Name: Super Easy Vanilla Cupcakes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes plus cooling
Yield: Makes 24 cupcakes
Ingredients: ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened; 1½ cups (300 g) sugar; 2 large eggs, room temperature; 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract; 2½ tsp. baking powder; ¼ tsp. kosher salt; 2½ cups (312 g) all-purpose flour; 1¼ cups whole milk; Vanilla Buttercream or Classic Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)

A vanilla cupcake being frosted with American Buttercream.

Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Kaitlin Wayne

This vanilla cupcake recipe is excerpted from the 2006 cookbook I Like You by Amy Sedaris (yes, that Amy Sedaris). In the early aughts the comedian sold baked goods and other snacks to coffee shops in her New York City neighborhood. Once voted one of the city’s best vanilla cupcakes, it gets rich, buttery flavor and a tender crumb from a handful of pantry ingredients. While Sedaris prefers a stand mixer (with the paddle attachment), you can easily make this simple cake recipe with a hand mixer and a large bowl. To amplify the vanilla flavor, swap the extract for top-quality vanilla bean paste.

We like to use two 12-cup cupcake pans for ease and maneuverability, but if you have a 24-well tin, feel free to use it instead. If you’d rather not use liners, brush the wells with softened butter and dust with extra all-purpose flour, making sure to tap out the excess before you proceed. Use a toothpick or cake tester to check the cupcake in the centermost position for doneness—it should emerge carrying a few moist crumbs.

Adorn these vanilla cupcakes in whatever way you see fit: Add a swoop of powdered-sugar-based American-style buttercream and a shower of sprinkles for birthday parties, or go for cream cheese frosting, coconut, and a candied egg to turn them into an Easter dessert. Choose a meringue-based Swiss or Italian buttercream frosting recipe, piped on in a big kiss, to really wow a crowd, or a brown sugar frosting and heap of chocolate chips to mimic the flavor of your favorite cookies.

This recipe was adapted for style from ‘I Like You’ by Amy Sedaris. Buy the full book on Amazon.

Recipe information

Total Time
30 minutes plus cooling
Yield
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1½ cups (300 g) sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. kosher salt

2½ cups (312 g) all-purpose flour

1¼ cups whole milk

Vanilla Buttercream or Classic Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)

Preparation

Step 1
Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat oven to 375°. Line two 12-cup standard muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Step 2
Beat ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened, in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until somewhat smooth. Add 1½ cups (300 g) sugar and beat well. Add 2 large eggs, room temperature. (I like to crack the eggs on the side of the bowl while it is moving, which can be really stupid. I like to take chances. Yes, I have had to throw away my batter because I lost eggshells in the mix. Yes, it was a waste of food, and yes, I know how expensive butter is, but what can I say? I'm a daredevil.) Mix well.
Step 3
Add 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract, 2½ tsp. baking powder, ¼ tsp. kosher salt, 2½ cups (312 g) all-purpose flour, and 1¼ cups whole milk. Pulse to incorporate dry ingredients, then beat on medium-low speed until cupcake batter is smooth and no streaks of flour remain. Spoon batter into prepared baking cups until they are about ⅔ full. Bake cupcakes 18–20 minutes, rotating pans from front to back and top to bottom half way through, until golden brown. Should produce 24 cupcakes (I get 18 because I'm doing something wrong, although my cupcakes were voted second best in the city by New York Magazine).
Step 4
Transfer pans to wire cooling racks and let cupcakes cool completely. Frost with Vanilla Buttercream or Classic Cream Cheese Frosting (if using).
Do ahead: Unfrosted cupcakes can be baked up to 3 days ahead; store, tightly covered, at room temperature. Chill frosted cupcakes in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Editor’s note: This vanilla cupcake recipe first appeared on Epicurious in September 2009 as ‘Amy Sedaris's Vanilla Cupcakes.’ Head this way for more of our favorite cupcake recipes →