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These Moist Vanilla Cupcakes are super easy to make and so moist – for days! They are my new favorite vanilla cupcake!
Table of Contents
Moist Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe
I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I’d be bringing you some new basic favorites and I started with my easy moist chocolate cake. Today, we are talking about these moist vanilla cupcakes and I’m pumped! One of the things that I’m always messing with is vanilla cake/cupcakes. It’s the never ending quest for all the best versions. I’m a believer that if you don’t have a good vanilla cake, you have NOTHING! 🙂 Ok, dramatic, but it’s like the “tell”. If you don’t have a good vanilla, can anything else really be that good? There are so many ways to vary a vanilla cake and I want the best of all of them! I’m greedy like that. Plus, I know not every has the same idea of the perfect cupcake, so I like to have options.
You may or may not have tried my original vanilla cupcakes. They are loved by many and were my favorite for some time. I still remember the batches upon batches of cupcakes I made while testing those and the fabulous friends that lined them up and tasted tested them all to help me find the best one. If you haven’t tried them, they are worth checking out. But while I still love them, these are my new fave. Sorry “OG cupcake”, there’s a new star in town. 😉
So let’s talk a bit about these cupcake. There’s no need for creaming to get involved, which is kind of a plus. Creaming butter and sugar together makes quite a fabulous cupcake, but sometimes you just want quick and easy and to barely even need to use a mixer. I mean, basically like a box mix but not, you know? These are those cupcakes. The “OG cupcake” was that way too, but used butter and were a little denser. These cupcakes use oil and are lighter.
We’ve got the usual suspects in this cupcake, starting with the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Easy, common ingredients that you should totally have in your pantry already. Mix ’em all together and set ’em aside.
Next are the wet ingredients: milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and eggs. The oil is the fat component instead of butter and in my opinion, tends to make a more moist cake that stays moist for longer. Totally true for these cupcakes. The milk (I typically use 2%) adds to the structure of the cake, in addition to adding moisture. Milk adds fluff and I love some fluff. 🙂 I used a full tablespoon of vanilla extract to make sure there’s plenty of delicious vanilla flavor. Then the eggs add more moisture, structure and flavor. I switched it up in these and went with whole eggs instead of egg whites. No more egg yolks getting wasted here!
Once the wet and dry ingredients are combined, the water is added.
There’s so much moisture in these cupcakes! I love them! I’m a big, big fan of their ease of making, their flavor and moisture. They use such simple ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry too – score! When topped with my favorite vanilla buttercream, these vanilla cupcakes really are a dream! They were a big hit in our house and I hope you love them as much as we did!
Watch How To Make These
Read Transcript
You might also enjoy:
Moist Vanilla Cake
Moist and Fluffy Vanilla Cake
Perfect Moist and Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes
Easy Moist Chocolate Cake
NOTE: Some people have reported having trouble with this recipe, while others love it. I have no idea why some people have trouble. There could be any number of factors – improper measuring of ingredients, oven type, altitude, etc. I have never had an issue with these and cannot troubleshoot a problem that I cannot recreate. If you’d prefer a more traditional vanilla cupcake that uses butter and a little bit of oil, as well as the creaming method, and seems to be less finicky for people, try out these Easy Homemade Vanilla Cupcakes. They are currently my favorite vanilla cupcake.
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Moist Vanilla Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 24-26 Cupcakes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made with oil instead of butter, this Moist Vanilla Cupcake Recipe makes cupcakes with a light, tender crumb that’s super moist without being dense or heavy. The batter comes together in just a few minutes, making these an easy dessert to whip up anytime.
Ingredients
VANILLA CUPCAKES
- 2 1/2 cups (325g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (414g) sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder (NOT baking soda)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (240ml) water*
VANILLA FROSTING
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups (460g) powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2–3 tbsp (30-45ml) water or milk
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with liners.
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large mixer bowl and combine. Set aside.
- Add the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and eggs to a medium sized bowl and combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
- Slowly add the water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined. Please note that the batter will be very thin.
