Moist Vanilla Cupcakes

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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!

Moist Vanilla Cupcakes recipe

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. 😉

Best Moist Vanilla Cupcakes
Easy Moist Vanilla Cupcakes

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!

Homemade Moist Vanilla Cupcakes
Favorite Moist Vanilla Cupcakes recipe

Watch How To Make These

Read Transcript
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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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Recipe

Moist Vanilla Cupcakes

  • Author: Life, Love and Sugar
  • 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
  • 23 tbsp (30-45ml) water or milk
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  1.  Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with liners.
  2. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large mixer bowl and combine. Set aside.
  3. Add the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and eggs to a medium sized bowl and combine.
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
  5. 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.
  6. Fill the cupcake liners about half way and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
  7. Remove the cupcakes from oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
  8. To make the frosting, beat the butter in a large mixer bowl until smooth.
  9. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  10. Add the vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of water or milk and mix until smooth.
  11. Add remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  12. Add remaining water or milk, as needed, and salt and mix until smooth.
  13. 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

Categories

Enjoy!

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Decorated Moist Vanilla Cupcakes

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2,072 Comments
  1. Xia

    Hi Lindsay! I would love to try this recipe it looks really moist! by the way, do you think if i could make these into tea-infused flavor (e.g. earl grey) , by infusing the milk with tea bags ?

    1. Lindsay

      I think that’d be fine. I feel like someone said they tried it and it was great – I’d definitely try it!

      1. Lindsay

        I haven’t ever tried it. I’m not sure if this recipe would work well for that or not.

    2. Beebs

      I used infused milk in recipes all the time, adds great flavour that’s just a little different! I’m sure it would work in this one. Put about a cup of milk in a saucepan, add the leaves from 3 or 4 teabags (or 2 to 3 tsp of loose leaves) to the milk, bring it to the boil. Then turn off the heat, let it cool, strain off the leaves. Add the milk to cake batter or icing. I like using earl grey, chai, vanilla or peppermint tea leaves, but any flavour you fancy would work! Happy baking.

      1. Alexis Weathington

        Bruh. I loved this recipe!! I’ve had a hard time with mimicking the same texture as my chocolate cakes and this is finally it!!😍😍 love how this recipe calls for oil and water, keeps things light moist and not dense. I also like the icing recipe. seems the shortening helps with a more professional look and I did a multiple color with it and it help up nicely. I read a lot of other comments and saw some complaints, but I dont understand the reasons behind them if you executed the recipe correctly. Will be using this recipe for now on! Thank you!!






  2. Gillian

    Hi, please tell me if we can back these off and use them a day or two later in a airtight container? My home bakery in Gauteng South Africa.

  3. rita

    These cupcakes were awesome! It was my first time making cupcakes with oil and it tasted great. Thanks a lot for the recipe. I’m going to use it more often. 🙂

  4. Jennifer tran

    Can you freeze the cupcakes? I want to bake them days in advance before frosting and serving them for a birthday party.

    1. Amanda Schroeder

      I have tried this recipe and froze a few for just a few days to see if it altered the taste and texture and I thought they still tasted great. Hope this helps.

  5. Nona Giliberte

    Hi Lindsay! If I wanted to make this into rainbow cupcakes, when should I add the food colorings? Thanks!:)

  6. Sarah

    Hi! I was going to try these for a party, but wondered if they would be okay the next day or better the same day.
    Thanks!

  7. Alex

    Hi Lindsay,
    I tried to do your cupcakes. Everything was going smoothly until I took my cupcakes out of the oven. They colapsed…
    What may be the reason?
    I wanted to make them for my friends wedding which is this weekend 🙁

    1. Tina Thompson

      This happened to me the first time too. Each oven is different so it sounds like you need to cook longer. I took mine out at the mentioned time and they did the same thing!!! But I kept making them until I figured out what was going wrong. Watch the cupcakes in the oven, you will notice that the batter will bubble and pop as it cooks when this stops the cupcakes are done. You will also notice that they are really wet on top when they aren’t done yet. The wetness will subside a little and you won’t see any more bubbles popping. Did the trick and I have made hundreds since then!! Good luck!

      1. Lindsay

        Nope! Some recipes use baking soda and some recipes use baking powder. It really depends on the recipe and the texture you’re looking for.

    1. Julie

      Thanks for sharing your recipe, my baby is turning one soon and I was going to order a cake, however during these times I’d rather make it. Can I substitute the sugar with brown sugar?






Lindsay
About Lindsay

I’m the baker, recipe developer and photographer behind Life, Love and Sugar. I love sharing trusted recipes with helpful tips to give you great results.

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