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!
Noah Weitzel
This was a perfect recipe for a family of 4. Thank You!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by!
Jamie
I’m so incredibly excited to have found this recipe. Like everyone else in the country, we’re home and my son is turning 5 on Saturday. I thankfully have all these ingredients to make these small batch cupcakes. We’ve had to cancel his birthday party but at least he’s going to be able to have cake without me making a special trip to the store! Thank you!!
Celebrating Sweets
Happy birthday to your little guy. I’m so glad you’ll be able to make these for him. Enjoy! -Allison
Carla R.
Very simple and quick. A big hit for our family of 4 with an extra cupcake for the birthday boy. Thank you very much for this!
Celebrating Sweets
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
isabella
i used this for my science fair project. it was perfect because i needed a small batch, and they tasted great too!
Celebrating Sweets
Perfect! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Kali
If I only have salted butter, should I omit the 1/8 tsp of salt?
Celebrating Sweets
Yes, that should be fine. Enjoy!
Barbara
Hi!
Unfortunately my cupcakes didn’t turn out as tall and fluffy as i would’ve liked them to. I baked at 300F for 30 minutes (my oven always runs way hotter so I always have to decrease baking times by 50 deg on every recipe and it almost always works). They had a nice flavor, but the insides were spongy and raw. I did use a hand-mixer instead of mixing by hand – is that why they came out a bit denser than cake mix cupcakes/cakes??
I’ve tried a single-serving cupcake in the past before (from a different website), and i had the same problem 🙁 Any idea what went wrong? Only my cakes made from cake-mixes taste good/fluffy, which is unfortunate. Thanks for your help.
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Barbara. I would guess that the oven temp is to blame. Maybe the temp needs to be reduced by less than 50 degrees. These cupcakes are fairly dense, but they should be soft and moist inside. Small batch recipes are a little finicky to start with and if your oven temp is off you will likely need to play around with it to get it right. I would start by increasing the oven temp to 325°F. Best of luck!
Cassandra
My husband LOVES cupcakes and will easily eat a full dozen right out of the oven so this is a really great 30 minute start to finish small batch recipe.
He raves about them and it’s so easy with so little cleanup I don’t mind making them a few times a week.
Thanks so much!
Celebrating Sweets
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
Lana
can i take out the salt and use salted butter insted of unsalted?
Celebrating Sweets
That should be fine. Enjoy!
Michelle
I loved this recipe, the cupcakes turned out moist and absolutely delicious. Instead of making 5 regular cupcakes I made mini cupcakes 20 total. They were perfect ! Cooking time was a little less 10mins at same temp.
Thank you so much!!!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Scott
Hi. This recipe is awesome! Made them yesterday. Went quick. Any ideas how to make this recipe into a marble cupcake?
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! I have never made marble cupcakes before so I’m not sure. You could try adding some cocoa powder to about 1/3 of the batter, but I’m not sure exactly how much. You’d have to play around with it. Good luck! Enjoy!