- Fill the cupcake liners about half way and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Remove the cupcakes from oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- To make the frosting, beat the butter in a large mixer bowl until smooth.
- Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of water or milk and mix until smooth.
- Add remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
- Add remaining water or milk, as needed, and salt and mix until smooth.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. I used Ateco tip 844.
Notes
If you’d prefer a more traditional vanilla cupcake that uses butter instead of oil, and the creaming method, try out these Homemade Vanilla Cupcakes.
*Some people report having issues with these cupcakes. If that happens to you, could try leaving out the water entirely.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 285
- Sugar: 31 g
- Sodium: 129.2 mg
- Fat: 12.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 41 g
- Protein: 2.7 g
- Cholesterol: 25.1 mg
Enjoy!
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I tried so many vanilla cupcake recipes. I love a moist and dense cupcake. I’m going to try this right now. Praying it works out. Here goes nothing!…
I hope you enjoyed it!
I just made your cupcakes and they taste phenomenal! They were fluffy, loose (not muffin-like), appropriately shaped, and just little bites of heaven. I should have discovered this earlier because I made cupcakes for a recent party and these would have been a MUCH better and more presentable cupcake to bring (the others were not nearly as good). Well done and I absolutely adore this recipe!! Thank you sincerely, Lindsay!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed them Carmen!
Please help me! I just made this recipe, followed it to a T and the cupcakes tops have crystallized texture and the texture inside is doughy although it’s evenly cooked if I bake any longer they would darken and dry out. I been searching for a good recipe and trust me these cupcakes came out STUNNING! I want to know what I did wrong please help!
Hi how is the vanilla cake recipe and cupcake recipe different? I want to make fluffy and moist cupcakes for my sisters bridal shower.
The recipe i normally make tends to be crumbly. Which recipe of yours should i use?
To be honest, it’s been quite a while since I’ve made the vanilla cake as cupcakes. If I remember correctly, they are a tighter crumbed cupcake, perhaps softer feeling. These moist cupcakes aren’t as tight a crumb, but are really moist and still very soft, not dense. Which one to use is a tough call for me to make, since everyone seems to have a different idea of what makes a great cupcake. These are super easy, so they’d be quick to try and if you don’t like them as much, you could try the others. You could also try these cupcakes. They are almond in that recipe, but replace the almond with vanilla extract and you’ve got another option. Between the three, I’d say the almond one or this one. Main differences are creaming method vs non-creaming and butter vs oil. Both are delicious.
Yum, I made the moist vanilla cupcakes yesterday and they were great. A lot of holes in the baked cupcake and a sponge sort of texture. The flavor was delicious and the frosting was great.
I didn’t use the shortening and 1/2’d the recipe for frosting (I only frosted the 12 cupcakes with about 1/2 cup left over.). I made 12 cupcakes and one 8 inch cake. Wish I could attach a picture, because they looked great (pink frosting). Thank you for all your great recipes!!
Thanks Karen! Glad you enjoyed them!
Did you use all butter frosting or just eliminated the shortening and didn’t replace it with anything? I can’t find shortening here and your reply would be very helpful!
I’m not sure what Karen did, but you can definitely replace the shortening with additional butter.
Hey there .. finally!! A perfect vanilla cupcake!! They are amazing!! Truly thank you! When I cook them some bubble off to the side .. what am I doing wrong?
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! 🙂 I’ve actually seen the bubble thing happen with all different recipes. I’m not sure why that happens. It has to be some weird reaction in the ingredient in the occasional cupcake.
This is the best cupcake recipe I’ve ever tried, thank you so much for sharing it. All my friends and family loved it 🙂
So excited to try this recipe without the use of sour cream. I’m a huge fan of your snickers cupcake that it is my go to chocolate cupcake recipe. Every time I make them I always wonder why it can’t be this simple to do a non-chocolate version. Love everything you make, your cookbook is so beautiful it is almost daunting. Love this site!
