Small Batch Cupcake Recipe – An easy and delicious recipe for 5 vanilla cupcakes topped with vanilla buttercream frosting. VIDEO below!
Sometimes you just need a cupcake. This is life, friends. Cake, topped with frosting and sprinkles is a necessity in my world, and it should be in yours too.
For those times that you’re craving a cupcake, you need a quick dessert, or you’re baking for just a few people – this is the recipe to have at the ready. Five cupcakes, made from scratch, ready in minutes. It doesn’t get much better.
I have to tell you that these are some of the best and easiest vanilla cupcakes I have ever made. They are soft, moist, and flavorful. I top the cupcakes with a quick vanilla buttercream which is the perfect addition. My family goes crazy for these.
And since we don’t really need a reason to make these, I whip these up more often than I’d like to admit.
Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes
- This recipe is super simple
- It creates only a few dishes
- The cupcakes taste amazing – they’re loaded with vanilla
- No extra cupcakes sitting around to tempt you
For those times when you need a little sweet pick me up, look no further. This small batch vanilla cupcake recipe will have you diving in to a perfect vanilla cupcake in no time.
Prefer a small batch of chocolate cupcakes (here)! Want to top these with Strawberry Frosting, check out this recipe (cut it in half).
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: SMALL BATCH CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour, see note
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup milk, preferably whole or 2% milk
Vanilla Frosting:
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons milk, I used whole milk
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 5 muffin cups or place 5 liners in a muffin pan.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg and sugar for about 30 seconds. Add the vanilla extract and melted butter and whisk until well combined.
- Add half the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined. Add the milk, and whisk until just combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and whisk until combined (being careful not to overmix).
- Divide the batter evenly between 5 muffin cups (each cup will be between 2/3 and 3/4 full). Bake for 14-16 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
- Beat powdered sugar and butter until smooth. Add vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of milk. Beat on medium speed for several minutes, until light and fluffy. If the frosting appears too thick, add an additional teaspoon of milk, if it appears too thin add a little more powdered sugar.
- Frost the cupcakes using a butter knife. Top with sprinkles, if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Taiwo
Please can I use oil instead of butter for the cupcakes
Allison
That should be ok. Just use a neutral oil so that the flavor doesn’t come through.
Azra
I tried it out . Didn’t turn out well . No idea what happened.
Mark H Kozaki
Great recipe. Perfect for my daughter. All ingredients in house, makes 5, just enough, uses few dishes, no burned edges, no sticking, aaaand tastes great. Well done. Perfect for kids to do themselves. Thank you!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Jaida
Turned out dense and a bit rubbery. Flavor wasn’t great either
Allison
These cupcakes are dense, but they shouldn’t be rubbery. Did you over-mix the batter? In terms of flavor, did you use pure vanilla extract? If you used imitation vanilla it might have impacted the flavor.
Lin
Same, it was rubbery and tasted like eggs.
Allison
Did you happen to use extra large or jumbo eggs? That would have made a difference.
Rosalee
I’m trying to make myself a birthday dessert.. I used this recipe and realized I lent my cupcake pan to someone so I used my 6” cake pan. Pulled it out of the oven at 15 minutes and it’s still gooey in the middle. How long should I bake since it’s a cake now and not cupcakes?
Allison
Bake it until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Aesha
Just wondering if the nutrition facts includes the icing and how much if so? Like how much sugar in how much icing?
Allison
The nutrition facts are for one cupcake with frosting. So, one-fifth of the recipe.
Ashley
These were delicious!! They did come out a bit spongey, which I don’t really mind. These made about 4 cupcakes for me and I was able to pipe frosting on all of them with just one batch of frosting.
Allison
Perfect! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Niomi
I don’t have vanilla extract, I have vanilla essence. Will that affect the flavour of the cupcake that much?
Allison
I believe that is artificially flavored vanilla? I would not recommend it. The vanilla flavor is quite strong in these cupcakes, so pure vanilla extract is best.
Tanushree Majumder
If we use essence then how much should we use
Allison
I would assume the same amount. BUT, I think essence is an artificially flavored product, so you might want a bit less. It will impact the flavor if the vanilla does not taste good.
Grace
Perfect!
Evelyn
So so delicious and moist ❤️
Perfect batch size and very simple to make.
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
ToddlerMom
Super easy! The cupcakes came out delicious and just the size i needed! thank you!!
Allison
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them! 🙂