Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting

This small batch vanilla cupcake recipe makes just 6 perfect soft & moist cupcakes! With just 10 ingredients, you can make this birthday recipe in under an hour. Looking for a cupcake recipe that makes more than 6? Read below on how to double this recipe to make 12 cupcakes. Decorate them with a fudgy dark chocolate frosting and confetti rainbow sprinkles for the ultimate birthday celebration!

For more small batch recipes, try Small Batch Lemon Bars, Small Batch Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins, Small Batch Buttermilk Biscuits, and Small Batch Brownies.

• Cake Flour: Though it's not essential to make these cupcakes, cake flour achieves the softest crumb! 
• Sugar: Both the cupcakes and the frosting require granulated sugar.
• Leavener: You'll need just baking powder to give these cupcakes the perfect rise & texture.
• Fat: To make these cupcakes super moist while maintaining that classic buttery flavor, this recipe uses an oil-butter combo. 
• Dairy: For optimum flavor and texture, use full fat greek yogurt and milk.
• Egg: The cupcakes need just one egg white, while the frosting needs 3 egg yolks.
• Chocolate: To make the frosting dark chocolate, use bittersweet chocolate. Alternatively, you can use semi-sweet chocolate. 

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this small batch vanilla cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Mix. Make the cupcake batter by beating the butter into the dry ingredients, the mixing in the wet ingredients. Fold in the whipped egg white at the end.

STEP 2: Bake. Divide the batter between the 6 cupcake liners and bake.

STEP 3: Cool. Allow the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack. 

STEP 4: Mix. Make the chocolate french buttercream.

STEP 5: Frost. Use a cookie scoop to portion the buttercream between the cupcakes.

STEP 6: Sprinkle. Decorate the frosting as desired and top with confetti sprinkles!

Expert Baking Tips

• You can use any oil that has a neutral taste. My go-to is light tasting extra virgin olive oil, but you can also use vegetable or canola oil.
• It is VERY important to wait until the egg yolk, hot sugar mixture has cooled to room temp. If you add the butter before it's cool enough, it will melt and be a soupy mess.
• If you would like to double this recipe, you can either use 2 egg whites and follow the recipe as is, or use 1 whole egg and add it in with the other wet ingredients.
• Store cupcakes in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x