Thanks so much Jessica! Yes, if you’re a fan of that chocolate cupcake, you should love this vanilla version! 🙂
So finally made these and the tops to mine were fairly moist to the touch the next day. Not sure what I did wrong.
Did you happen to put them in a container while they were still warm? If so, condensation from inside the container can cause that.
Is the batter meant to be runny when you make these? I tried to make them and the batter was very liquid like. Cakes turned out Ok, but II just wasn’t sure if this was normal as the recipe doesn’t state how the batter is supposed to turn out 🙂
Thanks!!!
Yes, it’s a fairly thin batter. If you watch the video, you should be able to see just about how thin when I pour the batter into the cupcake liners. I hope that helps!
In response to Samantha, regarding convection ovens – I purchased one a year ago and my manufacturers instructions said to bake at 25 degrees less than called for in the recipe. My oven is optional to use convection or regular bake. Also be wary of non-stick coated pans – they cook everything dark and temperature should also be reduced for these. (I am gradually getting rid of them and replacing with good quality aluminum pans – the best for even baking results in my opinion.)
Thanks for helping with that Nancy!
This was my exact same question. Was worried about the consistency of the batter. The cupcakes are now in the oven. See you back here in 15 minutes 🙂
Nancy
Nairobi, Kenya.
I have a conventional oven so the fan is going all the time. It’s so hard to find a vanilla recipe that works well for me and that darn oven. How do you think this recipe will be in this type of oven? Any adjustments you can suggest? All your recipes look amazing! 🙂
I’m not very familiar with baking in a convection oven. I’m sorry! I wish I could be more help. My guess is you’d want to use less baking time, but I don’t know if it’ll effect the way it bakes.
For convection cooking you should reduce the cook time sometimes as much as ten minutes or if the recipe calls for 350 for 15 you might want to try it at 335. Your owners manual can help you with that. I only bake on convection, would not use anything else, I find I get a much more even bake. I have a high end convection oven though and just like gas stoves quality of bake can change depending on quality of the stove. Most importantly though, read the owners manual for baling tips.
I think that the issue for many ppl is the website layout for a mobile view. The add cuts off he very beginning of the recipe, and it kinda looks like only 1/2 cup of flour is needed. I immagine that all ppl saying that it didnot worm, or baked for 1 and a half hour and still bot ready is the provlem that they dont notice the 2 which gets cut of wiyh the add. I tired and they are lovely! So I cant immagine how can so many people fail, must be the flour part.
Could this be halved with the same results?
Thank you.
Definitely! 🙂
Made these last night and they were perfect. My husband left his out uncovered over night by mistake, and it was still ridiculously soft/moist in the morning – well done, thank you!!
Awesome! Glad to hear it! 🙂
If i halve the doses, should i Also halve the egg and use 1?
Yes, if you cut the recipe in half, you’ll also want to use half the number of eggs.
Hi Lindsay
Can I subtitute vanilla bean paste in this recipe and would it still be 1 whole tbsp?
Bridget
I believe it’s usually a 1 to 1 conversion, but haven’t tried it.
Whenever I make vanilla cake or cupcakes the end result is never as light in color as your cupcakes turned out. Do you use regular vanilla or clear vanilla? Or what am I doing wrong? Any suggestions would be welcome.
Thank you.
I use regular vanilla extract. It’d be so hard to say what is causing it without seeing it and watching. Have other cakes you made used baking soda instead of baking powder? I have noticed that that can make a darker cake sometimes.
The color of the cake can depend on cook time, your ovens accuracy with temperature, and also whether you are using light or dark pans. The dark pans retain more heat and can cause cakes to brown faster.
ALso, it could be the yolks in the eggs. Usually white cakes only use the whites. I noticed that when I use Egglands Best, the yokes are almost gold, I too made a white cake and called for 3 eggs, I use daily 2 egg whites and the the third egg I used the whole gig and the cake was more yellow than white.
