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!
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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.
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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!
Sarah
Excellent recipe!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
jane
wait, if these are 318 kcals, that makes them 318,000 calories. Assuming this isn’t true, I would fix this as soon as you can.
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Jane. Thanks for pointing this out, there are definitely not 318,000 calories in this recipe (yikes – haha!). But, kcal is in fact the accurate term. The following is taken directly from: https://www.nutrition.gov/faqs
What is the difference between calories and kilocalories?
The “calorie” we refer to in food is actually kilocalorie. One (1) kilocalorie is the same as one (1) Calorie (upper case C). A kilocalorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water one degree Celsius.
Ale
My seven year old brother and I made this! Turned out perfect! We didn’t have vanilla and it still turned out just fine!
Thanks for the recipe!
Celebrating Sweets
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Angela Ratnayake
hee hee. These were very deliChiOus
Celebrating Sweets
Glad you enjoyed them!
Dena
Love the recipe. Quick and doesn’t require a trip to the store. I added sprinkles to the batter and will sprinkle some top. Grandkids are sprinkle crazy!
I doubled the recipe and it made 12 cupcakes.
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Happy baking!
Jade
What can I use instead of butter? Other than that I have everything thanks!
Celebrating Sweets
You can probably substitute vegetable oil in the cupcakes, but you will need butter for the frosting.
Lily
I made these at almost ten pm and it was just enough to keep me motivated to finish them -frosting them I mean- and halfway through the baaking my dad followed his nose out of his bedroom to investigate the vanilla! I am heavily thinking of this as a keeper for rainy days!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time comment. Happy baking!
Aubrey
What can I use as substitute for vanilla? Thanks!
Celebrating Sweets
These are vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, so if you omit the vanilla they will be quite flavorless. I would recommend trying a chocolate cupcake recipe instead: Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes
Karen D
I had a craving for one cupcake, so I was happy to find this small batch option. I threw it together in 5 minutes (just threw it all together in a bowl and mixed it up) and they turned out perfectly. Saving this recipe for future use! Great flavor and texture. (Next time I’ll follow the instructions exactly) 🙂
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂 -Allison
Patty Carman
I made these using cake flour, and they turned out dense. Why would that happen? I am going to do another batch today and use AP flour, and I’ll see how they come out.
Celebrating Sweets
They are fairly dense, this because you don’t cream the butter and sugar with a mixer, so air does not get incorporated into the batter. Although they are dense they should still be moist and flavorful.
Patty Carman
Okay. I realized my mistake. I have been working with yeast dough lately so I mixed the sugar into the dry ingredients.
In the recipe, you don’t say CREAM the mixture. You say WHISK. I made these by hand and I would have used my stand mixer if I known that creaming/whipping was needed.
Thanks
Celebrating Sweets
I think you misunderstood what I was saying. For this recipe you do NOT cream the mixture, you use a whisk. Because of that they turn out more dense than a traditional cupcake. Since this is an easy small-batch recipe I wrote the recipe to come together quickly without the use of a mixer. If you want to try it with a mixer you’re welcome to.