Sourdough Vanilla Cupcakes

Craving a super delicious cupcake? Ever thought about adding sourdough discard to it – well I did! I’m all about sneaking sourdough discard into everything possible – it adds a bit of nutrition, some extra moisture, and let’s face it, I hate wasting ingredients. That’s where these sourdough vanilla cupcakes come in. They’re incredibly delicious, with just the right amount of tang, depending on your preference. Quick to whip up, these vanilla cupcakes bake into light and tender cupcake perfection. Sourdough vanilla cupcakes are now a top favorite for birthdays or any celebration. Simple, sweet, and absolutely delicious. Can’t wait for you to give this sourdough vanilla cupcake recipe a shot!

Ingredients in Sourdough Vanilla Cupcakes

• Sourdough Discard: You can use fresh, bubbly sourdough starter or sourdough discard in this recipe. I prefer a mild to non-existent sour flavor in these vanilla sourdough cupcakes and am mainly using the discard for the moisture and to avoid waste. If you don’t mind a more pronounced sourdough flavor, use refrigerated discard up to a week or two old. I use 100% hydration sourdough discard.
• Butter and Oil: A combination of butter and oil work together to give the cupcake the best texture. If you leave out the butter, the flavor won’t be quite as rich. If you leave out the oil, the texture will be more crumbly and dry. Do what is best for you, but I prefer a mixture of the two.
• Eggs: This recipe calls for 4 eggs. They are best used at room temperature.
• All-Purpose Flour and Cornstarch: I love the combination of all-purpose flour and a little bit of cornstarch to give a tender cupcake. If you don’t have cornstarch on hand, you can leave it out and use an all-purpose flour right around an 11.5% protein content.
• Buttermilk: If you want a light, tender and moist cupcake, you need to use real buttermilk. I always have buttermilk on hand, but if you don’t, go grab some for these cupcakes. It’s worth it. Promise!
• Baking Powder: This recipe calls for baking powder as the main leavening agent of these sourdough cupcakes.
• Salt: Salt balances the flavors in these sourdough cupcakes. Don’t leave it out.
• Vanilla Extract: Good quality vanilla extract is important for the flavor of these cupcakes. I don’t really want a lot (or any!) sour flavor coming through, and vanilla extract gives these cupcakes delicious flavor. Next time I’m going to add in a touch of almond extract as well because I love that flavor.

Mixing Sourdough Cupcake Batter

Sourdough vanilla cupcakes are easy to whip together, as long as directions are followed. Don’t just dump everything into the bowl and mix together. Cake needs to develop air from the mixing process to make the final product light and fluffy.

First: To the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand-held mixer, cream together the softened butter, sugar and oil. Mix together until pale in color and light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure all the ingredients are well incorporated. Add the sourdough discard and mix again until completely combined.

Second: Add the eggs one at a time to the mixture, whipping and mixing together until completely incorporated before adding in the next egg. Once all the eggs have been added, pour in the vanilla extract and mix again. At this point the mixture is light, fluffy and creamy.

Third: To a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.

Fourth: Pick up a spatula. You won’t be using the mixer anymore. Add half of the flour mixture on top of the butter/egg mixture and use your spatula to stir and gently combine. Pour in half of the buttermilk mixture and stir again until combined. Then add the last of the flour mixture, stirring to combine and finish off with the last of the buttermilk, stirring until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix your batter for light and tender cupcakes.

Filling the Cupcake Tins

I love using these cupcake tins and don’t usually line them for muffins, but for cupcakes I do. You can cut squares of parchment paper or buy cupcake liners. I spray my liners with a little bit of cooking spray and then scoop batter into each cupcake tin, filling them about 3/4 of the way full. Pre-heat the oven to 350℉ before baking.

Mixing the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

While the cupcakes bake, mix up the vanilla buttercream frosting. Using a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer, whip together softened butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt and heavy cream. Mix for 5-7 minutes until silky and smooth. Add a little more heavy cream as needed. This buttercream is easy to pipe and makes enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes.

To switch up your buttercream and give incredible flavor, add 1 teaspoon of almond extract to the buttercream. It’s my favorite!

Baking Sourdough Vanilla Cupcakes

After the cupcakes have baked for about 18 minutes, check them. They should have risen a little above the pan and be baked all the way through. Check them by inserting a toothpick into the center of a cupcake. When you pull it out there should be a few moist crumbs sticking to the toothpick, or it will be completely clean. Pull the cupcakes out of the oven and let cool completely before frosting. Enjoy!