Are they suppose to taste doughy? My never seem to firm and rise in 17 min.
No, they aren’t. I’m not sure why some people seem to get that result. I’m sorry!
The cupcakes look wonderful, but I too would like to know can you use this batter for layer cakes also? My great niece has a wedding coming soon and she wants me to make her cake.How well does that icing hold up on a layered stacked wedding cake? Thanks so much in advance for your input.
Yes, you can use it for a layer cake. I made it in three 8 inch cakes and baked them for about 20 minutes I believe. The frosting also does well on cakes. I’d double it – or even use 2 1/2 recipes worth, but I’m a heavy froster. 🙂 I’ve used it on wedding cakes before with plenty of success.
when using this recipe for a cake do you have to grease or flour the pan?
Yes, you’ll want to use something. I usually use a non-stick baking spray. Here’s an instance where I used this recipe in a cake, for your reference.
These cupcakes look so yummy! Where did you get the sprinkles? I’ve been looking for stars for quite a while. Thanks.
Thanks Karen! They are from the Sweetapolita Shop.
Super pretty cupcakes!
Thanks Joanna!
I love the sprinkles on these cupcakes! They are so fun1
How is this cupcake supposed to come out like? Like texture, taste and all???
Can this new cupcake recipe be used for a layer cake?
Yes it can. I have made it in three 8 inch pans and baked for about 20 minutes.
Made in two 8 inch pans. Came out great.
Any Lemon Cupcake recipes in the works? I searched your site and could not find any. Thanks!
Great!
I added Lemon Cupcakes to the calendar – that’d be delicious. 🙂 In the meantime, you could try these Lemon Blueberry ones and leave out the blueberries.
How full do you fill your 8″pans?
I’m not exactly sure how full they are, but I divide the batter between three 8 inch pans.
Hi, i made this and it turned like a puto cake.. i haven’t tried any vanilla cupcake before so i do not know if i got it right or not.. 🙂
We followed the recipe to the letter. The only substitute was regular butter over salted butter. The frosting turned out kinda runny and not that solid. Is there a way to make the frosting more solid like the cupcake picture?
I’m from South Africa.
1 cup = 250ml here.
I see the flour is 2 and a half cup = 325grams in your recipe,. Should I just follow the recipe as is and ignore the cups and work on the grams?
Yes, I’d just follow the grams. I actually use the grams and weigh the ingredients when I bake so they’ll be accurate.
And hi in South Africa! That’s where my husband is from. 🙂
I don’t know what went wrong but I followed the instructions and recipe and it didn’t taste good. I wasted time and materials, I will stick to my original recipe. No offense. Thanks for sharing though.
Hi, I tried these cupcakes and they came out so moist and delicious, I just used the one cup measure that I bought from Walmart, I didn’t weigh any ingredients and I didn’t use an electric beater either, I just used a whisk and followed the recipes instructions and I was really happy with the result. I’m originally from South Africa as well but I’m in Savannah Georgia now. Great recipe, I’ll be using this one only from now on????
What did you mean by “shortening” or like what is it than I might try this recipe today or tomorrow great website
It’s a butter substitute, but you could replace it with additional butter.
Hi i have a question can you use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil in the recipe?
I haven’t tried it to say for sure, but I think others have commented that they did and it worked well.
I too am from SA 🙂 I must just say thank you so much for sharing your vanilla cupcake recipe, my little girl and I have now happily mastered the perfect cupcake, due to your recipe. Absolutely perfect!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Should I just half the ingredients
To make less amount of cupcakes
Change your sugar quantities please I have just made you cupcakes and the sugar is wrong should be 200grams or there about snot 400 that will teach me not to watch and go on automatics grrrrr
The sugar is correct. I use the gram measurements when baking them and it’s right.
Hello, I just want to add my 2cents. I tried both the vanilla and the moist chocolate. WOW! Both are amazing! I never need to try any other. Love them both. I didn’t change anything EXCEPT I didn’t use separate bowls for wet and dry. I combined the dry ingredients and added the wet into the same bowl all at once. (Less dishes????)
