Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes
With a whisk and a bowl, you can easily whip up these delicious vanilla cupcakes.
There are so many reasons I love this recipe…
- first is they taste amazing,
- second, they are super easy to make-which means they can be made at a moments notice.
- third, and a small batch means they are great anytime, you won’t feel tempted to eat so many if portion control on desserts is an issue (I sure know it can be for me).
No mixer needed, but you can use one of you prefer.
This recipe makes 6 cupcakes. (Double it if you’d like 12)
Since this is a small batch there aren’t too many ingredients and it doesn’t take much effort to mix them.
Now the whipped cream is another story, you may want to whip it with a whisk attached immersion blender, hand mixer, or stand mixer. Mixing by hand is always an option but yes it takes and few minutes which may seem like forever if you haven’t whipped cream by hand before.
I have an immersion blender that has a whisk attachment I often use when I don’t need an arm workout!
Now you can top these cupcakes with any type of frosting you like, I find that whipped cream is just perfect for a light and not too sweet topping, but if you prefer buttercream frosting here is my recipe for buttercream frosting.
Whether you want to celebrate a small or large accomplishment cupcakes are always the answer….
from a job promotion to stellar grades on a report card, birthday or anniversary celebration or just because someone needs a little cheering up this is the perfect recipe.
You can be enjoying these in under an hour. Now that is cause for celebrating!
Be sure to check out my stabilized whipped cream recipe here.
Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Whipped Cream Frosting
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- *add a tablespoon of dry milk if not serving soon so the whipped cream does not weep.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- In a bowl whisk sugar with the egg.
- Add in flour, milk, butter, oil, baking powder, and vanilla until it's all smooth and well blended.
- Place 3 tablespoons of batter into each of the cupcake liners.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool cupcakes for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove cupcakes and place on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Whipped Cream Frosting
- Whip heavy cream with sugar, pipe onto cupcakes with a star tip I use a 2D or 1M piping tip and a piping bag.
Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes (6 cupcakes)
If you like baking and want to bake better cookies be sure to check out my cookie guide.
How perfect! They look so festive too. Thanks for an easy solution to those last minute celebrations!
When making whipped cream from scratch, it’s better to use confectioners sugar, so its not grainy.
It’s a matter of opinion, I’ve used both and prefer granulated sugar more often than not, and have never had it be grainy, it takes time to whip and there is plenty of liquid to be sure it’s absorbed. If you prefer confectioners sugar, go right ahead and use it. As far as better… that’s opinion.
This recipe looks easy enough! I was thinking… Do you think 375 for 18-20 minutes is too high? I’m just worried it’ll burn?
I baked many batches of this small batch recipe to get a proper rise on the cupcake and perfect texture. I also use an additional oven thermometer to be sure the oven is at the proper temperature. Baking them at 375 was a perfect result. If your oven runs way hot, then you’ll need to adjust accordingly, I always suggest an oven thermometer they are a few dollars and really tell you what temperature your oven is at vs the oven just being set and you “hoping” it’s correct. At 350 the cupcakes will be flatter and they need to bake longer and they were slightly drier in my test batches.
Hi I’m from the United Kingdom I want to try this recipe out what is 375 in degrees thanks x
375° Fahrenheit, in Celsius, it looks like 190.5 but feel free to google it if you typically use a specific metric conversion as I only know Fahrenheit temperatures. I just used Google to find the answer.
I kind of forgot to measure and mix the oil, so will the cupcakes be any different
Yes, I’m sure they will be different.
Can you help me with eggless small batch vanilla cupcakes
Sorry, I don’t have any experience with eggless cupcake recipes.
Thanks a lot for this as we all are having this for us.
Hi, Diane. I was wondering how much servings is this? I am currently needing a batch of 12-Cupcakes.
Hi Mimi, this recipe makes 6 cupcakes, you can double it for 12.
Thanks! I’m sure they will turn out great! :p
Hi Diane,
Thank you for the recipe. I decided to use it today for my small cupcake order. I love how easy your recipe was to follow. I noticed you referenced “eggs” in your recipe. I used only 1. I was actually able to make 7 nice cupcakes from your recipe 🙂 1 extra for me. Lol
Ok..here I go. First attempt was not so great. After 18 minutes in the oven @ 375 degrees they turned out extremely dark not light and pretty as in your cupcake picture 🙁 After they cooled completely, the rims were so hard and dry! I could not sell these to a customer so I decided to try again.
I lowered my oven to 350 degrees and baked for 20 minutes instead. I was soooooo happy! They turned out much better the second time around. I think I could have gone 18 minutes and they would be even better. They turned out much lighter than the first batch but still not as light as the ones you have pictured. How are yours so light colored?
Thank you again! I am certain my customer is going to love them.
The color of the cupcakes will depend on a few things, how dark your vanilla is, how dark in color your butter is, what type of pan you use, the oven temperature. I do not use dark baking pans. I use heavy pans, they are nordic ware I believe. I have an extra thermometer I place in my oven and I double-check it before I put my cupcakes in the oven. I also preheat my oven for a while so there isn’t such an up and down in temperature, at least 15 minutes. But it’s not uncommon for my oven to be on for hours if I baking lots of recipes. So be sure you know exactly the temperature of your oven. Start checking your cupcakes about 5 minutes before you think… that will certainly help prevent over baking. I test mine every minute or two (same with cakes) minutes matter when baking. Test with a toothpick in the center and it should just be becoming dry, not “really dry and firm, that will cool to be very dry” The test before the final minute will have some cake stuck on the toothpick, then it’s usually just 1 more minute. If you are selling baked goods I suggest making a batch and bake one or two cupcakes in the center of the pan, in the center of the oven (maybe one rack up from center) and test batches to be absolutely sure. Make it three times with the batch you like most and you’ll have your timing and temperature correct. I made these cupcakes more than 5 times before posting, so oven temp is important, be sure you have an extra thermometer to place in the oven. And also test the oven temperature in various places of your oven if you think it’s off… you’ll have to adjust for that as well. Some ovens have hot spots! I baked all the batches using all the other same items(cupcake liners, baking pan) I immediately place my pans on cooling racks that sit about4 inches above the counter to cool.
Even cupcake liners can bake up differently. Mostly I think it’s the oven itself. I have an electric oven, I’ve been baking in the oven I have for 18 years, so I know it well. I use glassine baking liners for the cupcakes and I like them far better than just paper liners. And yes it’s only 1 egg (It was a typo me typing 1 eggs, I corrected it thanks for letting me know there was an error)
If you haven’t seen my cupcakes guide you can find it here, there’s a lot of info in it.
Hope that is helpful, you’ll have to let me know how they turn out.