This small batch cupcake recipe makes 5 delicious vanilla cupcakes topped with vanilla buttercream frosting. 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 on hand.
Five cupcakes, made from scratch, ready in minutes. It doesn’t get much better!
Jump to:
These cupcakes are
Quick and easy: Only about 15 minutes of hands on time. No special equipment or techniques needed.
Soft and moist: These cupcakes have a fantastic texture. They bake up soft, moist, and flavorful.
Packed with vanilla: A generous amount of vanilla extract in the cake batter as well as in the frosting gives these cupcakes a classic flavor.
Perfect for small gatherings: If you’re low on ingredients, or only need cupcakes for a handful of people, this is the perfect recipe.
Small batch cupcake recipe overview
*Full recipe below in recipe card*
Whisk egg and sugar until well combined.
Add melted butter and vanilla extract.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) with the milk.
Whisk until fully combined but be careful not to overmix. Transfer the batter into 5 lined muffin cups and bake.
Cool completely before topping with frosting.
Recipe tips
- Make sure your ingredients are measured properly. When making a small batch recipe this is especially important.
- Don’t overmix the cupcake batter, this can make the cupcakes heavy and dense.
- Try not to open the oven during bake time. For even baking and a nice rise, it’s best not to move the pan around too much.
- Prefer a different frosting? You can make a half batch of Strawberry Buttercream or you can add a tablespoon of cocoa powder and a of splash of milk to the vanilla frosting recipe to turn it into chocolate frosting.
Serving and storage
Store frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or at cool room temperature for up to 2 days. Serve at room temperature for the best flavor and texture.
SUBSCRIBE to our free NEWSLETTER – Follow on INSTAGRAM
Recipe
Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- ½ cup (60g) all purpose flour, see note
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ¼ cup milk, preferably whole or 2% milk
Vanilla frosting:
- 5 tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1¼ cups (156g) powdered sugar, plus more if needed
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon milk, plus more if needed
Instructions
Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 5 liners in a muffin pan.
- In a small bowl, combine flour (see note), 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 ⅔ and ¾ full). Bake for 14-16 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
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 a little milk, if it appears too thin add a little more powdered sugar.
- Frost the cupcakes using a piping bag and pastry tip; I use an open star tip. Top with sprinkles, if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Nikki Lengyel
Has anyone made this with applesauce to substitute the egg? If so how much applesauce did you use?
Celebrating Sweets
Ni, Nikki. I haven’t, but you can scan the reviews to see if anyone else has.
Katheryn
This cupcake recipe is amazing! Thank you so much. This super easy and quick recipe completely impressed my family.
I did add 2 Tbsp of softened cream cheese to the frosting and it was so good!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Enjoy!
Biky
OMG I just baked these and they turned out to be perfect!!! I’m so delighted
Celebrating Sweets
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed them!
wilhelmina
This is so handy for when you just need a little treat!
Beth
Perfect for a quick treat or a small party! Thank you for bringing this into my recipe box!
Celebrating Sweets
Enjoy!
Emily Zhang
this is so good!
Celebrating Sweets
Great! Glad you liked them. 🙂
Hadis
Fantastic
?????
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Monica
I’m sorry but these were awful. I’ve tried other recipes on this site and enjoyed them, but these were just BAD. If you’re a fat kid at heart like me, then you’re used to sweets being……sweet. These were not sweet. There was no flavor to them at all. They were just damp and spongy and had a weird texture. I did use salted butter instead of unsalted, but that shouldn’t have made that big of a difference (I always use salted butter for all of my sweets anyways, it adds another layer of flavor to me) but I’m sorry these were just bad. I should have figured that only 1/4 of a cup of sugar would be too little to add any sweetness. If you’re dieting, these cupcakes might be good for you, or if you never eat sweets then maybe these will be mildly sweet to you, but for me, they tasted like nothing. Very disappointing. The icing was the only saving grace, although the icing was too similar to sugar cookie frosting to me. If you’re looking for good cupcakes skip this recipe. There are some other good recipes on this site but I’m sorry this was not one of them (for me anyways)
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Monica. I’m sorry that you didn’t like these. Small batch recipes can be tricky since you’re working with such a small quantity of a ingredients. I’m glad that you’ve found some other recipes here that you’ve enjoyed. Thanks for leaving your feedback. Happy baking!
Jennifer
Is it possible to use this recipe for a larger batch? Would I simply multiple by how many I would need? Or would I need to adjust other quantities? Say for example I wanted to make 20 cupcakes, would I just multiply everything times for?
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Jennifer. It’s tricky to make changes like that, especially since this recipe is written to make a small batch. I have successfully doubled it in the past, but I have never tried more than that. Best of luck if you give it a go! Enjoy!
Pat
This recipe is so great. Especially if you want to be a little selfish! The cupcakes turned out great and actually made six! Love it!!!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂 -Allison