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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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I was afraid to try these because you mentioned others had problems. I am so happy I attempted them. They are delicious and so moist! Everyone loved them!
Cupcakes were a massive hit!! How would you go about converting to cakes?
I used it as the cake layers in this cake. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/berry-mascarpone-layer-cake/
I made Moist Vanilla Cupcakes yesterday. It was a very easy to follow recipe and it baked beautifully but I was disappointed with the flavor before frosting. The dominating flavor was “flour” even though it had 1 Tbsp. of organic pure vanilla extract. Two weeks ago I made your Peanut Butter Chocolate Layer Cake and it was one of the best cakes I’ve made…easy to do and the texture and flavor was superb; so I came back to your site when I needed a recipe for vanilla cupcakes. So while they were moist and easy to make, they were not tasty. I do like your site and I will try more recipes, but thought you would like to know about the flavor issue I had with them.
This recipe is very hit or miss for a lot of people, as I’m sure you can tell from the comments. This is a very easy recipe to make, so I understand why people like it. But for me, this vanilla cupcake is easily the best. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/easy-homemade-vanilla-cupcakes-recipe/
Can you use buttermilk?
I have never tried it.
I am going to try this recipe in 3 Weeks, It looks tasty and it has simple ingredients <3
this recipe is awesome! super easy and makes great cupcakes! i haven’t tried it with the frosting yet (i usually make my own) but both recipes are very similar,so it probably tastes awesome as well!
Is this recipe for normal size cupcakes or the mini ones?
It is for regular sized cupcakes.
Hi, I’m from South Africa! We loved these cuppies! And they actually came out great! (I’m not good at baking) but these turned out lovely! Thanks for your easy, no hassle recipe! Life, love and sugar!!!!!
Is the batter supposed to taste like flour
I absolutely LOVE these cupcakes. I tried your cookies and cream cupcakes and was disappointed that they weren’t as moist. Can I add Oreos to this recipe?
The Oreos would sink in this cupcake.
I was afraid of that. Thank you 😊
Hi! Could these be frozen or refrigerated once cooked?
Or can a portion of the batter be kept refrigerated to cook in a few days?
You could refrigerate or freeze them, though I recommend serving them at room temperature.
Hi. I was wondering if you just made the frosting, approximately how much it would make?
About 2 1/2 cups of frosting
Hi can you help I use this recipe but I always get a peak how can I get them even at the top
Kind Regards
Carol
im not quite sure but maybe try to mix the batter for a shorter amount of time? you might be over mixing them a bit. you can also level the tops with a knife if this still doesn’t work!
Great recipe. The cake was so moist. Glad you mentioned the watery batter, it didn’t look right, but it was perfect! I made a chai tea frosting for vanilla chai cupcakes. So good.
The search is over! This recipe is perfect! Thank you for sharing this, it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for, light, fluffy, delicious vanilla cupcakes!
I live in SA🥰 what can I get as shortening, I’m a bit confused by the term
Just replace it with additional butter.