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This recipe for Sprinkles Copycat Vanilla Cupcakes with vanilla icing is even better than the original! Moist, dense cake that is packed with vanilla flavor.
On this Memorial Day (or anyday), let us take a moment to remember all those men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our Country and our Freedom.
All things considered, I think a holiday celebrating the brave men and woman who protect our Freedom calls for cupcakes. While definitely not ideal for shipping overseas, I know these Sprinkles Copycat Vanilla Cupcakes or these strawberry cupcakes would bring a smile to any serviceman’s face when delivered with a “Thank you”.
Sprinkles Cupcakes is the only place where I have ever loved the vanilla cupcake with vanilla icing more than chocolate. That’s right, more than even this triple death by chocolate cupcake! I also love their triple cinnamon cupcakes enough to make another copycat recipe.
Sprinkles Cupcakes opened up a store in Atlanta several months ago, and my Husband and I were obviously there the day opened. What of it?
Accordingly, hubs and I have had a healthy (or possibly unhealthy) obsession with Cupcake Wars for several years now. We have seen every single episode, ate macarons at the Paris bakery where Florian was executive pastry chef, and search for Cupcake Wars winners in every new city that we visit. There is an obsession between us with Sprinkles Cupcakes, but I think I already mentioned that one!
My husband and I were eagerly waiting for months for the new Atlanta shop to open and the night before he said, “I would probably break the law right now to have a Sprinkles cupcake.”
Certainly, he was 100% serious. About that, and probably about these carrot cake cupcakes!
I have been scouring the Internet for Sprinkles Copycat Vanilla Cupcake recipes for months to try and replicate the dense, chewy texture and perfect vanilla flavor at home, and I think I have finally found it. For the vanilla cupcake recipe I adapted a recipe I found at Layers of Happiness and I modified the “official” Sprinkles vanilla frosting recipe that I found on Food.com. Quite frankly, I felt the one posted couldn’t possibly be right because it didn’t have any vanilla bean paste in it, so I changed it. In similar fashion I bumped up the vanilla extract.
You’ll never need another vanilla cupcake recipe again because these are the BEST! Additionally, I actually used the same cake recipe in these Salted Caramel Cupcakes. Swoon.
Want to laugh? My most compelling evidence of obsession: this is me at the Sprinkles Cupcakes’ ATM. That’s right I said cupcake ATM!
Sprinkles Copycat Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ¼ cups sour cream room temperature
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the Frosting:
- 1 cup butter softened
- 3 ½ cups confectioner sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners.
- Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to combine after each addition.
- Add vanilla, sour cream and almond extract, beating until just combined.
- Reduced the mixer speed to low and stir in the flour in several additions. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir the last bit of flour in with a spatula until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Scoop batter into cupcake liners and bake in preheated oven for 14-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few clinging crumbs.
- Allow to cool completely before icing.
For the Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and salt on medium-high speed until combined, then add cream, vanilla extract and vanilla paste and continue to beat until light and fluffy.
- You can either smooth the frosting on the cooled cupcakes with a small offset spatula à la Sprinkles, or you can just pipe it on. Personally I find piping easier!
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go!
Check out all our delicious, pastry chef-created recipes for Cupcakes, or switch gears but keep it festive with my funfetti cookies!
Hi, I live in a high altitude area and I’m curious as to what I’d need to do differently for this recipe to work for me…anyone else try or mention ideas to you yet? Thanks in advance!
Hi Camille, I really don’t know anything about high altitude baking. My best advice is google it! Happy baking!
I’m really happy with the texture and how moist the cupcakes turned out, but for some reason I taste a lot of flour…is there something I possibly did wrong?
Hi Shannon, How odd. Are you perhaps referring to the texture that is more dense than other cakes? Unless the flour was not mixed completely so it didn’t hydrate properly, but I feel like you wouldn’t be happy with the texture and moisture if that is the case. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help
I agree with one of the comments, this is the best vanilla cupcake recipe. and I’ve tried many… So I was wondering if I could make this into a cake version? Is there anything I should change ratio/prorotion-wise? Will it be crumbly? Any tips? Thanks so much!
Hi Imelda! I have made this into a cake. It is rather dense and heavy as a full cake. Try creaming the butter with the sugar instead of melting it. Otherwise, it is delicious!
Thank you! Will try that, this is a delicious vanilla cupcake recipe. Hope it will work for a cake form.. <3
I just tried this recipe almost as-is. I only reduced the sugar for the cupcake from 1 1/2 cups to 1 cup. And, it _is_ very, very tasty! The combination of cake flour and sour cream I guess makes it so soft, yet so moist. Thank you for putting this recipe together and sharing it with the rest of the sugar-craving world 🙂
You are most welcome Cecilia! I am so happy you enjoyed them!
Hi, what type of butter do you use? Salted or unsalted?
Always unsalted! Thank you for your question, Gladys. Happy baking!
Thank you so much! This is the PERFECT scratch vanilla cupcake. I’ve tried so many before and none seemed quite right. These are perfection. I ate 3 of them the first night. Thank you so much. My search has finally ended and i feel like i can move on from this point in my life ????
Hi Alicia! I am so glad you liked them! On to chocolate cupcakes!!! lol! (May I just suggest you start here 😉 ) Happy baking!
I am a 16 years old and starting my own baking business. I have tried over about 20 cupcakes recipes before and this one is the best one yet. I made these about 7 months ago and everyone loved them. Then I stopped baking vanilla and tired these again but they didn’t come out right for some reason. I had an order of vanilla 72 cupcakes and I didn’t have a recipe. I was going to even resort to the box mix but I made a batch of these this time using real Madagascar vanilla and they tasted AMAZING. Truly better then box cake and are comparable to Wegmans’ ( grocery store in upstate New York) cupcakes. The only problem is that they bake extremely fast at the bottom and some turned out to be burnt. I even placed a pan of water at the lower rack to make them not burn but some did. But besides that the ones that didn’t burn were moist and tasty. Thank you
Hi Miyah, You can also try placing the cupcake tins on a baking sheet which will help difuse some of the heat from the bottom. I am guessing you have a non-convection gas oven. Unfortunately that is one of my major issues with non-commercial gas ovens. I usually don’t have a problem with cupcakes or cakes but with items that bake longer than an hour, like banana bread loaves. Good luck with your business and Happy baking!
I never ever leave comments but darn it this one was a must. These cupcakes are sooo good. I MEAN GOOOOOOD. Just ate 5 of them, trying to hold back so I dont finish them all. First of, I have tried so freaking many vanilla cupcakes and these do not even come close to your recipe. Every person claims THEIR recipe is the best. NOOOO, this one is the best one hands down. I have no idea what misstakes other people made but they came out peeeerrrrfect for me. Thank you a tons. Now my husband won’t have to say “you baking darn cupcakes AGAIN” lol. The search is finally over. My go-to vanilla cupcake wohoooo. The flavor is amazing and they are so light and have a wonderful texture to them. Simply wonderful cupcakes. Thank you once again for sharing this A for amazing recipe. PS. You have earned all the rights to claim them to be The BEST VANILLA CUPCAKE EVER. A+++
Hahah! Thank you so much Alisa! Your comment made my day! I adapted this one into a cinnamon one…if you love cinnamon you should totally try that one too! 🙂 I’m so glad your husband and you enjoyed them! Happy baking!
Any chance you’ve tried to replicate the Sprinkles banana cupcake? My husband said he’d marry me all over again if I could figure that one out. (We’ve been married 30 years, and that’s his only request!!!). Thank you
Haha! I’ll put that on my list 🙂 If I had to guess, it has banana extract rather then actual bananas