These Vanilla Cream Cheese Cupcakes are extremely soft and moist and they pair great with delicious cream cheese frosting! They also make a smaller batch of cupcakes if you’re just wanting to satisfy your sweet tooth! 

Summer is here and the weather here in Kentucky is unbearably hot.  The other day, I was getting ready to bake something for my friend Julie to celebrate her birthday.  Her request on any occasion is for my Butter Cookies However, it was getting late in the day, on a hot day at that, and I really didn’t feel up to heating my oven for a long period of time or frosting cookies.  Therefore, I opted for something quick and a little lighter, given the hot weather.

These cupcakes aren’t your ordinary vanilla cupcakes.  They contain cream cheese.  These cupcakes are soft and airy, yet have a slightly creamy texture from the addition of the cream cheese.  It takes about 5 minutes to prepare the batter.

Tip #1:  Don’t over mix the batter.  Mix only long enough to incorporate the ingredients.

Tip #2:  Don’t overfill the cupcake liners.  Fill 3/4 full, no more.  If you overfill them, they will form “muffin tops” on the tops of the cupcakes that will easily break off.  They also don’t look very attractive. Many cupcake recipes actually call for filling the liners only 2/3 full. However, due to the small amount of baking powder in this recipe, you can actually fill them a little fuller.

Now let’s talk about the frosting.  The frosting is a classic cream cheese frosting.  Perfect for these cupcakes, I might add.  Decorate them any way you want.  I chose a 1M Wilton tip and piped a flat rose on the tops.  This is super easy, and trust me I’m not a pro decorator by any means.  All you do is start in the center and pipe a flat swirl.  Super easy!

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Vanilla Cream Cheese Cupcakes

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  • Author: Cindy Gibbs @ My Country Table
  • Prep Time: 20 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 Minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 12 Cupcakes 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

FOR THE CUPCAKES

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a standard size muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners.

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup full fat buttermilk, room temperature

FOR THE FROSTING

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon half & half or milk, if needed


Instructions

FOR THE CUPCAKES

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, (or use a hand mixer), mix the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and lump free.  Add the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed until smooth and well combined.
  3. With the mixer on medium, add the flour and buttermilk alternately to the wet ingredients, starting and ending with the flour.  Mix just to incorporate the ingredients.  Do not over mix.
  4. Divide the batter equally between the 12 cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 full.  Do not fill any fuller or you will end up with muffin tops that will easily break off the tops of the cupcakes.
  5. Bake cupcakes for approximately 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.  Cupcakes will barely have any color on the tops.  If they are golden brown on top, they are too done.
  6. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.

FOR THE FROSTING

  1. Add the cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer).  Mix on medium speed until cream cheese is smooth and free of any lumps.  Add the butter and salt and mix until creamy and smooth.  Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing to incorporate.  Add the half & half or milk if needed for a perfect piping consistency and mix until smooth.
  2. Fill a pastry bag two thirds full with frosting, using your favorite piping tip.   Frost cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles if desired.
  3. Store cupcakes in an airtight container.  Cupcakes should stay fresh for up to 2 days.

Notes

If you want to make flat roses with the frosting, it’s super simple.  I used a 1M piping tip and started in the center of each cupcake, piping a flat swirl.

Recipe adapted from Southern Living