Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Icing from Vicki Delany

Sometimes, in our rush to update everything and experiment with textures and flavours and add extravagant decorations, we forget about the tried and true. As they say in literature, the classics are classic for a reason

Case in point is these vanilla cupcakes. Simple. Plain, Easy. And absolutely delicious. I made these because my daughter specifically asked for vanilla cupcakes for her birthday so I dug around for a recipe.

Obviously you can use any sort of icing you like – a soft lemon flavour might be nice with these – but we enjoyed the standard vanilla buttercream. A touch of sprinkles on the top gave them a nice birthday feeling.

I used silicone muffin tins for this, which required no preparation, nor did I use cupcake papers. If you don’t have silicone, pour the batter into cupcake papers or greased and floured muffin tins.

I made the cupcakes in advance of the event and froze them for about a week, then defrosted them prior to icing them. 

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

Vanilla Cupcakes:

•  2 cups sifted cake and pastry flour
•  1 cup granulated sugar
•  2 teaspoons baking powder
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
•  1/2 cup butter softened
•  1/2 cup milk
•  2 eggs
•  1 teaspoon vanilla

Vanilla Buttercream Icing:

•  1 cup butter softened
•  5 cups sifted icing sugar
•  1/2 cup whipping cream
•  1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Method:

Vanilla Cupcakes: In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using electric mixer on low speed, mix in butter, milk, eggs and vanilla; beat on high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Spoon into 12 cupcake or muffin cups or papers, filling about three-quarters full. Bake in centre of 375°F (190°C) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool completely. 

Vanilla Buttercream Icing: In large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Alternately beat in sugar and cream, making 2 additions of sugar. Beat in vanilla. 

Make the Cupcakes:

Make the Icing:

 

Follow Vicki at www.vickidelany.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor. You can sign up to receive Vicki’s quarterly newsletter at Vicki Delany – Canadian Author of Mystery Novels and Suspense Novels » Contact

Now available: Whose Body in the Library by Eva Gates, the thirteenth Lighthouse Library mystery

Coming July 28, 2026: Bubble, Bubble, Tea & Trouble a Tea by the Sea mystery