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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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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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Can you use cake flour instead of all purpose?
I haven’t tried it in these, but it might be ok.
I used cake flour. It was good.
I have tried so many vanilla cupcake recipes looking for the perfectly moist cupcake. THIS IS THE ONE!!!! Thank you. It’s absolutely delicious.
I’m in Australia and gave thses a try, just by looking at the ingredients you wouldn’t think these would work out. I gave it a go and made it exactly as you did in the video, with the same ice cream scoop and everything. It only yielded 19 cupcakes and they smelt horrible as they were baking and came out rubbery and weirdly dome shaped. I have no idea why half the people on here have no issues and half the others failed. So weird. Maybe its a regional thing.
I’m sorry they didn’t turn out for you. I honestly have no idea why either. I tried to play with them the other day to see if I could recreate the problems people have and I still can’t. I honestly don’t know.
I did this recipe the exact same and when I bit into it it just tasted like cornbread. Just plain cornbread. I didn’t use cornflour or anything and it just tastes like cornbread completely
Your cupcakes look absolutely perfect! I’m trying to make about twice of your measurements.. 36 pieces of small sized cupcakes and 7-10 pieces of large sized cupcakes. Can you help me with the right measurements please?
I’m not sure. I’m sorry.
I am 12 and love baking so I decided to try something new! I was suspicious because of the amount of sugar but I tried them and they were incredible! the texture was cloudlike and they were not two sweet at all! I made smaller cupcakes and they had nice color and lookes so cute! They were not too sweet at all and I will share and definentely make again.
What is shortening? Sorry i am from south africa.😄
It’s a butter replacement. Just replace it with additional butter.
Hi, the water is it hot or normal cold water? Thank you
Either way should be fine.
This is my go to vanilla cupcake and cake recipe! It’s fantastic! I’ve used it for round cakes before, but now I need to make a sheet cake in an 11×15 pan. Would this amount work or should I adjust the rector amount? If so, by how much do you think?
I think it should be fine as is. So glad you’ve enjoyed it!
I’m from Zimbabwe, I tried the recipe yesterday and it turned out pretty well, they taste amazing!!! Totally loved them.
Thank you😊😊
Can I change the color of the frosting without changing the recipe?
Yes, just add gel icing color.
Came across this recipe and wanted to give it a try. Read the reviews. There is good ones and bad ones. I tried it anyway for my staff for Valentines Day. They loved them!! Not quite sure what the others were doing wrong but this recipe is a keeper! The frosting too! I added a pinch of salt to the frosting is the only thing I did different.
This was probably the best cupcakes I have ever made. Even though i kinda doubted it while making it they come out amazing the only thing i changed was i used only 3 cups of powdered sugar for the frosting and added coloring to it for valentines day. I seriously do not understand how some people are messing this up! it was a super easy recipe and only took me about an hour (no including decorating the cupcakes, just making and baking them and the frosting). These were amazing. I’ll be using this recipe in the future for all my vanilla cupcakes. Thanks so much for the delicious cupcakes. Also for the person that commented that they will be sharing this with their Tiktok followers. First of all. you don’t need to be writing hate comments like that because that could really hurt Lindsay’s feelings writing something like that and second of all it was obviously user error because they came out absolutely perfect for me.
I am very disappointed in these cupcakes! They were disgusting! The consistency was like cookie dough! I followed every single instruction that it said! But no it was gross! This is definitely the worst cupcake I’ve ever had! I will be telling my friends to never use this website again! It said that it was supposed to be really runny and it was but I put it in the oven and what do you know it’s gross! I will also be telling me 216 followers on TikTok.
I have been losing my mind trying to make the perfect batter for cupcakes and cake. and I was starting to feel like it will never happen! somehow I came across your site and thought it won’t hurt. THEY CAME OUT PERFECT!!!!!!! This has really made my month! Thank you so much for sharing!! So easy! I just want to get to the part where I can decorate them. it was so easy! I’ve tried so many recipes that say they are the best and very far from it! Your my hero. You turned my frown upside down!
So glad to hear that!
I am so excited to finally find the best vanilla cupcake recipe! I have been baking a different recipe each day for a whole week. Some tasted good but was dry and crumbly. Others were too dense and not as good of a texture once in the fridge. Your recipe is super duper quick and easy and the flavor is so delicious and incredibly soft. I just tried it out of the fridge and it was amazing. To those who are trying the recipe, keep in mind it is super runny, you might think something is wrong but trust me, they rise perfectly and are soo moist and delicious.
So glad to hear that!