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Cupcakes & Muffins

Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes

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For those times when you don’t want to bake a full batch of twelve cupcakes, these Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes are perfect. 

Why do you need a Small Batch Vanilla Cupcake recipe?

Now I know a lot of you may be thinking, why do you need a recipe for less cupcakes? That is a good question because you may think you can never have too many cupcakes.

Believe it or not, there are times when you don’t need twelve cupcakes. The reason I came up with this recipe was way back when I got engaged.

I wanted to ask my friends and sister if they would be my Bridesmaids and the only way I wanted to do this was with cupcakes. In instances like this, you don’t need twelve cupcakes!

Also if you only want to make cupcakes for yourself and a friend/partner etc, you may not want to make a full batch. This is because by the time you have got round to eating them all they might have got a little past their best.

WHICH VANILLA SHOULD I USE?

For the cupcakes, you can use vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. Whichever you decide to use I would recommend buying a really good quality.

I much prefer to buy pure vanilla extract. This is vanilla extract that it made from a few simple ingredients and doesn’t have any unnecessary additives or preservatives. This pure vanilla extract is usually brown in colour.

Pure vanilla extract will provide you with a stronger, deeper vanilla flavour which makes these cupcakes even more delicious.

Vanilla bean paste is my favourite to use because of it’s delicious flavour, but also because of the small flecks of black it adds to the cake. It is a bit more expensive than vanilla extract however so use which you prefer.

I would try to avoid vanilla essence as this has a lot more artificial ingredients in it. It used to be commonly sold in supermarkets but I have seen this replaced with extract in recent years.

My recipe doesn’t include vanilla in the buttercream because I don’t like that vanilla extract could discolour the buttercream slightly. If you do want to add vanilla, I would add ¼ teaspoon of vanilla bean paste.

How many cupcakes are in a small batch?

These Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes are an adapted version of my Vanilla Cupcakes. The reason these are a separate recipe is that you don’t simply halve the Vanilla Cupcakes recipe to get half the number of cupcakes. Three eggs aren’t easy to halve!

I always use muffin cases for my cupcakes and this recipe will make six large cupcakes. If you use smaller cupcake cases then you may make another one or two.

If you do use smaller cupcake cases they are likely to bake quicker too. Check on them after 10 -12 minutes to see how they are doing.

Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes baking tips

To get equal sized cupcakes, I always use an ice cream scoop with a trigger. As well as ensuring evenly sized cupcakes, it also makes it incredibly easy to divide the batter up.

Make sure you don’t put too much batter into each cupcake case, you want to fill them roughly two thirds of the way.

When you are making the buttercream, you need softened butter. I always add my butter to the mixer first and beat it for five minutes or so until it is completely smooth.

If your butter isn’t completely smooth then you may end up with little lumps of butter in the buttercream. Although this isn’t ideal, it isn’t the end of the world.

How is best to decorate these cupcakes?

You can decorate these cupcakes however you would like. I like to use a open star tipped nozzle to pipe the cupcakes like you can see in the photos.

If you don’t have a piping bag you can spoon the buttercream into a sandwich bag. Squeeze it to one of the corners and cut this off. You can then use this as a make shift piping bag.

But if piping isn’t your strength you can just spread the buttercream on top of the cupcakes.

You can also decorate the cupcakes with whatever sprinkles or decorations you like. Depending on who you are making them for will obviously depend how you decorate them.

If you are a big fan of sprinkles, check out my Funfetti Cake.

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5 from 16 votes
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Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes

For those times when you don't want to bake a full batch of twelve cupcakes, these Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes are perfect. 

Course Snack, Cupcakes
Cuisine British
Keyword Cupcakes, Vanilla, small batch
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 373 kcal
Author Curly

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 75 g caster sugar
  • 75 g margarine
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 75 g self raising flour

For the buttercream

  • 70 g unsalted butter softened
  • 140 g icing sugar
  • 1 tbsp milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160ºC (fan assisted, 180°C non fan)

  2. Beat the margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy

  3. Add the vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and eggs and mix

  4. Add the flour and mix until it is combined. Spoon into cupcake cases filling each 2/3 full
  5. Bake in the oven for 14 minutes or until a cocktail stick comes out clean

  6. Let the cupcakes cool slightly before removing them and leaving cool completely on a wire rack

  7. When the cupcakes are completely cooled, beat the softened butter until smooth

  8. Add the icing sugar and mix

  9. Gradually add the milk until completely smooth

  10. Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag and pipe onto the cupcakes

Recipe Notes

Keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days. 