I am very happy with both recipes. Wouldn’t change a thing.
Thank you
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them both!
Unrelated to this question, but. What are your thoughts on using a different sweetener? Maple syrup?
In my experience, that alters the texture of the cupcake. You could experiment with it, but I’m not sure how it’d turn out.
This is the most disgusting cupcake recipe I have ever tried. It stuck to the wrapper, the texture was odd, and it definitely did not taste good.
It’s good I even gave it a star it’s horrbile it tastes like a cookie and I even followed the instructions nothing like vanilla you also have to put less then half mine cane literally out of the pan
Great recipe ! The only thing I adjusted was the sugar , I used half a cup less. Came out perfect and so easy. What I love is the tops aren’t hills, they are nice and flat , perfect for piping ! Thanks for sharing !
I’m going to try and use the same recipe but convert to make chocolate cupcakes,see how that goes.
Xx South Africa
There are some adjustments to be made for the chocolate version. Here’s my chocolate cupcake recipe, which is pretty much the same with a couple adjustments. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/moist-homemade-chocolate-cupcakes/
Hi Lindsay
Do you think I can sub the milk for coconut cream or coconut milk ?
I haven’t tried it to be able to say how it affects the outcome. I’m sure they would bake fine, it just may alter the texture or flavor of the cupcakes a little bit.
I made these tonight. They came out excellent. My husband loved them also. I will always make this recipe. Tomorrow I will figure out an easy icing to make which I may have the ingredients in the house. Running low on ingredients. Not a good time to go shopping….
This is the BEST cupcake recipe ever. This is my third time making them and everyone loves them <3
This recipe is delicious and super easy to make.
However, I would highly recommend cutting back to 1 cup sugar – the 2 cups makes the sweetness a little too much.
Hello,
I tried these cupcakes today and they’re yummmmm and super moist. I halved the recipe and got 12 cupcakes and a small mini cake 😊
Hello , I am writing all the way from Nigeria.
I have made this recipe twice and it came out fabulous. The first time it was too sweet so I made the following alterations:
– 1 cup of sugar
– 1/4 tsp of salt
-2.5 tbsp of baking powder
– 1 1/4 cup of milk
– 3eggs
– no water added.
Hi there, what temperature should the water be? I usually use recently boiled water for cakes but wasn’t sure, thanks
It’s not super important in this recipe. Room temperature is fine.
Hi I’ve been using your recipe fior quite some time now cupcakes are so delicious. I’ve just looked again for this recipe to print if and noticed you say half a cup of all purpose flour as before it said 2 and a half cups is that a typo error. As I want to make sure I have the right amount.
Thank you so much again
Tara
It still says 2 1/2 cups. Not sure what happened, but I’d try printing again.
Is it suppose to be this watery?
Yes, it’s a very thin batter.
Made these today and they were great! The icing was amazing 👌🏼 and the cupcakes weren’t too sweet at all. I did the same thing as another lady who commented and just mixed the dry ingredients in a bowl, then added all the wet ingredients to save on dishes. Worked just fine. Some of y’all out here saying these were straight up disgusting or awful…I don’t know who hurt you, but don’t take it out on the recipe 😆
User error is common, check your measurements and ingredients carefully.
Thanks for the recipe, the kids and I enjoyed them 🧁😋
The amount of sugar in this recipe is way too much. I was going to make cupcakes for Halloween and was so excited until they came out way to sugary. I don’t know what I did wrong as many other reviews are saying wonderful things about this recipe.
I’m only twelve and I did this for my mom it worked really good she was so proud of me thank you so much for this 😁
1 cup = 250ml if its a liquid (milk, water, oil)
1 cup of flour weighs 120 grs.
Hi,
could i substitute buttermilk for milk in this recipe
thanks
I haven’t tried it to be able to say for sure.
