Classic Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Homemade Vanilla Bean Cupcake – A moist classic white cake saturated with vanilla bean notes and just a touch of almond, topped with homemade chocolate buttercream frosting. These decadent vanilla cupcakes will seriously make you ditch the boxed cake mixes!

If you’re looking for more simple and sweet cupcake recipes, try our Strawberry Milkshake Cupcakes, Pumpkin Cupcakes, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes.

Why This Vanilla Cupcake Recipe Is The Best!

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just crave a simple vanilla cupcake. The warm creamy vanilla notes from vanilla bean paste bring layers and depth making these light and tender white cupcakes from scratch anything but ordinary, the best homemade recipe for perfect cupcakes any time.

• Can be used to make cupcakes or cake
• A white cake that tastes like a cross between an angel food cake, with a light almond-vanilla flavor, and a pound cake, without the heaviness.
• Simply flavored, sweet, and moist with a medium crumb.
• Easy and delightful

These cupcakes deliver on EVERY promise!

I’m not one to eat cake without frosting, but these cupcakes smell so incredible when they come out of the oven, I almost always sneak one……..I don’t even bother with frosting.

People let me tell you………this is THE BEST Vanilla cake I’ve ever had!

Top them off with our favorite Chocolate Frosting and you have one classic chocolate and vanilla cupcake that will stand up next to any fluffy ooey-gooey stuffed cupcake you can dream up!

If you are looking to make 24 cupcakes, a 9×13-inch sheet cake, or an 8 or 9-inch layer cake, this vanilla cake recipe is what you need in your recipe box. You can use any frosting, but chocolate buttercream is my family’s favorite.

How To Substitute All-Purpose Flour For Cake Flour

No cake flour? No problem! You can substitute all-purpose flour, but your cupcakes will be a bit denser. All-purpose flour has a higher protein content and won’t be as light and airy, which is A-ok if that is what you prefer!

There is an easy hack to use all-purpose flour by adding cornstarch. For every measured and leveled cup of flour, remove 2 tablespoons and replace it with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Whisk that together and for optimum results, sift the combined flour and cornstarch together – twice! 

Best Way To Store Frosted Cupcakes  

Cupcakes with buttercream can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days (as long as your house isn’t too warm – try to keep them in the coolest room then or store them in fridge as explained below)

Frosted cupcakes can be stored in an air-tight container (deep enough to hold your cupcakes) in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Take the cupcakes out of the fridge, remove them from the container and let them sit at room temperature for at least an hour before serving.

Unfrosted cupcakes will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

For make-ahead cupcakes, cover completely cooled unfrosted vanilla cupcakes individually with plastic wrap then place in a freezer-safe plastic bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw before frosting. Remove plastic wrap and let them come to room temperature on the counter.

Vanilla Cupcake Tips

• Use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract for the best vanilla flavor. It can be a little pricey (see notes below), but vanilla is the main flavor in these cupcakes, making it worth the splurge.
• If you can’t use vanilla bean paste, use vanilla extract (you can even make your own vanilla), just do not use artificial vanilla flavoring aka imitation vanilla. While it may smell like vanilla, it doesn’t compare to the complex floral and woodsy notes in real vanilla.
• Don’t overmix the batter, to keep the cake light and fluffy. 
• Make sure ingredients are at room temperature.
• Use a medium cookie scoop to evenly fill each of the wells of the cupcake pan with 2 tablespoons of batter  (yields about 30 cupcakes)
• Make sure cupcakes have cooled completely before frosting, or your buttercream will start to melt if the cake is still warm. Cool on a wire rack to allow air to circulate under the cupcakes for faster cooling.

Wait! Why Is Vanilla Bean Paste So Expensive?

First, the vanilla bean comes from an orchid plant, and that should start to give you a hint of why vanilla is expensive. Add to that, a problem with the loss of plants in Madagascar due to a devasting storm a few years ago caused the price of vanilla to skyrocket. 

Madagascar supplies almost 80% of the world’s vanilla supply, and vanilla was selling for over $500/kg at one point. It’s down quite a bit at about half that amount now.

If this is your first foray into using real vanilla bean paste for baking, you might get a little sticker shock. The vanilla bean industry is considered one of the most volatile agricultural products globally. Fortunately for us, the prices are starting to slide back down the other side of mount crazy expensive, yay!

Does Using Vanilla Bean Paste Really Matter?

Yes, using real vanilla bean paste for this vanilla cupcake impacts the flavor profile so intensely that you should at least try it and decide for yourself. 

Most pastry chefs will maintain that using vanilla bean paste matters the most when vanilla is the primary flavor of your baked good or confection. 

With that said, what makes these vanilla bean cupcakes so dreamy and delectable is the vanilla bean paste!  If you haven’t worked with vanilla bean paste before, then you are in for a treat!

I have some other informative FAQs about vanilla below.

Bottom line: when a baking recipe calls for real vanilla bean or pure vanilla extract, the less expensive version of imitation vanilla may seem appealing, but if at all possible, resist the urge.

Originally posted in June 2012. UPDATED June 2022. We spiffed up this post with more info and better pictures! No changes to the original recipe.