Copycat Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes
These Copycat Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes are delicious. These light, fluffy vanilla cupcakes frosted with buttercream frosting taste just as good, or better, than the original, and that’s saying something!
We are big fans of Magnolia Bakery cupcakes. They’re some of the best we’ve ever found anywhere. These cupcakes are world-famous for a reason. They are absolutely delicious! And their texture? Oh, wow. It’s to die for. Of all the copycat recipes we’ve made, this one is one of our favorites, so we knew we had to share it with you.
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Light and fluffy vanilla cupcakes that melt in your mouth.
- The homemade buttercream frosting wins you over with one single lick. And the pretty pink color is a favorite.
- Great for your home or to make and take to a party or event. It’s crowd-approved.
- Make a handful or double the recipe for a larger group. A versatile cupcake recipe.
Magnolia Cupcakes Special Ingredient
Since these cupcakes have always been a hit from the start everyone raved about how tender they are. What makes them so tender? One of the ingredients in the batter is sour cream. So simple right? Simple but seriously delicious and it provides a little extra fat and yumminess. Hey it’s worked for years.
Sour cream is added to many baked goods, from cakes to cookies and quick breads. You can’t go wrong with adding a bit of sour cream to some of your sweet treats!
🛒Ingredients
It only takes a few simple ingredients to make these cupcakes. You probably have most, if not all, of the ingredients in your kitchen right this minute.
For the Cupcakes
- Cake flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Whole milk
- Sour cream
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Egg whites
For the Buttercream Frosting
- Unsalted butter – room temperature
- Powdered sugar
- Whole milk
**See the recipe card at the end of the post for quantities.
🥄Equipment
For this recipe, you’ll need just a few simple kitchen items.
- Stand or hand mixer
- Whisk
- Large bowl
- Medium bowl
- 12-count cupcake pan
- Cupcake liners
- Pink gel food coloring
🔪How to Make Magnolia Bakey Cupcakes
As fancy as these cupcakes look, they’re straightforward to make. There are only a few steps to creating them.
Step 1: Prep
Set out your butter to soften. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line your cupcake pan with paper liners; don’t use aluminum liners.
Step 2: Combine the Dry Cupcake Ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Step 3: Combine Milk, Sour Cream, and Vanilla
In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, whisk the whole milk, sour cream, and vanilla together.
Step 4: Cream Butter and Remaining Wet Ingredients
In a stand mixer using a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg whites and mix until incorporated.
Step 5: Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients
Add half the wet and dry ingredients mix until fully incorporated. Then, mix the second half of the wet and dry ingredients until incorporated again.
Step 6: Bake
Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup or ice cream scooper to even portion the cupcakes in the cupcake pan. Then, bake the cupcakes for 20 – 22 minutes until the tops spring back when touched. Cool the cupcakes completely.
Step 7: Make the Buttercream Frosting
Add butter and powdered sugar to a bowl. Begin to beat together. The mix will become crumbly. Then, add two tablespoons of milk. Mix until smooth. Add extra milk if needed. Add the food coloring and mix until combined.
Hint: Never use aluminum cupcake liners. They’ll cause your cupcakes to overcook.
🥫Storage
These cupcakes will last a couple of days in a covered container at room temperature. For longer storage, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 – 5 days.
Or you can freeze your cupcakes in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Freeze in a freezer-friendly container or freezer bag. Then, thaw when you are ready to eat.
💭 Tips
These cupcakes are very easy to make, but we still have some tips to help ensure you make the best cupcakes possible.
- Fully Softened Butter – Always be sure your butter is fully softened for the best texture possible.
- Make Your Cake Flour – If you don’t have cake flour, remove two tablespoons from 1 cup of spooned and leveled all-purpose flour and replace it with two tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift together twice before using.
- Blend Batter in Batches—It’s important to add your wet and dry ingredients in 2 batches to ensure a smooth, even batter. Otherwise, it’s too easy to get clumps.
⁉️ FAQ
While you can get away with them on the counter for a day or so, I find that refrigerating the cupcakes extends the shelf life for a few days. Then, if you want a room-temperature cupcake, just let it sit out for about 30 minutes before eating.
Buttercream frosting is a type of frosting made with real butter and powdered sugar. Its texture is very light, airy, and perfectly sweet.
