quadruple Chocolate Birthday Cake
- Fresh Strawberry Ombre Cake
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
- Birthday Donuts
- Birthday Cake Batter Ice Cream
Best Birthday Cupcakes
Best Birthday Cupcakes are the perfect dessert recipe for your special celebration! A light and moist homemade vanilla cake is topped with rich whipped buttercream and colorful sprinkles for a sweet treat everyone will love.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 c. salted butter
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 c. milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 1/2 c. cake flour
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Finishing Touches
- 1/2 batch buttercream frosting
- 1/4 c. rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg, extracts, milk and sour cream and blend until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and beat slowly until well combined and only a few lumps remain.
- In lined cupcake pans, fill each cup ¾ full. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
- Top each cupcake with buttercream and sprinkles. Enjoy!
Notes
*TIP* Add the sprinkles immediately after each cupcake is frosted so they stick well to the buttercream.
Use full fat sour cream. You can substitute full fat plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream.
You can substitute 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour & 1/4 cup cornstarch for the 2 1/2 cups cake flour. You will achieve a better crumb with cake flour though.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 208Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 228mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 0gSugar: 14gProtein: 2g
Provided nutrition data is only an estimate. If you are tracking these nutrients for medical purposes, please consult an outside, trusted source.
Happy happy birthday to your blog! I have been enjoying following you on instagram and can’t wait to see what you come up with next.
These look tasty! Happy Birthday!
They’re lovely! The perfect way to celebrate 🙂
Happy birthday! Your cupcakes look delicious too!
I was the same way when I started using cake flour. I never thought something as simple as flower could change my cakes so much! I’m also a believer now! These cupcakes are so simple and so beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
Yes! I just wish I would have started years ago.
In the instructions you’ve listed brown sugar but I don’t see that in the ingredients. Am I missing something?
Sorry about that, I’m not sure how I ended up with that typo, but I fixed it. Thanks for letting me know!
What % milk do you use? Thanks! Trish Pines
I actually used Skim because it is what I had on hand, but you could use 1% or 2% without seeing any difference really.
My husband is not a huge sweets guy and he absolutely loved these cupcakes, pretty sure he ate about 4 of them in a row!
Use brown sugar instead of white flour?
Do you mean brown sugar instead of white sugar? If so, no you should not make that substitution. It will significantly impact the texture of the cake.
It’s confusing because the ingredients list sugar bu the instructions call for brown sugar. IA m assuming to just use regular sugar.
Hi Anna, sorry about that. I see now that the instructions said brown sugar for some reason. You are correct, it should be regular white sugar. I have updated the recipe accordingly. Thanks!
If I only have unsalted butter can I add 1/4 tsp to each stick ?
I would rather use vanilla instead of almond extract do you th8nk it would be ok? I d9nt wan5bmy cupcakes to tas5e like almond!
That would be totally fine, it’s a personal preference. Hope you enjoy them!
Can you please let me know how to store these cupcakes? I need them for tomorrow, can i go ahead and make the frosting or wait till tomorrow?
The frosting can easily be stored for a couple days refrigerated. Just make sure to take it out of the refrigerator a couple hours before you need it, so it comes to room temperature and pipes nicely. I store my cupcakes in large tupperware containers.
Is this correct, you use salted butter and salt?
Yes!
Is this correct, you use salted butter and salt??
Sorry I didn’t know my first comment went through!
Does it matter what kind of salted butter I use? I bake often and have never used salted and added salt so wantcyo make sure it’s not too much.
Just regular salted butter!
Made these tonight….Incredibly delicious! The buttercream frosting is so yummy!!
You have great write up, I always read your blog. and I must say you are doing good job, plz do write like this.
Can you use margarine in place of butter?
It should be fine using margarine, you just won’t get quite the same flavor you would from butter.
You have answered my vanilla cupcake prayers!!!! I’ve searched high and low and THIS IS IT!!!!!!!! These were amazing and moist!
Ahhhh so happy to hear you loved them!
Does butter have to be room temperature?
It does work best to have it at room temp, or at least close.
Can you substitute yogurt for the sour cream?
Yes, I just wouldn’t swap it out non-fat yogurt seeing it has a much thinner consistency.
I have made this recipe twice now. First time, I used unsalted butter (what I had on hand) and forgot to add any salt at all. They tasted like cornbread. So, I made another batch. This time with salted butter and the added salt. Still tastes like cornbread. I didn’t have cake flour, but made my own (1 cup ap flour, take 2 tbsp out, add 2 tbsp cornstarch). What am I doing wrong??
I’m at a lost as to why these would taste like cornbread for you. I would think you would need to use Masa corn flour for them to ever taste like that. I have made these with regular All-purpose flour and they still tasted great.
I made a 3rd batch. Brought all my ingredients to room temp and used ap flour. They were a hit 🙂
Mine totally taste like cornbread too and are a gross texture. Used regular flour as we don’t have cake flour and followed all directions. I think it probably requires cake flour as the texture and taste are just off on these.
I will be using ap flour when making these. Do I need to sift the flour?
I never sift my flour
Hi Danielle!
I made these today and they are absolutely delicious – but a bit crispy around the edges of the tops. I baked for 20 minutes at 350. Any thoughts on how to avoid the crisp?
Perhaps if you add some humidity to the oven, like a small pan of water, the edges might be softer.
My cupcakes never rose in the oven. The centers fell in and they stick to the paper liners. What did I do wrong.?
It’s difficult to troubleshoot without more information. Are you certain you used all the correct measurements for all of the ingredients?
This is a delicious recipe! We had fights over who got to lick the beater and the bowl.
Can this recipe be halved to make only 12 cupcakes instead of 24?
You should be able to!
Do you think this recipe would convert well to 2 9” cake pans? I’m baking my own birthday cake! ?
It should, yes!
I love how they turned out.
I’m excited to share them at work. Made them for a co-worker’s birthday.
Hi! Im looking to get the texture (not flavor) of a boxed cake mix cupcake. An open crumb and melt in your mouth. I love baking from scratch but my cupcakes using cake flour just dont have the texture i want. I will like to try this recipe. Which flour will give me this? APF or cake flour?
Thank you.
Cake flour is the key to making these delicious! I paired them with Danielle’s homemade buttercream and they were EPIC! Get the cake flour!!
WOW! My daughter made these for my grandaughter’s bday party and I had to swipe the recipe! I plan on surprising her with them in a month for her bday. YUMMY!
Did any one get a tingly tongue from the canola oil? And mine stuck to the wrapper…any suggestions?
Sorry not canola oil…
I substituted butter for canola oil. Cakes came out great. I think I need to look for cake flour though for a much softer cake
Could I substitute the almond extract for other extracts such as lemon or strawberry for a different flavor? I made these and they were WONDERFUL, hoping to use this recipe for many other flavors.
I’ve never tried it with different extracts.
Hello,
Hope all is well!
Does it matter what salt you use?
sea salt or iodized salt are fine, just so long as they are fine
Thank you.
The recipe came out great. My family loved the cupcakes.
So glad everyone enjoyed it!
These were perfect with the right amount of sweetness and super yummy.
These are truly the best cupcakes we have ever made. Wow! So good! Thanks!
If I only have unsalted butter can I add 1/4 tsp to each stick ?
Loved these changed the almond extract to strawberry flavoring and used Wilton icing color to color the cupcakes pink.
This looks amazing and easy to make; I can’t wait to try it.