You don't have to spend all day in the kitchen to make a delicious batch of cupcakes. Just mix up a few simple ingredients and bake the batter in cupcake tins. From start to finish, your delicious cupcakes should take about one to two hours to make. After they've cooled, you can frost them with your favorite homemade frosting. Try vanilla, chocolate or strawberry cupcakes next time you have a craving for a sugary snack. You can also take them to school or work and eat it as a snack. Be sure to take some extra for your friends and tell them you hand-made them!
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cooks: 15-19 minutes
- Makes: 15 cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 2 teaspoons sprinkles, or other mix-ins
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup of unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2/3 cup strawberry jelly (not jam)
- 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Steps
Vanilla Cupcakes
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Measure out your ingredients. Having everything ready before you start mixing will keep you from forgetting an important ingredient.
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Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit (190° Celsius). [1] X Research sourceAdvertisement
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Place 12 cupcake liners into a cupcake pan. If you don't have liners, just grease each cup with vegetable oil or butter to keep the cupcakes from sticking.
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Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Use a sifter or a whisk to thoroughly incorporate the dry ingredients. [2] X Research source
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Add the sugar and butter. Stir just until the ingredients are combined.
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Add the eggs, milk and vanilla. Mix everything together to form a smooth batter.
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Stir in optional mix-ins. If you want to add chocolate chips, sprinkles, or another mix-in, stir it in now.
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Divide the cupcake mixture evenly into the cupcake tin. Fill each up about 2/3 full. [3] X Research source Leaving extra room at the top of each cup will prevent the cupcakes from rising too high in the cups and spilling over.
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Let the cupcakes cool before frosting. Place them on a cooling rack or the counter to let them cool completely. [6] X Research source
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Whip up the frosting of your choice to finish your cupcakes. Pair your vanilla cupcakes with any type of frosting you like best. [7] X Research source Here are a few easy recipes to try:
- Vanilla frosting
- Chocolate frosting
- Buttercream frosting
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Chocolate Cupcakes
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Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). [8] X Research source
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Place 12 cupcake liners into a cupcake pan. If you don't have liners, grease the cups using vegetable oil or butter to keep the cupcakes from sticking. [9] X Research source
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Pour all the ingredients into the same bowl. In this easy recipe, it doesn't matter in what order you pour them in. Choose a big bowl that will fit all the ingredients.
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Beat the ingredients until the batter becomes creamy. Keep stirring until you no longer see dry bits of flour.
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Divide the batter evenly into the cupcake cups. Fill each one 2/3 way full. [10] X Research source Leaving extra space will give the cupcakes room to rise without spilling over the rims.
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Bake the cupcakes for 15 to 20 minutes. Test to see whether the cupcakes are done by inserting a toothpick into the center of a cupcake. If it comes out clean, they're ready. If it's still wet, bake the cupcakes for another five minutes. [11] X Research source
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Let the cupcakes cool before frosting. Place them on a wire rack or on the counter to cool completely. If you frost them too quickly, the icing will melt off. [12] X Research source
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Frost the cupcakes with your favorite frosting. Any flavor pairs great with these simple chocolate cupcakes. Choose your favorite frosting or make more than one, then spread it onto your cooled cupcakes. These recipes pair well with chocolate cupcakes:
- Cream cheese frosting
- Peanut butter frosting
- Chocolate chip frosting
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Strawberry Cupcakes
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Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). [13] X Research source
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Place 12 cupcake liners into a cupcake pan. If you don't have liners, grease the cups using vegetable oil or butter to keep the cupcakes from sticking.
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Mix together the wet ingredients. Into a large bowl, add the strawberry jam, milk, vanilla, butter, eggs and sugar. Beat the mixture well to fully incorporate the ingredients.
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Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
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Stir the flour mixture into the wet batter. Use a spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Be sure not to overmix, since mixing too much can cause these cupcakes to turn out dense.
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Divide the batter evenly into the cupcake cups. Fill each one 2/3 way full. [14] X Research source Leaving extra space will give the cupcakes room to rise without spilling over the rims.
