This vanilla cupcake recipe is from Magnolia Bakery. The cupcakes are light, fluffy and perfectly flavored.
I’ve never been to Magnolia Bakery but I’ve heard about their famous vanilla cupcakes.
There’s some so satisfying about a simple vanilla cupcake. Simple, fluffy, without all the fuss.
Vanilla cupcakes sometimes seem to be the wallflower of cupcakes, but I love them.
I’ve seen the Magnolia recipe floating around the internet. It’s been on my to-do list for a while. After seeing this post by The Little Teochew, I knew it was time to finally try them out.
The recipe is surprisingly easy. As the batter mixed together it already was light and fluffy and I knew the cupcakes would be good.
The cupcakes came out perfect. Fluffy, sweet, simple. It was everything I was hoping for in this recipe and more.
Perfect on their own and also with a light frosting. I chose not to do the vanilla buttercream frosting. I’ve mentioned this before but I’m not much of a frosting girl. The only kinds I like are whipped cream based and buttercream meringue. I didn’t have time for the meringue so I just did a simple vanilla whipped cream frosting.
Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.
- In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended.
- Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. (I would suggest about 1/2 full) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
Notes
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I personally find the Magnolia cupcakes too sweet because of the heavy buttercream frosting. I’ll have to try your version!
Yes, a simple homemade whipped cream frosting is much lighter!
I tried a cupcake from Magnolia a couple of years ago when I was in New York, and I wasn’t impressed. But if you say this recipe yielded fluffy and light cupcakes, I’d like to try it. (Must add self-rising flour to the shopping list).
You know I’ve had a few people tell me they weren’t impressed when they visited Magnolia. But everyone who bakes the Magnolia Vanilla cupcake recipe seems to love it. So definitely give it a try.
The little pink pearls are darling. Reminds me I want to get more sprinkles and things soon. I like vanilla cupcakes a lot, too – more than chocolate cupcakes. I prefer my chocolate in its purest form.
I don’t remember where I got them, but I like how they look and taste. I bought ones before that I didn’t like the taste of. I think I got them at Surfas in LA.
Nice job with the frosting, these look great!
Aw thanks! I like the pink pearls the best. They tasted good too.
They look great! I think I like most any type of frosting – but I don’t like them to overwhelm the actual cake component.
I think I ate frosting more until I started making my own. And seeing just how much butter and sugar goes into buttercream. Then I realized i didn’t like it enough to ingest all that sugar and fat.