Comments on: Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

By: Kathleen Hannon

Kathleen Hannon — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 01:24:28 +0000

I m ade these cupcakes this past Easter ..i used a cream cheese frosting and then dipped the cupcakes into coconut flakes that I dyed using analog organic food coloring no artificial dyes..and they were so amazing..so delicious that I am making 2 dozen for an upcoming Open House
thank you for this fantastic recipe!!
I did use bourbon vanilla bean paste
Kathleen

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 20:04:12 +0000

In reply to Michelle. I forgot to clarify that I doubled the recipe to make a 13x9 but I baked 6 cupcakes out of that to avoid overfilling. It took around 30 in the oven, watching closely. my kids are absolutely inhaling it.

By: Sam Merritt

Sam Merritt — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:31:41 +0000

In reply to Michelle. Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Michelle! I'm so glad you enjoyed this one so much! :)

By: Sam Merritt

Sam Merritt — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 16:04:30 +0000

In reply to Christina. Thank you so much for trying my recipes, Christina! I'm so glad they have been a hit! I hope you love everything you try! :)

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 22:58:17 +0000

My child was bummed out today because of the rainy weather, so he says. I decided it was actually because it is summer and I haven’t baked him anything from this website in a few months. I only had two eggs so that was the criteria I was searching for. This recipe fit the bill, but he wanted a cake so I made a 9×13 and used buttermilk subs using vinegar. As I began adding the buttermilk to the batter, it immediately curdled but I persevered, trusting the process. I didn’t want to overfill my pan so I made 6 cupcakes as well, telling myself those would be for me and I would leave the cake for others. I inhaled three of the cupcakes hot out of the oven so that plan probably won’t last. Don’t know what frosting I will be making, (obviously doesn’t need it imo) but this is another 5-star recipe! Thanks for sharing!

By: Christina

Christina — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 20:53:49 +0000

This was the first recipe I used for cupcakes and I am sticking to it ( since your
Madeleine’s recipe was a success for me ) !!!
The buttermilk substitute is amazing !
The cupcakes came out fluffy and delicious! Love it 😍

By: Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

Emily @ Sugar Spun Run — Thu, 14 May 2026 15:35:51 +0000

In reply to Paula. Hi Paula! Thanks for the support--we really appreciate it! If you take a look at the pictures in the post, you can see these cupcakes have a very slight dome. During testing Sam did find a way to make them more domed, but it resulted in cupcakes that were drier and less flavorful. It just wasn't worth the sacrifice. You could try making our vanilla cake recipe as cupcakes; that one does tend to have a more domed shape. Hope that helps!

By: Paula

Paula — Thu, 14 May 2026 03:09:28 +0000

Hello. I came to you because I have found several wonderful recipes on your site that are a permanent part of my baking routine. I am now looking, as I have been, for a great vanilla cupcake and I want to try your recipe. Can you tell me if your vanilla cupcake recipe will give me a dome? Even a small-medium dome? It seems that every recipe I am trying comes out flat. Am I looking for something that doesn’t exist? I don’t want a muffin, but I don’t want a pancake top. Hope that makes sense. :/. Thank you!

By: Medora Koenig

Medora Koenig — Mon, 04 May 2026 20:04:41 +0000

My family is crazy for these cupcakes! And a friend assumed they came from the local patisserie. So delicious!

By: Sam Merritt

Sam Merritt — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:52:04 +0000

In reply to J. I'm really sorry to hear this. I don't honestly know what to say. I haven't ever experienced this so I don't really have a good idea as to what's going wrong, especially if everything was measured properly and your oven temperature was accurate. :(

By: J

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 17:25:16 +0000

20-year culinary professional here. I’m a high school culinary arts instructor and have worked as a pastry chef. I LOVE your cheesecake recipe and was intrigued by the brown sugar in your vanilla cupcake recipe, so I tried it with my entire class of 30 students without testing the recipe first. My first batch was a flop- I weighed the ingredients out and followed the instructions exactly. I could see that the baking soda was fresh and reactive because the batter bubbled as soon as I started adding buttermilk. I checked the cupcakes at 17 minutes, and they had overspread but were raw in the middle. My oven thermometer said I was at the right temp. Thought it must have been a misstep on my end, so I made another batch the next day and used a different oven. Again, I checked at 17 minutes, and they had overspread slightly and were completely liquid in the middle. I pulled them at 19 minutes, and they were lightly golden and did not spring back to the touch. I read a previous review that said it had a cornbread-like texture, and I knew that would happen if I let them bake any longer. These had a remarkable flavor but missed on the texture. I might try again but sub sour cream or yogurt for the buttermilk or omit the brown sugar and sub for granulated. Brown sugar is acidic and I’m wondering if that+ the buttermilk was my issue?

