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!
sally
sorry for asking but is the measurement for the flour and sugar in us cups or like a mug. I am planning on making them for my tea party
Celebrating Sweets
The measurements are US cups not mugs. These cupcakes are baked in a muffin tin, but the batter will be prepared in a bowl. Enjoy!
Amy
Made these tonight after searching for a small batch sweet treat.
They came out great! Moist, flavorful, and light with just the right hint of vanilla. The frosting was excellent too!
A big hit. We’ll be saving this recipe to make again. Thanks!
Celebrating Sweets
Fantastic! Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Enjoy! 🙂
Amanda
I made them today and they came out doughy on the inside and hard on the outside I followed the directions to a tee and used fresh ingredients
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Amanda. My guess is that your oven temperature runs high. If the outside was done long before the inside I would guess that the oven was too hot. Sorry it didn’t work for you. It’s not a very forgiving recipe since there are so few ingredients.
Christine
I make several desserts for super bowl Sunday I thought 6 would be perfect with the brownie skillets and mini cheese cakes. I’m so sad
It only made 3 cup cakes that were very heavy
Now I have to scramble to make another dessert?
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Christine. Sorry this recipe didn’t turn out the way you had hoped. This recipe is supposed to make 5 standard sized cupcakes. These cupcakes are quite dense, but yours were probably especially heavy since the batter was only spread between 3 muffin cups. I have received over 20 positive reviews on this recipe, and I personally have made it multiple times so I am confident that it is correct as it is written. Regardless, it’s still a bummer when you take the time to make something and it doesn’t turn out, so I apologize for that. Thanks for your feedback!
Kelly
These cupcakes are amazing .so soft And fluffy but yet moist. just made it with some lemon in . last week I tried the chocolate batch. Just as good .I’d recommended it to everyone. 🙂
Celebrating Sweets
Thanks so much, Kelly! I just made them again last week so that I could make a video of the recipe (coming soon!) and I was reminded of how tasty they are. I’m so glad that you liked them. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!
Haley
For the record, this recipe makes about 16 mini cupcakes. It is perfect for when my daughter wants to help me bake a treat but we don’t need cupcakes coming out of our ears!
Celebrating Sweets
Great idea to make mini cupcakes! Thanks so much for letting me know the quantity. Thanks for stopping by, Haley!
Sher
Hi i made this for my brother in law for his bday but used demerara suger and cake flour. I didnt change any measerments at all just swapped out the two ingridients…they turned out great…I also added nutmeg and cinimon to the icing…I will def gonna be making them again big hit!!!…p.s no glue problem here! Lol
Celebrating Sweets
I’m so happy to hear that these turned out for you. And a big thanks for the “no glue problem” – ha! I’ve always loved this recipe. Thanks for stopping by.
Charlotte
These were great! I substituted the milk with almond milk (lactose intolerant) as well as used almond extract instead of vanilla in both the cupcakes and frosting. They turned out perfect. Thank you for the recipe!
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Charlotte! I’m so glad that you liked them. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
April
I tried this twice (months apart) and both times the cakes did not come out right. They sink down after coming out of the oven and are a bit gluey like others have said. It was only just now that I read the reviews and saw others have had this problem.
Celebrating Sweets
Sorry to hear that. This recipe has received plenty of good reviews and I personally have tested and retested it over a dozen times with success. Small batch recipes can be tricky because of the small quantity of ingredients. Thanks for stopping by!
Hlynn
Thank you for this recipe! It is the perfect scalable base to make any flavor of cupcake or cake. Today I doubled the recipe, subbed coconut milk and coconut oil, and made a brownie pan sized coconut cake.
Celebrating Sweets
That sounds delicious! Thanks for taking the time to stop by. 🙂