Yes, you can make this buttercream frosting ahead of time by simply refrigerating it until you are ready to use. You can add it to a piping bag or sealed container.
You probably overmixed them. Overmixing the batter leads to more gluten development. That gluten makes the cupcakes tough and chewy rather than light and fluffy.
Adding all the dry ingredients at once will make the batter thick, which will most likely lead to overmixing and a tough cupcake.
More Cupcake Recipes
If you love cupcakes, we have some other recipes here that we think you’ll enjoy.
- Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
- Banana Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
MORE RECIPES YOU WILL LOVE:
- Baileys Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake
- Bourbon Buttercream Sugar Cookies
- Easy Orange Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
- Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
- Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Bread
Copycat Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes
Equipment
- Stand or hand mixer
- Whisk
- large bowl
- medium bowl
- 12 count cupcake pan and Cupcake Liners
- Pink gel or liquid food coloring
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour*
- 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup of whole milk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 sticks of unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 egg whites
For the Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2.5-3 tablespoons whole milk
- Gel food coloring (pink)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners then set aside.
- Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt).
- In a 2 cup liquid measurement cup, whisk together your whole milk, sour cream and vanilla.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream your butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, scrape down the bowl. Add in your egg whites and mix until incorporated, scrape down the bowl
- Add half of your wet and dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated, scrape down the bowl, specifically looking for any unincorporated flour mixture. Add the second half of the wet and dry and mix on low until fully incorporated.
- Use a ¼ measuring cup or ice cream scooper to evenly portion out your cupcakes. Bake your cupcakes for 20-22 minutes, until the tops spring back when touched. do not overbake or they will dry out!
The Buttercream:
- Add butter and powdered sugar to a bowl. Begin to beat together, the mixture will begin to turn crumbly.
- Start with 2 tablespoons of whole milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. (add extra milk only if needed)
- Add one small drop of gel food coloring and mix throughout.
To Decorate Cupcakes:
- Place icing in a piping bag squeezing the icing all the way down to the bottom of the bag. Cut a medium size whole at the bottom of the bag. Pipe the icing from the outside in. (start outside, work your way in) In a smooth motion. Or you can just use a knife and freestyle your icing!
Notes
How to make cake flour from all purpose flour:
Take one cup of all purpose flour, spooned and leveled. Remove two tablespoons, and then add two tablespoons of cornstarch to the all purpose flour. Sift together twice before using.
Hi! Can you make more than 1 batch at a time?
Yes we tripled the recipe for a party last summer. They came out perfect, We did cook them one batch at a time and put the batter in the fridge.
Made these and they are delicious. Was wondering if I could make them chocolate and how to keep moist. What would I had besides caoco.
If you thought these were moist enough adding the cocoa powder and maybe cutting the baking time down a bit would be fine. We always store these in a covered plastic container
on our counter. You can store in the fridge but we think they tend to dry out. Hope that helps. So glad you loved them! 🙂
I tried this recipe and they are delicious. Moist, fluffy, tender…I loved them. I never comment but they were so good I had to.
Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Thank you I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Has anyone made this in a cake form?
Easy recipe and so tasty it doesn’t need icing
Thank you! and yes they are great just as is.
Just want to clarify you directed the milk and sour cream to be whisked together with the vanilla in a measuring cup and than you mention creaming the butter and sugar together with the vanilla. Is it both? If so, is it 1tsp each? Equaling 2 tsp total?
Hi Bess one tsp is in the cake mix and 1 tsp in the buttercream frosting.
Thank you for clarifying. I want to make it right lol Ill comment back after I make this. I’m going to try to bake this as a cake instead of cupcakes.
Let us know how it turns out as a cake. We always made it as cupcakes
Thanks for sharing the recipe, they came out exactly like yours they’re so fluffy and delicious. I filled mine with soft toffee. I love this recipe. I will make five dozen for my nieces baptism party 😇.
Yay! They are supe yummy! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Hello, nowhere in the recipe does it say how and when to mix in the sour cream/milk/vanilla component. I assume with the wet ingredients? Also, in the top listing of your ingredients, you didn’t list butter in the cake list. Best regards-
It says it in the recipe card. Step 2