By: Sam Merritt

Sam Merritt — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:34:39 +0000

In reply to Robbie L Jones. Hi Robbie! Unfortunately I don't have any experience with wafer paper cake toppers. Did they come with any instructions?

By: Robbie L Jones

Robbie L Jones — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:29:13 +0000

good morning
this has become my favorite cupcake recipe.
I have a question….when using wafer paper cake toppers,do I take the paper off of the back ? it is supposed to be edible but it was awful

thanks in advance
Robbie

By: Sam Merritt

Sam Merritt — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 01:37:01 +0000

In reply to Molly. Hi Molly! Honestly these cupcakes stay nice and fresh in an air tight container for several days. You could mix the dry ingredients together, but I wouldn't mix them in with anything else until ready to bake. I hope everyone loves the cupcakes!

By: Sam Merritt

Sam Merritt — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:46:58 +0000

In reply to Barry. Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Barry! I'm so glad they were such a hit! Unfortunately I don't have much experience with gluten free baking. I do have many commenters tell me they use Bob's Red Mill 1:1, but I just can't give a good recommendation myself. I'm sorry. :(

By: Barry

Barry — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:38:51 +0000

Hi Sam, I just made these for a some friends and naturally they were a big hit. I’d like to make them again, this time for some people with gluten allergies. Is there a gluten-free flour brand you’d recommend for this? Bob’s Red Mill? Krusteaz? King Arthur?

By: Molly

Molly — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 23:36:41 +0000

Hey Sam. I have to bring these to the gym (after work) on Thursday!!
What/how can I prep as much as possible over the weekend to make it easier on the day of?

By: Sam Merritt

Sam Merritt — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:21:23 +0000

In reply to Katie. I'm so sorry to hear this happened, Katie! The cornbread texture/taste can also happen from over-baking. :(

By: Katie

Katie — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 19:33:25 +0000

These were a fail for me – I would not make again. I’ve made a lot of your cakes before and these were my only fail so far. I followed the recipe exactly and measured my ingredients with a scale, so I’m not sure what went wrong. I’ve made many, many vanilla cupcakes before and these tasted, looked and felt too much like cornmeal to me. Consistency was unlike any vanilla cupcake I’ve had before. I suspect that in an effort to not overmix (which was mentioned repeatedly in recipe) that I undermixed it, which might actually have produced a worse result. Unfortunately for a birthday party so I had to scramble to make other cupcakes.

By: Annabelle

Annabelle — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 23:00:51 +0000

Best cupcakes ever

By: Sam Merritt

Sam Merritt — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 19:44:40 +0000

In reply to Diane Punter. Hi Diane! It's just an unnecessary step. Sifting the flour won't hurt anything, but it's really not needed. :)

By: Diane Punter

Diane Punter — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 14:53:55 +0000

I have always understood that you need to sift your flour. With your recipes you don’t. Why is that? Could I ?

By: Sam Merritt

Sam Merritt — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 16:27:12 +0000

In reply to Nicole. Hi Nicole! I haven't tried it so I can't say for sure how to do it. :( If you do try it I would love to know how they turn out. :)

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 14:53:09 +0000

Thank you Sam! Love this recipe! It’s a family favorite! I am really wanting to try this recipe in a “jumbo” cupcake pan. Do you have recommendations for time/temp? I may have overlooked it.

By: Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

Emily @ Sugar Spun Run — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 15:55:02 +0000

In reply to Katie. Hi Katie! We'd recommend using our banana cupcakes instead of modifying this recipe. Sounds tasty!