Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. This ensures your cupcakes don’t stick and makes cleanup a breeze.

Mix the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. This helps distribute the baking powder evenly, ensuring a smooth rise in the oven.

Add the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract. Make sure the butter isn’t too hot, or it could cook the egg.

Combine: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula. Don’t overmix—just combine until the batter is smooth and there are no dry spots. Overmixing can make your cupcakes dense, and we want them light and fluffy!

Fill the cupcake liners: Spoon the batter evenly into the cupcake liners, filling each about two-thirds full. This ensures they have room to rise without spilling over.

Bake: Place the tin in the preheated oven and bake for 12–15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The cupcakes should be lightly golden on top.

Cool: Let the cupcakes cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. This prevents them from becoming soggy at the bottom.