These vanilla cupcakes are so easy to make, simply mix all of the ingredients together and bake. They’re perfect for birthdays, cake sales, tea with your friends and any other celebration you can think of.
I mentioned when I shared my recipe for caramel cupcakes a couple of weeks ago that I’m working on creating a mix-and-match cupcake index with all my sponges, buttercreams and fillings in one place so you can create your own cupcakes using any combination you can think of. However, when I made a start on it I realised that two of my go-to cupcakes recipes (vanilla and chocolate) didn’t exist on here in cupcake form (they’re only on here as larger birthday cake recipes). Whilst it’s really easy to convert these particular recipes from large cakes, to save you the trouble of working out what to adjust I decided that I’d publish them as cupcakes too.
Have you ever cooked someone else’s recipe for them to eat, or vice versa? How did it go?
Easy Vanilla Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
- 165 g self-raising flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 3 medium eggs
- 165 g soft margarine
- 165 g caster sugar
- A few drops of vanilla extract
- 1½ tsp milk
Extras
- 12 cupcake cases
RECIPE VIDEO
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan.
- Place your cupcake cases into a muffin tin.
- Sift the self-raising flour (165g) and baking powder (1½ tsp) into a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients (3 medium eggs, 165g soft margarine, 165g caster sugar, a few drops of vanilla extract and 1½ tsp milk) and mix until fully combined (either by hand or using an electric mixer on a low speed).
- Divide the mixture equally between the muffin cases (I use a cupcake scoop to help split it evenly).
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool in their tins for about 10 minutes and then move them to a wire rack to cool fully before decorating.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Soya-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Lupin-Free
I’m sharing this recipe with the following blog challenge… #CookBlogShare with Easy Peasy Foodie.
Mary says
Hi, can I use oil instead of margarine/ butter?
Thank you!
Charlotte Oates says
I wouldn’t in this recipe. Oil has more moisture than butter/margarine and so you’ll end up with cupcakes that are claggy. It might also effect the rise.
Ellie says
Hello, do you have a recipe to make 24 Cupcakes?
Charlotte Oates says
Just double up the quantities listed here.
Stacey Hurt says
Hi, I love this recipe and have used it plenty of times recently. However I would like to use it to make a giant cupcake. I’m not sure on how to adjust the recipe to suit?
Charlotte Oates says
Unfortunately I’ve not tried this recipe as a giant cupcake so I’m not sure of the adjustments – sorry.
Ginny says
Hi, I have just found your website and the recipes look great I will be making the birthday chocolate cake next weekend and plan to do these yummy looking cakes also however I’m not a fan of margarine I presume unsalted butter will be fine and it should be softened also. Can’t wait to try them x
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, butter will be fine. It needs to be soft so leave it out of the fridge for an hour or so before you make the cake. If it’s too hard it won’t mix in properly and you may find your cake ends up greasy.
Alicia says
Really simple to make and delicious. Gorgeous with the white chocolate buttercream (topped with milky bar buttons!).
joanne says
awesome recipe …changed the margarine for Nuttalex and used Oat milk so Dairy free for Grandson !
Sophia Brown says
Amazing recipes!! After a failed batch of caramel cupcakes – tasted good but split over the cases – I persisted careful not to overfill next time around. (I bought a metal ice-cream scoop (what you call a cookie scoop) from $2 shop – This is the keyword perfect measuring !!) I made another batch (also using your caramel recipe) plus a batch of vanilla cupcakes. Just made delicious buttercream too. Both have turned out brilliantly and more to the point, taste delicious. I got about a tray and a half for patty cakes which I guess would be 12 muffins. Thanks Charlotte.
Suzanne Broy says
Loved the recipe but mine always seem to spill out the top of the cupcake cases – is this just a case of having put too much mixture in or is it a temperature issue?
Charlotte Oates says
It sounds like there’s too much mixture for the cases, they should be about 2/3 full. What type of cases do you use. I usually use muffin cases which are a little larger for my cupcakes.
Nicola says
Hi ,
What is the best margarine to use when making cupcakes ?
Thank you !
Charlotte Oates says
I usually use Stork
Pat says
Hello Charlotte – I love that these are really easy and taste fab. I’ve made them a couple of times when I’ve had guests pop round and have had good comments (plus I love the animation on your video). Keep up your good work.
Julie says
Hi Charlotte, I love these cakes and make them sometimes with my two sons who enjoy helping me bake. We love topping them with all sorts including your delicious buttercreams. Julie