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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!
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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
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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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Hello! I’ve made this recipe before and the cupcakes were perfect! The best I’ve ever had! Can this recipe be used for a 9×13 in cake? Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed them! You can make it as a 9×13, which I did in this recipe, if you’d like to check it out.
CAN I USE NORMAL COOKING OIL INSTEAD OF VEGETABLE OIL
What is considered normal cooking oil? Olive oil?
I’m not sure what happened but these were incredibly doughy. Also, when I took the cupcakes out, the bottoms had risen so if you turned it around, it looked like there was a crater sinking in. I cooked the next batch 3 minutes more hoping it would be less terrible but still came out like crap. I followed all the steps and ingredients correctly. Would not recommend
Why do you add water to the batter? I’ve been baking 40+ years and do add water to a chocolate cake batter (hot coffee actually.). Why not extra milk? As Alton Brown always says “water doesn’t bring any flavor to the party.”
ok thank you so much! this was my first time baking cupcakes and i cannot believe how great they turned out! i made them last night for my 2 year old sister’s birthday and they were amazing! my entire family loved them and i will definitely make these again! this will be my go-to recipe for cupcakes, i love them so much! thank you for sharing your recipe Lindsay!
Hi, I haven’t tried this recipe yet but am very excited! I do have one question: what would be a good substitute for the shortening?
Just use additional butter
I wonder if this could be the reason for the recipe problems – when I view the inredients list on iphone xs the amount of flour looks like ‘1/2 cup’ instead of ‘2 1/2 cups’ (also due to an ad popping up).
I made the recipe, I halved it, substituted oat milk for milk and used part brown sugar – they came out beautifully with a subtle caramel type taste – lovely!! Will def. make again, thank you.
I was wondering if i can use wheat flour??
I’ve never used wheat flour, so I’m not sure. I’m guessing they’d bake, but be a little more chewy and have a different flavor from the wheat.
loved it! there are just so many cupcakes! in a good way. the cake does stick to the wrapper, but it tastes great! also, I am 10 do you know of any really good baking classes?
Glad you enjoyed them! I’m sorry, but I don’t know of any baking classes.
Hi, I’m a young baker, and since I don’t have any vegetable oil I am wondering how much butter I should put in, or if there is a better substitute. Thanks!
Canola oil should work alright, but I’ve not tried butter so I’m not sure how that’d turn out.
Hi Lindsay
Can you add things to this cupcake recipe.
Like peaches or pears
It’s a very thin batter, so they’d sink right to the bottom.
can we make a cake using this recipe
Yes, I used it as a three layer cake in this Berry Mascarpone Cake recipe, if you’d like to use that as a guide.
hello how many cupcakes do these make?
24-26 cupcakes
Just made this for like the hundredth time. Always a hit.
Thanks
This is hands down the best cupcake recipe I have ever come across ,made perfectly moist cupcakes!
These cupcakes are so nice and fluffy totally loved them! I wasn’t sure to use this recipe at first because of all the negative comments but they came out delicious!