White Cupcakes are a delicious treat with a moist, fine crumb and a dense texture, making them ideal for a special occasion! They are perfect for frosting and decorating to fit your celebration or event, but also good enough to enjoy the cupcake itself! If you are looking for more Cupcakes, I have you covered!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Flour: I used cake flour in this recipe. Cake flour is very low in protein (about 6-8 percent) when compared to all-purpose flour (10-12 percent). Used in these cupcakes, it results in delicate, fine-crumbed cupcakes. If you don’t have any on hand, make your own!
Butter: Use room-temperature unsalted butter. If using salted butter, you may want to lessen or omit the salt in the recipe.
Extracts: Both vanilla and almond extract are added to the muffin batter. If you have a nut allergy, you could substitute vanilla for almond extract. Or, you can also use Imitation Almond Extract which is typically not made with almonds. Be sure to check the ingredients. If you just don’t like the flavor, the cupcakes do not taste almondy. It simply adds a freshness, a refined elegance, to the overall flavor.
Eggs: You will need only egg whites in this recipe. This gives you a lighter and fluffier cupcake. Try to separate them from the yolks as best as you can. To separate the egg white from the yolk, simply crack the egg over a slotted spoon that is over a bowl. Let the egg whites fall through the slots in the spoon. Don’t throw away the yolks! Beat them and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days to use in other recipes like my Browned Butter Toffee Cookies.
Milk: Whole milk is my preferred milk to use. However, you could use lower-fat milk if that is all you have on hand.
How to Store Cupcakes
To store cupcakes, first, let them cool completely. Then, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. I do not recommend storing these cupcakes in the refrigerator; they will dry out faster.
Can I Freeze Cupcakes?
Yes! In fact, freezing cupcakes is a great way to preserve their freshness. To freeze cupcakes, let them cool completely. Then, store them in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 2-3 months. When ready to frost or enjoy, let them thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
Best Frosting for White Cupcakes
That is a loaded statement because it will absolutely vary based on your preferences!! These cupcakes are pictures with my American Buttercream, but here are a few more ideas!
- Strawberry Ermine Frosting
- Lemon Ermine
- Stabilized Whipped Cream
- Chocolate Buttercream
- Easy Coconut Frosting
Elegant White Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups (275 g) cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups (500 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 cup (225 g) milk, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare muffin tins with liners. (This recipe yields 23 cupcakes.)
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed, carefully add in egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer still on low, add ⅓ of the flour mixture into the creamed mixture, then half the milk, another third of the flour mixture, the remaining milk, and then the remaining flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Using a ¼ cup ice cream scoop or a ¼ measuring cup, fill each lined muffin cup with the batter.
- Bake for 21-23 minutes, or just until the cupcakes start to brown at the edges and the center springs back when touched.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about five minutes. Then, invert onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
What the Test Kitchen had to say about this recipe:
Autumn
My son has a birthday coming up and you better believe I will be making these for him! These might just be the PERFECT white cupcakes!
Elizabeth
No frosting was needed for these soft and flavorful cupcakes! They were moist and delicate and would be the perfect treat to share at a party or celebration! These are versatile enough to add your favorite frosting.
Bella
This has such a lovely, sweet flavor! It was soft and moist, just how cupcakes should be. The cupcake still tastes great without frosting.
A soft, tender, flavorful cupcake! I meant to eat just half! Oops!! Would be delicious with your favorite chocolate, lemon, or even an orange frosting! Love!!!
Selena
These are the perfect white cupcake. The texture is soft and lovely. The hint of almond is just perfect. So delicious!
Should have read all of the comments first… I usually do but for some reason didn’t tonight. Followed recipe exactly and just as others have reported, they puffed up and ran over the top. Definitely makes more than 24. Prob won’t try again because of the cost of ingredients if it fails again. Always had luck with your other recipes though!
Hello, Well I tried your beautiful cupcakes, they looked beautiful just right but when I tried to take off the wrapper the cupcake stuck to the wrapper. They fell apart. They were to sweet for me. I am making my granddaughters cakes for her wedding. These won’t do do u have another I can try? I also used your suggestion about 1/2 shortening and 1/2 butter. Thank you, Tara
looks so delicious and the rope design on the frosting makes it look elegantly unique!
Oh no!! I am so very sorry, I can imagine that is very, very frustrating. 🙁
Here are a couple reasons: Over-beating the batter: By doing so, it can cause too much air to get into the batter. The air then collapses, along with your cupcakes. Oven temperature: If your oven temp is too high, this can cause the cake to rise too rapidly. A good idea is to buy an oven thermometer and keep an eye on it.
Made these last night for my wife’s office and also for a friends birthday. Dang, these are good. They reminded me of baking with my mother a long time ago. I made the buttercream frosting also, and ended up just using a large dollop in the middle of the cupcake instead of covering it. The frosting is seriously rich, even for me. I used a quarter of a cup of the batter for the cupcakes and decreased it a little bit on the last two batches because it gave me more uniformity. Next time I might try a glaze instead of frosting. I was impressed with the texture of the cupcakes and look forward to making them again. The only thing I will do differently to this recipe is cut the almond extract to half a teaspoon instead of a full teaspoon
Glad you like them Brian!! Let me know how your alterations go… they sound like great options!
I made them today. They were flat and sunk. Tried twice. Bummer!
Everyones experience is going to be different. Everyones oven, mixer, utensils, and home is different as well and you will achieve different results. I say give it a try. Its a hit or miss when baking. Even some if rhw best bakers have bad days. I failed at a few recipes, but tried and tried again and it come out the way I wanted it. However, before I start a new recipe,, I clean all of my equpment (mixing bowl, paddles, spoons, spatcheler, measuring cups and spoons, etc) with white vinegar to ensure all oils are removed. If you are a regular baker/cook and use these items for everyday cooking they tend to gather an oilie film on them over time. This can alter any and all recipe as well. Good luck
I’m going to be honest some of the comments left me a little scared to make the cupcakes..didn’t want any mishaps…BUT….I decide d to make a double layer cake instead…. they came out PERFECT!!! not only the best textured cake I’ve made…but soooooo utterly delicious…i frosted with your whipped vanilla buttercream…I’m about to have my husband sit down so we can eat some together and renew our vows..lol lol
So, mine sunk in the middle, too. I am a very experienced baker (read: OLD), so I am careful not to OVER-beat cakes, and my oven temp is right on the MONEY. From what I read, the CAUSE for sunken cakes can be too much LEAVENING. The ratio of baking powder to flour should be 1 teaspoon per cup of FLOUR, so it should be 2 3/4 teaspoons, at most. I should have known better – when I was reading the recipe, I said out loud, “1 TABLESPOON of baking powder?! That’s a biscuit MEASUREMENT.” I MADE these for Easter dessert, and didn’t have time to make a different dessert, so I filled the divot with icing, to the delight of the grandkids (and the men).
OH MY WORD. I can’t believe I made such a huge error in that recipe!!! I have it written in my notes for 1 teaspoon but for some reason it said tablespoon. I remade them using 1 tsp and then using 2 tsp and found that (based on your recommendation) that 2 tsp worked better. I am SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO sorry for this huge error!
How do you achieve the straight up and down edged cupcake? I love that and have searched for a muffin/cupcake pan that is not angled and have had no luck. Desperate and need to know please. Also would love to see a tutorial on how you piped the rope design. Lastly, I know this is a white cake mix and I baked them last weekend and they turned out wonderful – best cupcake ever, but is there a variation to do this in chocolate? The texture (not to mention the flavor) of these cupcakes is exactly what I was looking for but would also like the same or similar dense texture in a chocolate cupcake.
Thanks!