Nutritional information is given as a guide only and my vary.

Nutrition Facts
Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 373 Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Fat 21g32%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Cholesterol 53mg18%
Sodium 131mg6%
Potassium 23mg1%
Carbohydrates 46g15%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 36g40%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 778IU16%
Calcium 15mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Reader Interactions

Comments

        • Curly says

          Yes that would work really well. Zest seems to provide more flavour I think. You could also add lemon curd instead if you have any 🙂

          Reply

          • Dimple Patel says

            Perfect, thankyou. I made the cupcakes and they turned out really well..this was my first time making cupcakes so I didnt beat the icing enough but the sponge was perfect!

          • Curly says

            That is so great to hear 🙂 I’m so pleased you liked them and they turned out well 🙂

          • Curly says

            Hi, yes you can use unsalted butter instead of margarine for this recipe. Make sure its had time to soften so it is easier to mix 🙂

  5. Kitty says

    5 stars
    Such a simple recipe to follow!! And cupcakes turned out fluffy and delicious! I added some vanilla sugar to give it more of a vanilla flavour and they turned out lovely. Thanks for the recipe 🙂

    Reply

  8. Emma says

    May I ask which cupcake cases brand do you use? Because your cupcake look so clean and beauty. Love it!

    Reply

    • Curly says

      Thank you 🙂 I don’t tend to use specifically one brand. I usually buy the large, white muffin cases that are available in most supermarkets. They are all very similar. I like to use these because they look good with every cupcake!

      Reply

        • Curly says

          Hi Sheila, I’m afraid I haven’t tried this before. If you google how to make self raising flour, it will tell you how much baking powder and baking soda to add to all purpose flour to make it self raising flour which is needed for this recipe.

          Reply

    • Curly says

      Hi Sana, sorry I haven’t testing a chocolate cupcake recipe yet! It is on my list to develop very soon but I am afraid I don’t know how much cocoa powder you would need to add as I haven’t tested it yet.

      Reply

    • Lisa Nicholls says

      Hi I’ve made these with my children who are allergy babies. We are moving up the ladders. Most lovely cakes we’ve found and everyone loves them. Would this recipe amount make a small tray bake do you think? Thanks

      Reply

      • Curly says

        Hi Lisa, it would depend what size tin you are using. The bigger the tin, the thinner the cake would be and the quicker it would bake. You could try it in a loaf tin and keep testing it until a cocktail stick comes out clean.

        Reply

  11. Macy says

    Hi, I’m going to make these cakes soon as they look absolutely amazing!
    Do you think you could please tell me how many calories it is without the icing
    Thanks

    Reply

    • Curly says

      Hi Macy, thank you 🙂 without the icing they are approximately 200 calories per cupcake. Please bear in mind this is just a rough guide as ingredients do vary. I hope enjoy them if you do make them.

      Reply

      • Macy says

        Thank you
        I was going to halve the recipe because I only need to make 3 but how do you halve 1 egg?
        Sorry I’m full of problems, but this is the last one!

        Reply

        • Curly says

          Hi Macy, halving an egg is difficult which is why I made this recipe because it is tricky to just half my 12 cupcake recipe. The only think I would recommend is to weigh the whole egg and whisk it then add half the weight of the egg to the rest of the ingredients. You could always make 6 and freeze 3.

          Reply

  14. Layla says

    5 stars
    I Very RARELY leave feedback on cooking pages, let alone bookmark a recipe (Lazy cook who rarely gets it right) but I just had to say not only is this recipe so so easy to follow, these cupcakes are just FOOL PROOF 🙂 I make them for my significant other as a treat and they always go down so well xx Thank you, Thank you

    Reply

    • Curly says

      That is such a huge compliment Layla, thank you so much. I’m so pleased you and your partner like them!

      Reply

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