These Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Fluffy Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Buttercream Frosting are tender and fluffy and topped with ultra creamy mascarpone buttercream frosting made with real vanilla beans! They’re perfect for parties, birthdays, or any occasion at all!
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Happy Friday friends! What better way to celebrate the arrival of the weekend than cupcakes, am I right?? These Vanilla Bean Cupcakes are truly the perfect vanilla cupcakes – the cupcake base is so tender and fluffy and the frosting is so light and creamy with those gorgeous flecks of real vanilla!
It’s been such a long time since I posted a cupcake recipe here on thebusybaker.ca! I’ve shared a few of my favourite cupcake recipes before, like these Double Chocolate Cupcakes, or these Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes, or even these Fresh Strawberry Swirl Cupcakes. But these Vanilla Bean Cupcakes? They’re truly the best of the best.
The recipe for the cupcake base is adapted from Chef Anna Olson’s Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes recipe. It’s one of the BEST cupcake base recipes I’ve ever come across and I’ve made it hundreds of times. But the frosting recipe I use is one I’ve developed over time – traditional butter, powdered sugar and milk frostings just never seem to work out all that well for me and I’ve taken to adding cream cheese or mascarpone cheese to any frosting recipe I make. It’s the perfect trick to getting that ultra light and fluffy frosting texture, and it also mellows out the sweetness of the buttercream which, in traditional recipes, can be so overwhelming.
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And if you’re wondering what kitchen tools are best for making cupcakes, you simply can’t go wrong with the traditional KitchenAid mixer. I have THIS ONE (Amazon affiliate link), and it is by far my favourite kitchen appliance of all time. I’m a bit of a minimalist when it comes to kitchen tools, but I’m not sure I could live without my stand mixer. If you’re not in the market for a big, fancy mixer then this hand mixer (Amazon affiliate link) is the next best thing. They really do a fantastic job and though they do require a little more work on your part, the definitely get the job done in style! Oh, and if you’re looking for a cake stand just like mine, check out THIS ONE (Amazon affiliate link). There’s truly no better way to display gorgeous cupcakes like these than on an equally gorgeous cake stand that’s also affordable!
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I hope you enjoy this Vanilla Bean Cupcakes recipe! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite cupcake recipe? I’d love to know!
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Looking for even more cupcake recipes? Check out these delicious cupcake recipes below!
- Best Ever Chocolate Cupcakes From Scratch
- Best Ever Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Dairy-Free Coconut Lime Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Buttercream
- Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Zoo Animal Cupcakes
- Fresh Strawberry Swirl Cupcakes
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Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Fluffy Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Buttercream
Recipe: Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup white sugar
- 5 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups flour, minus 2 tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 vanilla bean
For the frosting:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- a pinch of salt
Recipe: Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare muffin tins with 18 paper muffin cups.
- Add the butter and white sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times.
- Continue mixing on high and add the eggs one at a time, stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
- Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Measure the milk and scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the milk, stirring well to combine.
- Add the flour mixture and the milk mixture alternatively to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed until everything is added (start and end with the dry ingredients).
- Mix on high speed for about one minute to ensure everything is combined.
- Divide the batter between the 18 prepared muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 17-19 minutes.
For the frosting:
- Whip the butter and mascarpone on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, whipping on high speed between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and add them to the frosting, along with the heavy cream and salt.
- Whip on high until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Assembly:
- Cool the cupcakes completely on a wire rack.
- Add the frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.
- Store in the fridge for 24 hours before serving, or serve immediately.
Recipe: Notes
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I made these yesterday for a Halloween party and everyone devoured them. These are amazingly light and moist and just simply delicious. My boyfriend wanted to hoard the frosting for himself. I definitely will be making these again.
So glad you enjoyed it Milinda! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂
Can I use Vanilla Bean paste and if so how much since I do not have Vanilla Beans on hand…
I’d recommend one teaspoon of vanilla bean paste.
These sound amazing!! 🙂 A couple ideas for the leftover vanilla bean pod (since it’s not cheap on this end of the world), Cut it in half and put into some sugar. Let sit for a few days and shake it up. Sit, shake sit shake etc… 2 weeks later you have vanilla sugar!
also, dice it up and put it in some vodka to make home made vanilla extract.
honestly, i’d likely puree the whole bean into my milk with my blender. But I’m cheap like that lol!
Great ideas! I save mine and use them in my Homemade Earl Grey Tea Latte recipe! It’s AMAZING with fresh vanilla bean!