I used buttermilk instead of milk and it turned out great, tastes wonderful and I didn’t use any water
I use this recipe everytime I need to make cupcakes or a cake. I love how light and airy it is, and super moist! Personally I think it’s fail proof. I have never had these come out bad, so if yours does it must be human error. 10/10 recipe! Thank you
I was wondering if I could also substitute the water out for milk! I have grown up on cupcakes using milk and I was wondering if I could incorporate milk instead of water!
I haven’t it tried it that way to know for sure, but you could certainly give it a shot!
Did you try this recipe with all milk? I’ll be making them for a wedding and was wondering how it tasted.
Hello, how many cupcakes does this recipe make? Thanks!
12-14 cupcakes
ok
Mine made 24!. Did I do it wrong?.
Could I use coconut oil instead of shortening? I also only have coconut oil and EV olive oil in the house, so which would you use instead of vegetable oil? I’m leaning toward coconut, but wanted your opinion, as it’s your recipe. Thanks!
I’ve honestly never tried either in frosting. Coconut oil does sound like the better bet, but it will be softer than vegetable oil, so you’ll want to account for that.
I get 24 , both times I used this recipe and I got the same amount
I absolutely love this recipe ..I make these cupcakes at least once every 2 weeks .
My husband and nephew ask me to make them all the time.
They are so moist and flavourful.
So glad to hear that!
Hi
I want to make 3 x 7inch cake, will this recipe be enough or do i neex to double it?
Also, will it still be moist after being in the fridge?
Thanks
Hi Lindsay,
I am definitely not a Baker, but this recipe is winner! I usually do the box cakes and cupcakes, I decided to try your recipe. I baked the cupcakes for 20 minutes and they turned out perfectly. My husband and son thoroughly enjoyed theirs. I made my own version of frosting with purple colouring and chocolate sprinkles. Very sweet which is what I love.
I have already saved your link to my phone and can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Thanks a million again all the way from South Africa.
Candice xxx
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them!
Best vanilla cupcake ever!!! Amazing.
Hi
I tried making the recipe exactly as directed from your post but I found the cupcakes to be a little dense/gummy…..any suggestions as to how I can make a flufflier cupcake next time?
I’m really not sure. Some people seem to get this result and I can’t seem to recreate it. I’m sorry!
So did mine. I followed the recipe exactly and they were pretty dense. Still taste fine, but definitely not cupcake-like.
Mine came out gummy too. No idea where it went wrong. I think the cooking time is off? Going to try again tomorrow. Increase to 25 mins I am at sea level in far west Canada maybe the issue is altitude?
i don’t know what happened but i followed the recipe exactly. yet my cupcakes turned out weird and gummy. disappointed
This happened to me. I would suggest weighing out the flour and other dru ingredients. Also give your dry ingredients a whisk before adding the wet ingredients. And lastly make sure you use room temp ingredients. This seemed to fix any issues I had. Though your baking tin may be an issue
I’m also from South Africa and this is my Go-To recipe for vanilla cupcakes! They’re always moist and fluffy! Yum.
So glad to hear that!
I usually just doctor up a boxed white cake mix, but I tried this recipe today and I’m sure glad I did. So amazing! I will use a real vanilla bean next time for extra flavor.
So glad you enjoyed them!
Hi, I see the recipe says I must use the egg whites. Does that mean I don’t use the egg yolks at all
Not sure where you’re seeing egg whites. This recipe uses whole eggs.
These cupcakes were terrible. Dont try. They had a doughy texture. It also tasted eggless. I do not know why they used only egg whites. We put it in the oven at 5pm it is 6:30 pm and it’s still baking. Please do not try it does not work. Tasted horrible. Please help. 🙁
But where did you read egg whites???? It says egg.
I’m also going to be making these tomorrow and fingers crossed- I’m also from South Africa but based in Botswana now., love your recipes and thanks for including the metrics measurements for some of us!! Do you use hot water or tap water?
The recipe wasn’t great. The cupcakes weren’t moist. Unless your looking for bread like cupcakes you can try this recipe.