These Sourdough Vanilla Cupcakes are perfect to customize for any celebration! They're light and fluffy, topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting and sprinkles of your choice. You can add food coloring to the frosting and change up your sprinkles to make these fitting for any occasion.
This recipe is a variation of my Sourdough Vanilla Sheet Cake recipe!
Why you'll love this recipe
- These cupcakes are light and fluffy and topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting. They stay soft and moist for days after baking!
- It's an easy recipe that comes together with less than 30 minutes of hands-on time.
- Looking for other easy cake recipes? Try this Sourdough Lemon Blueberry Cake and this Sourdough Discard Strawberry Cake.
- You can easily customize this recipe for any occasion with food coloring (for the icing) and sprinkles!
- This recipe is made with sourdough discard, but you can easily modify to use active sourdough starter if you prefer.
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Ingredients
There are only a few key ingredients you'll need to bring these Sourdough Vanilla Cupcakes together.
- Sourdough discard: The sourdough discard should be unfed and at room temperature for this recipe. This recipe is designed for a sourdough starter with a 1:1 ratio (when you feed your starter, it's with 1 part flour and 1 part water). If your starter uses a different ratio, you may need to adjust some of the ingredients in this recipe.
- Learn more about how to make a sourdough starter.
- Butter: The butter must be softened to room temperature for this recipe (both for the cupcake batter and the buttercream frosting). I often will leave butter out on the counter overnight if I know I want softened butter the next day!
- Sprinkles: These are optional, but also a great way to customize these cupcakes! Choose your favorite sprinkles to make these cupcakes for any occasion.
- In the mood for sprinkles? Try these Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookie Bars and these Sourdough Lofthouse Cookies, too.
See full recipe below for detailed directions.
Substitutions & Variations
This is a very adaptable recipe and below are a few easy substitutions and variations you can try.
- Use active sourdough starter - If you'd like to make this recipe with active sourdough starter, you can! To do so, omit the yeast and replace the sourdough discard with active starter (200g). You will also need to increase the rise times.
- Sour cream substitute - This recipe uses sour cream for moisture and fat content. If you don't have any on hand, you can easily substitute with Greek yogurt (preferable) or regular yogurt.
- Add color to your frosting - This recipe makes a vanilla buttercream frosting, but add a few drops of food coloring if you'd like to make a colorful cupcake! Sprinkles are also a great way to customize your cupcakes for any event.
How to Make Sourdough Vanilla Cupcakes
There are only a few key steps to bring these cupcakes together. The full recipe with detailed directions is at the bottom of this post.
- Step 1: Mix together the dry ingredients (minus the sugar) and set aside.
- Step 2: Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Step 3: Add the remaining wet ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined and no dry spots remain.
- Step 5: Pour about ½ cup of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake until set and lightly browned at the edges. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
- Step 6: Top the cooled cupcakes with the buttercream frosting and add sprinkles, then serve.
Expert Baking Tips
- Use metric measurements for at least the flour and sourdough discard. These are two ingredients where there can be a huge variation in using cups vs. metric measurements. Using a kitchen scale for metric measurements for at least these two ingredients will set you on the right path!
- Make sure your butter is room temperature so that it creams together properly (for the cupcake batter and the buttercream frosting).
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting so the frosting doesn't melt.
- The frosting does not need to be perfect! I like to use a piping bag with a large tip, but you can use any tip shape you like. And if you'd rather put the frosting on with a spatula, that works too!
- Customize these cupcakes with different frosting colors and sprinkles.
Storage
Room Temperature Storage: Store these cupcakes covered or in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days.
Refrigerator Storage: Store these cupcakes covered or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days. Refrigeration is not necessary, but will preserve the cupcakes for longer.
Freezer Storage: You can also freeze these cupcakes. Make sure they have cooled fully, then transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. When you're ready to serve, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then let them come to room temperature before serving.
Recipe FAQs
They're accurate! I use the metric measurements for my own baking, especially with the flour and sourdough discard, so I recommend you do the same! There can be such a huge variation in cups measurements, particularly for those two ingredients.
Yes, absolutely! Add a few drops of food coloring to make any frosting color you like. Sprinkles are also a great way to customize your cake for any occasion!
More Sourdough Discard Dessert Recipes
If you tried these Sourdough Vanilla Cupcakes or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you! Happy Baking!
Sourdough Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 200 grams (about ¾ cup) sourdough discard unfed, at room temperature
- 3 eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream non-dairy or regular dairy, room temperature
- ¼ cup milk non-dairy or regular dairy, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Buttercream Frosting
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter softened
- 4 ⅓ cups confectioner's sugar
- 2 ½ Tablespoons milk non-dairy or regular dairy
- 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Food coloring optional
- Sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉ (165℃). Line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, use a hand-held mixer to cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the sourdough discard, eggs, sour cream, milk, and vanilla. Mix until smooth and combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth and combined. Using a spoon or cookie scoop, fill the cupcake liners with about ½ cup batter per cupcake.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the cupcakes are set and lightly browned at the edges. A toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake should come out clean.Let the cupcakes cool in the baking pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully (at least an hour) before frosting.
- To make the frosting, use a hand-held mixer to cream the butter in a medium-sized bowl until light and smooth, 2-3 minutes. Slowly mix in the confectioner's sugar. Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until fully smooth and incorporated. Add more milk if you feel that the frosting is too thick.
- Transfer the frosting into a piping bag, then pipe the frosting onto your cupcakes. Add sprinkles (optional) and serve.
Jessica Vogl says
These are so cute and perfect for any party, birthday, or holiday!