Valentine's Day Mini Vanilla Cupcakes are a bite sized treat topped with creamy vanilla buttercream and festive heart sprinkles. They're perfect for any celebration, from Valentine's Day to birthday parties or Mother's Day.
Why You'll Love These Mini Cupcakes:
- Perfect for Parties: These miniature cupcakes are great for serving a crowd and easy for kids to enjoy and make a fun Valentine's Day treat. They're also great for baby showers!
- Customizable: Change decorations to match any holiday or theme or use rainbow sprinkles for everyday cupcakes.
- Easy to Make: Simple ingredients and easy steps make these mini desserts great for beginners.
Ingredients in Vanilla Cupcakes
This recipe for vanilla cupcakes uses simple ingredients and basic kitchen tools.
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Egg whites
- Vanilla extract
- Sour cream
- Milk
- All-Purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
Ingredients in Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Milk
See the recipe card for full ingredient list and directions
How To Make Mini Vanilla Cupcakes
To make this vanilla cupcake recipe you will need a mini cupcake pan and mini cupcake liners of your choosing.
- Preheat the oven and prepare the pan- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a mini muffin tin with 24 paper cupcake liners.
- Combine the dry ingredients- Spoon and level the all-purpose flour and combine it with the baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set the flour mixture aside.
- Combine the wet ingredients- Use an electric mixer to beat the softened unsalted butter, add granulated sugar, and beat until well combined in a large bowl. Beat in the egg whites until combined.
- Mix in the vanilla extract, sour cream, and milk until combined.
- Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Do not overmix. It will result in a dry and dense cupcake.
- Scoop and Bake- Use a small cookie scoop to portion about one tablespoon of cupcake batter into each liner. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the mini cupcakes- Allow them to cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan before removing them and allowing them to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Frost the cupcakes- Prepare the vanilla buttercream frosting and pipe the cupcakes with a 1M piping tip and a piping bag. Decorate with sprinkles if desired.
TIP: Use an egg separator to divide the egg white from the egg yolk more easily.
Storing Cupcakes
These mini vanilla cupcakes can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days for the best quality. Store in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week for longer storage.
You can also store these cupcakes unfrosted for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.
Quick Tips for Different Occasions
Make these cupcakes fit any celebration with these quick and easy tips:
- Birthday Party Fun: Add colorful sprinkles or edible glitter on top of the buttercream to match the party theme. Use a variety of food coloring gels to create a rainbow of frosting colors.
- Holiday Festivities: Customize the vanilla cake base with festive liners and decorations. For example, use green and red liners with snowflake sprinkles for Christmas.
- Themed Events: Pipe frosting into fun shapes like stars or flowers using specialty piping tips. Add themed toppers to make your cupcakes the centerpiece of the dessert table.
- Bite-Sized Treat for Gifting: Pack these fluffy cupcakes in decorative boxes or clear treat bags with a ribbon for an adorable homemade gift.
- Special Variations: Add a drop of food coloring to the batter for a subtle pastel hue, or swirl two colors together for a marbled effect.
RELATED
📖 Recipe
Mini Vanilla Cupcakes
Mini Vanilla Cupcakes are a bite sized treat topped with creamy vanilla buttercream and festive heart sprinkles. They're perfect for any celebration, from Valentine's Day to birthday parties or Mother's Day.
Equipment
Ingredients
Mini Vanilla Cupcakes
- ½ cup butter - softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 egg whites
- 3 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup milk
- 1 ⅔ cup flour - spooned and leveled
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter - softened (2 sticks)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons milk - as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC) and line a mini muffin tin with 24 paper cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl, spoon and level the all-purpose flour, then combine it with the baking powder and salt. Set this flour mixture aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until well combined. Beat in the egg whites until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla extract, sour cream, and milk until everything is combined.
- Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Do not overmix, as this can result in dry and dense cupcakes.
- Using a small cookie scoop, portion about one tablespoon of cupcake batter into each liner. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the muffin pan for 10 minutes before removing them and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Beat the softened butter until it is smooth.
- Gradually incorporate the powdered sugar into the creamed butter, mixing well.
- Add the vanilla extract and continue to mix.
- f needed, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk to achieve your desired frosting consistency If needed, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk to achieve your desired frosting consistency. For piped cupcakes, the frosting should be stiffer to hold its shape.
- Use a 1M piping tip fitted to a piping bag to pipe the frosting.
- If desired, top with sprinkles.
- Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
Quick Tips for Different Occasions
Make these cupcakes fit any celebration with these quick and easy tips:- Birthday Party Fun: Add colorful sprinkles or edible glitter on top of the buttercream to match the party theme. Use a variety of food coloring gels to create a rainbow of frosting colors.
- Holiday Festivities: Customize the vanilla cake base with festive liners and decorations. For example, for Christmas, use green and red liners with snowflake sprinkles.
- Themed Events: Pipe frosting into fun shapes like stars or flowers using specialty piping tips. Add themed toppers to make your cupcakes the centerpiece of the dessert table.
- Bite-Sized Treat for Gifting: Pack these fluffy cupcakes in decorative boxes or clear treat bags with a ribbon for an adorable homemade gift.
- Special Variations: Add a drop of food coloring to the batter for a subtle pastel hue, or swirl two colors together for a marbled effect.
Nutrition
Serving: 1mini cupcakeCalories: 255kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 2gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 113mgSugar: 27g
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
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Dana is the lead recipe developer and photographer for PopularRecipes.com. With her 10+ years of experience creating, testing, and photographing recipes, she has become an artist in developing wholesome, family-friendly meals that are a hit with both kids and parents.
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