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Bake the cupcakes for 20 to 25 minutes. Test to see whether the cupcakes are done by inserting a toothpick into the center of a cupcake. If it comes out clean, they're ready. If it's still wet, bake the cupcakes for another five minutes. [15] X Research source
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Let the cupcakes cool before frosting. Place them on a wire rack or on the counter to cool completely. If you frost them too quickly, the icing will melt off.
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Frost the cupcakes with your favorite frosting. The sweet taste of the strawberries pairs well with cream cheese, a simple buttercream or a complementary strawberry frosting. [16] X Research source Try one of these recipes:
- Cream cheese frosting
- Buttercream
- Strawberry frosting
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Finished.Advertisement
Community Q&A
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QuestionCan the vanilla extract be removed?Community AnswerYou can leave it out. It just gives your cupcakes a vanilla flavor, which you may not actually want.
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QuestionDo I need baking powder?QamarTop AnswererYes, you do. Baking powder helps the cupcakes rise and become moist and fluffy.
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QuestionCan I bake fruit into the cupcakes?Community AnswerYes. Many people will do halved strawberries, but you may also put in blueberries, raspberries, or other fruits. Just keep in mind that fruit has high water content and will increase the moisture in your batter. You should closely follow a recipe the first few times you choose to do this, to avoid making soggy cupcakes.
Video
Tips
- Be creative when decorating your cupcakes! [17] X Research source Add icing, chocolate, sliced fruit, marshmallows, or sprinkles.Thanks
- Be careful when cracking the eggs to not get any shells into the mix - or crack it into another bowl to remove shells and to see if it's expired or not. [18] X Research sourceThanks
- When you take them out of the oven test them by poking one. If it bounces back up then it is done; if not then put it back in the oven for a bit longer.Thanks
Warnings
- Always be careful when dealing with hot temperatures. Take the proper precautions to ensure you don't burn yourself.Thanks
Things You'll Need
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons and cups
- Cupcake tin
- Cupcake liners
References
- ↑ https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/amy-sedariss-vanilla-cupcakes-236125
- ↑ http://www.food.com/recipe/simple-vanilla-cupcakes-178370
- ↑ https://www.eggs.ca/recipes/classic-vanilla-cupcakes
- ↑ https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/go-to-vanilla-cupcakes-3338835
- ↑ https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/10575-how-to-use-the-toothpick-test-to-see-if-baked-goods-are-done
- ↑ https://www.livewellbakeoften.com/vanilla-cupcakes/
- ↑ https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/174347/quick-and-almost-professional-buttercream-icing/
- ↑ https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17377/chocolate-cupcakes/
- ↑ http://www.food.com/recipe/moist-chocolate-cupcakes-super-easy-budget-287618
- ↑ https://sugarspunrun.com/easy-chocolate-cupcakes/
- ↑ https://www.foodandwine.com/chocolate-cupcakes-11727287
- ↑ https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/strawberry-cupcakes-recipe/
- ↑ https://www.cookingclassy.com/strawberry-cupcakes-strawberry-buttercream-frosting/
- ↑ https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/214696/real-strawberry-cupcakes/
- ↑ https://www.marthastewart.com/258957/sprinkles-strawberry-cupcakes
- ↑ https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/220816/real-strawberry-frosting/
- ↑ https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/easy-cupcake-decorating-ideas/
- ↑ https://www.eggs.ca/eggs101/view/19/how-to-crack-an-egg
- Videos provided by fiona's food
About this article
To make 12 plain cupcakes at home, measure out your ingredients before starting, and preheat your oven to 375 °F. Then, place 12 cupcake liners into a cupcake pan or grease each cup of the pan with butter. You can prepare the batter by mixing the flour, salt, and baking powder in one bowl; and the sugar, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla in another. Mix everything together to form a smooth batter, divide it evenly into the cupcake tins, cook them for 15-18 minutes and let them cool on a rack before frosting. For alternate cupcake recipes, including how to make chocolate or strawberry cupcakes, keep reading!