We just need that very vanilla cupcake in our baking repertoire, don’t you agree?
For years since I started baking from home, I searched for that elusive vanilla cupcake recipe, to no avail. It feels like you can’t please everyone with the very basic vanilla cupcake, right?! Some people may find butter-based cupcakes too heavy and dense; some may find the cupcakes to sweet and lacking in flavor.
Recently I bought this Chinese baking recipe book, written by a Taiwanese author. After trying out this easy vanilla yogurt cupcake recipe, I was really pleased with how soft the cupcakes were!
These cupcakes paired well with my favourite American buttercream too!
I usually use Swiss meringue buttercream because it is so silky smooth and fluffy. However when I am feeling lazy, I always fall back on this easy, creamy and yummy ABC recipe!
若想阅读中文版本，请在网页的右边 “Google Translate” 点击选择 中文简体 (Chinese Simplified）或 繁体 (Chinese Traditional) 翻译。可能食谱读起来会怪怪的，所以如果有疑问都可以问哦！
What Is American Buttercream (ABC)?
American buttercream is made using butter, sugar, extracts and some milk or whipping cream.
Adding whipping cream will yield a richer and creamier buttercream. I find that adding milk is enough for me 🙂
Since American buttercream can also be quite sweet, I reduced the sugar slightly for the cupcake recipe. So when you eat the cupcake together with the sweet buttercream, it is quite well-balanced.
I also kind of enjoy the contrast in the texture of the airy cupcakes vs the denser ABC!
You’ll find that American buttercream is denser than Swiss meringue buttercream. But I also love this ABC because it brings on some kind of retro nostalgic taste!
The batter should look like this after mixing in the butter and oil.
How to Make These Vanilla Bean Cupcakes for Parties?
For parties, if you’d like a fancier and more presentable look, you can always use nice cupcake liners and sprinkles!
I love sprinkles on celebration cakes and cupcakes!
You can also bake and frost these cupcakes a day in advance before the party. Simply keep them in covered containers or boxes in the fridge after frosting. Before eating, place them in room temperature for about 20-30 mins.
>> MORE SWEET TREAT RECIPES:
How Do These Cupcakes Taste Like?
Unlike chiffon cupcakes, the cupcake base is soft and moist, with the use of yogurt. The texture is also slightly heavier than chiffon, somewhat similar to a light muffin texture. The cupcake base uses a very simple mixing method, which you can make in a shorter time, compared to the basic creaming method.
The American buttercream is much sweeter than my favourite Swiss Meringue buttercream, so I reduced sugar in the cake itself, which would pair just nicely for a little sweet treat.
Can I Use Just Oil In This Vanilla Bean Cupcake Recipe?
You can do that, but I won’t recommend, as butter brings more flavor to these cupcakes. The cake might taste a little bland if you were to use entirely oil, without the butter.
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes 香草奶油杯子蛋糕
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 2 eggs, about 55-60g, room temperature
- 100 g caster sugar
- 120 g plain unsweetened yogurt
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 240 g cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 60 g butter, melted and cooled
- 40 g oil
Frosting:
- 170 g butter, softened
- 225 to 305 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1.5 tsp milk
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Cupcake:
- Prepare cupcake or muffin pan by lining with liners. Preheat oven to 180C.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. Add in sugar, yogurt and vanilla bean paste. Mix well with each addition.
- Sift the cake flour and baking powder into the mixing bowl. Whisk well, till no visible white traces of flour or lumps left.
- Add in melted butter and oil. Whisk well.
- Fill the cupcake liners with batter till 80% filled. Bake in preheated oven at 180C for about 20 mins, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.
Buttercream Frosting:
- Place softened butter into a large mixing bowl. Whisk the butter till light and creamy using hand held or stand mixer, on medium-high speed.
- Once the butter is light and pale in color, add in salt and sift in the icing sugar. Whisk on medium-high speed till the sugar is well incorporated and mixture is fluffy.
- Add in vanilla bean paste and milk. Whisk on medium-high speed till very light and creamy.
- Pipe as you wish. I am using Wilton 1M tip. Top with your favourite sprinkles!
Notes
The cupcakes will bake to a dome. You can either slice off the dome to do the piping, or be like me, just pipe around the dome to “hide” it.
To pipe like mine, first pipe from the centre and move towards the outside. Once the first layer has been piped, move the swirl upwards. I pipe 3 “layers” in total.
Is the Buttercream Stable in Singapore’s Weather?
I tested the stability of the buttercream by placing the cupcakes at our Singapore’s room temperature for 2 hours, and was purposely placed next to my fridge, which is a hotspot in my kitchen.
If you need to display the cupcakes in parties or potlucks, bake and frost the cupcakes the day before and place it in the refrigerator to set overnight. It held up quite well for me, but of course, you’d need to avoid direct sunlight.
After 2 hours!
Cherie,
Your cupcakes look delicious! I love your beautiful photos!
Hi Cherie, I made these cupcakes and they were quite dense, not fluffy at all. I am also only able to get 6 cupcakes, not 12. Kindly verify the ingredient amounts. Thank you! Dana
Hi Dana, thanks for your feedback. Was your cross section about the same as mine? Do fold gently when you add in the flour and oil/butter, till just well mixed with no traces of flour. This method is quite similar to genoise sponge mixing method 🙂