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Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with Creamy Buttercream Frosting

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five vanilla cupcakes with blush pink frosting swirl with white and pink sprinkles on a red lace doily on a white table with red heart ribbon and clear mini bowls with sprinkles

Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with a creamy dreamy buttercream frosting is a simple but dramatically eye-catching delicious dessert for your Valentine’s Day celebration. Start off with a box cake mix to make dessert so easy, then add the little extras, and your family will think you got them at the local bakery.

five vanilla cupcakes with blush pink frosting swirl with white and pink sprinkles on a red lace doily on a white table one on a mini white cake stand.

Sometimes the perfect cake is a cupcake. Single serving, personal, and easy to just have one and feel like you have had a special dessert. Perfect for a holiday and special occasion or just a weekend dinner dessert. Perfect when you have kids as there will not be any fights about who got the larger slice of cake.

I love them because you can show your creative side with decorations. You can use different piping tips, different color frosting, and different sprinkles. If you do not like one design or color just change it up for the next cupcake.

Cupcakes are so much fun to start baking with your kids. They can learn the basics of baking and can help with the decorations. You do not have to worry that their little hands will mess up a large cake, which every design is just for them.

five vanilla cupcakes with blush pink frosting swirl with white and pink sprinkles on a red lace doily on a white table, with picture in picture of a cupcake tray with red paper liners filled with vanilla batter and a red spatula on a green spoon holder.

Beautiful Cupcake Liners add color and design

How to Make Box Mix Cake Like Bakery

  • You can add unsalted butter for the oil in the instructions.
  • Substrate milk for the water from skim to whole it will make the cupcakes moist.
  • Add an extra egg to make it moist.
  • Add Instant Pudding – French Vanilla for White cake mix.
  • Add Chocolate Instant Pudding – Red Velvet cake mix.
  • Add Coffee or Instant Expresso for Chocolate cake mix.
nine vanilla cupcakes with blush pink frosting swirl with white and pink sprinkles on a red lace doily on a white table. with 4 of them on a clear cake stand.

Why Make Cupcakes from a Box Mix?

You can make beautiful cupcakes that your family and friends will say Wow when you bring them to the table. However, as busy moms most of the time, we do not have time to bake the batter from scratch. Using a store bought box mix is a convenient way to make cupcakes quick and easy and spend your creative time on the decorations.

Somedays when you and your little ones are having a rough day or all are experiencing cabin fever even the dog, making an easy batch of box mix cupcakes will brighten the day.

A cupcake for a snack or a dinner dessert can be a surprise or get all the kids involved in baking. One of the life skills that are so important to teach our children is how to cook.

While it is obvious to say, all our kids will at some point feed themselves and their families. And it is our responsibility to teach this important skill. What better way to begin than by making delicious and beautiful cupcakes?

Cooking involves a lot of precision, measurement, math, timing, and patience. You can also teach an experiment with style, artistic design, and table manners.

cupcake tray with red cupcake paper liners and vanilla cake batter in the liners, a red spatula on a green spoon holder and three liners in the top left corner and pink and red heart shaped sprinkles on the table.

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How to Make Box Mix Cupcakes

  • As with all baking it is best to gather all the ingredients before you begin.
  • Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
  • Set the oven to the cooking temperature.
  • Have a stand mixer or hand mixer ready.
  • Add all of the wet ingredients to your bowl first and do a slow mix for 15 seconds.
  • Add the box cake mix to your bowl and mix for 30 seconds.
  • Add any extra add-ins.
  • Fill cupcake liners in the cupcake pan 2/3 full.
  • Bake according to the directions on the box mix.

Supplies Needed for the Perfect Cupcake

  • Cupcake Pan
  • Cooling Rack
  • Cupcake Liners
  • Frosting Piping Bags
  • Frosting Piping Tips
  • Sprinkles
Print
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Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with Creamy Buttercream Frosting

  • Author: Crafting a Family Dinner
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 18 minutes
  • Total Time: 38 minutes
  • Yield: 28 cupcakes 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking

Description

Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with a creamy dreamy buttercream frosting is a simple but dramatically eye-catching delicious dessert for your Valentine’s Day celebration. Start off with a box cake mix to make dessert so easy, then add the little extras, and your family will think you got them at the local bakery.


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Cupcakes: 

  • Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist, Classic White Cake Mix, 15.25 oz.
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs whites
  • 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
  • spray oil (like Pam spray)
  • Cupcake Liners

For Buttercream Frosting:

  • 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) at room temperature
  • 4 cups of confectionary sugar
  • 6 to 8 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 drops of red food coloring
  • Sprinkles
  • Piping tips and bags for decorating.


Instructions

To Make White Cupcakes:

  1. Heat the oven to 350°.
  2. Line a 24-cupcake pan with pretty cupcake liners.
  3. Lightly spray each liner with spray oil.
  4. In a stand mixer or in a bowl with a hand mixer add the water, vegetable oil, egg whites, and clear vanilla extract, and mix for 15 seconds on low. 
  5. Add the Duncan Hines Cake mix.
  6. Mix on low for 30 seconds. 
  7. Next mix on medium for 2 minutes. 
  8. Fill the cupcake liners that are in the pan and sprayed lightly with the spray oil 2/3 full. 
  9. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes. Check a cupcake with a toothpick if it does not come out clean bake for another 2 minutes. 
  10. Remove the cupcakes and place them on a cooling rack, cool them completely. 

To Make Buttercream Frosting: 

  1. In a medium mixing bowl in your stand mixer 1 stick of room temperature butter, beat until smooth. 
  2. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
  3. Add 3 cups of confectioners sugar and start adding the milk until the frosting is the consistency you desire for frosting in a piping bag or with an offset spatula. Add the additional 1 cup of sugar and milk to get the perfect spreading consistency.  
  4. When the cupcakes are cooled, frost them any way you like and decorate them with sprinkles. 
  5. I used a 2D star tip with a disposable piping bag to get the pretty design. I also used “Sprinkle Pop” sprinkles. 

Notes

Keep in mind that making buttercream frosting is not an exact science. If you want to pipe a large swirl you may want the frosting stiffer.  If you want to make little dots then the frosting should be thinner.  Depending on how you want to frost will determine how much sugar and milk you add to the frosting.  You can also use a different flavor or different color to make the cupcakes your own.  

Keywords: Easy Vanilla Cupcakes

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