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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
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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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Substituted the oil for Butter. The person I asked to prepare soften butter actually melted it until it separated. I didn’t have time to change it. Was worried as it’s a very thin mixture. But read the note, and baked it. Turned out ok still.
Second time, butter was prepped properly and they turned out great. Very simple recipe. I think the issue people might be having is with the type and quality of flour they are using. Or possible the quality of water. I’m using a filtered system so it was fine for me.
I made these cupcakes, 48 as a matter of fact for my niece’s grand opening of her restaurant. I LOVED the flavor very much but for some reason they were kind of hard inside and around the edges. I don’t know what happened. I don’t think I overcooked them – I did the 15-17 mins. I also made the buttercream frosting, it was DELICIOUS.
Hi
This is by far the best cupcake recipe i have ever tried, and it can also be make into a vanilla cake .
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe .
Great and simple recipe. I did use slightly less water than 240ml.
Cupcakes were delicious
So good every time I make it!
Yes. I tried it yesterday and it was definately too sweet. Would reduce the sugar next time. Also for some reason i decides to substitute half teaspoon of baking powder with baking soda instead, and used butter milk instead of milk🤷♀️…the cakes were too light and spilled over… so next time il try and stick to the exact recipe but definately reduce the sugar…
Thanks for the recipe
The recipe is good for the effort it took (so effortless 🙂 ). The cupcake closely resembles a pancake, it’s also a little too sweet for me, although it’s personal preference. The only issue I have is the cupcake doesn’t pull away cleanly from the liner, it’s not raw, I’ve also tried extending ng cooking time, it still sticks to the liner. Can you suggest anything to fix this? Thanks
This has been my favorite go to recipe for YEARS, it never dissapoints, there’s no way you can mess this recipe up even if you try ,I have followed this recipe to a T and I have not and yet it never flops,and anyone having issues with the recipe is doing something very wrong because I have yet to find any recipe better than this one and I ALWAYS get complimented on them if I bake them.
This worked so well! Needed this for a last-minute party and it was absolutely perfect. I’ll definitely be using this recipe again.
Came out perfect, taste great, super quick!!
I just made these cupcakes, and not gonna lie, they are not very good. The baking time, I feel was not accurate. They sadly even made me and my brother feel a bit sick.
Wow wow wow, awesome recipe!! Thank you. I’ve made it about 5 times now, and even halved it. I’m in SA, so just used cups and not weight, worked perfectly. I won’t lie, the thin batter scared me at first 😂
I am just wondering if anyone has made these in bulk and then froze them? They only need to be frozen for a week – or would it be better to just keep them unfrosted in the fridge?
Yes, I have many times. Still perfect after thawing!
I followed this recipe exactly how it’s stated. My cupcakes came out very dense and not fluffy. Any suggestions/advice I am missing.
I wish I was able to make a suggestion, but as mentioned in the note above the recipe it seems like some people just don’t get good results. I honestly don’t know why.
Mine were dense as well, but I know mine was because I subbed the flour for a gluten free all purpose flour.
Hi! I’m excited to try these cupcakes tomorrow. I’m from Australia and noticed some people having issues with these cupcakes. I’m wondering if it may be because our measuring system is different (metric vs imperial), so our cups are actually different sizes! I wonder if weighing out the ingredients would remedy the issue? Anyway, I’ll report back tomorrow and let you know how I go!
I weighed out the ingredients and the cupcakes came out super fluffy and melted in the mouth! Definitely will be using this recipe again.
A party 8m going to wants half vanilla and half chocolate cupcakes. If I split the batter, how much cocoa should I add in? Would any other ingredients be needed?
It’s really not that simple. I’d suggest these chocolate cupcakes for the best, or you could make my marble cake batter, which is meant for turning into chocolate and vanilla and bake it as cupcakes.