I've tried & tried but can't come up with the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe. I love the flavor of Ina Garten's flower cupcakes but can't get a good shape. I've been using this one because I like the flavor w/sour cream and the oil keeps them nice & moist but it's not a "wow" cupcake. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks!

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla, or add another flavor
1 cup sour cream

I'm with ya on that hunt! I have experimented with using real vanilla bean & vanilla paste, which gives a great flavor.

why dont you try using more butter and less oil....

I would love to use some butter instead of oil but does that also mess with the amount of sour cream because of the percentage of milk solids? I'm not a pastry chef, just a diy-er, so making substitutions is a bit intimidating. Can you suggest specific substitions? I'd be willing to try them & post the results.

I love the Magnolia Bakery Vanilla cupcake recipe - Google should find it, it's been posted online many times. It's secret is lots and lots of sugar and real butter - I think you can't beat the flavour of butter in a 'plain' cake. I use vanilla paste rather than extract, gives a great flavour and I like the look of the vanilla seeds.

I'm with you on the hunt! Yesterday, I tried Billy's Vanilla Cupcake recipe (from Billy's Bakery in NYC). The flavor got good reviews (I substituted vanilla bean paste for the extract), but I wasn't happy with how they looked on the outside. If I make them again, I'll fill the cup only about 1/2 full. I filled the cups about 2/3 full, and as this cupcake doesn't dome...when the batter reached the top of the cup, it spilled out over the edge. It also had a slightly hardened crust that I didn't care for. (I didn't overbake them.)

I've tried Magnolia's recipe & was NOT impressed

I'm on this hunt too. So far it seems I can have either taste or shape nit both!

I've been told that Peggy Porschen's vanilla cake/cupcake recipe is really good but I haven't tried it.

I've heard that Amy Sadaris' cupcake recipe is good but I use the "yellow cake" recipe on the www.wrenscottage.com site for cupcakes. click down at the bottom "From Karen's Kitchen" Lot's of great recipes on the site.

Has anyone tried Sylvia Weinstock's yellow cake recipe as cupcakes? LOVE the flavor! I'm going to give it a try & will let you know.