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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, when following this recipe for x3 it’s says 9tsp of baking powder. I have tried twice now and this seems to be too much baking powder they rise too much and then drop 🙁
Could be. I haven’t ever tried tripling it, but it might be best to do it in smaller batches.
I’m looking for a simple vanilla cupcake recipe to make into rainbow cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday party. Do you think this batter is too thin to layer color upon color? Thanks in advance for your help. I’ve used several of your recipes all with great success!
This would be too thin. I’d try my Rainbow Swirl Cake as cupcakes.
I baked for 25ish minutes but they came out nicely and didn’t sink!! Also did mini cupcakes which bake for 10 mins. Knocked a star off because they aren’t very flavorful, but much better than other recipes I’ve tried
I tried your recipe and it came out really good. Thank you for sharing! 💕
Very nice recipe. I’m not an experienced bake but this was really easy to work with and really not burdensome.
I’d been wanting to try the reverse cream method for awhile but don’t have the cake flour needed in most recipes. I lucked out with this one! They came out moist and just a little bit springy despite my over filling them. I topped them with my mom’s strawberry cream cheese frosting and they’re divine! I’ll definitely be trying this recipe again!
I truly loved how easy and fast this recipe was. Very tasty, not too sweet. I omitted the water which may have helped the cake hold better not sure. I decided to leave in the over the full 17 minutes to make sure it was firm.
Love this recipe
This is my go to for all my cupcakes I even use it to make cakes
Loved these. Turned out fluffy and moist! I even did a cake with half the batter and it turned out great as well. I read some mixed reviews on these cupcakes but mine turned out
perfectly. I do weigh my ingredients and sifted my dry mixture first, I also never overmix, I usually mix until almost combined and then grab a spatula and gently finish mixing as I scrape the sides down. It’s my new go to for a simple vanilla cupcake recipe!
Recipe is not good. The cupcaked were almost burnt on the outside and still gooey in the middle. They tasted very eggy.
Was wondering if I could use this recipe to make an 8″ cake or an 9×13″ cake and how long would it need to bake for each pan?
Thank you so much! i have made it so many times and every single time it turns out to be a success! Everyone in my family loves it!
I used almond milk and nuttelex for the milk and butter. I might have overmixed them? because the batter seemed a bit weird but they just didnt rise in the oven and didnt cook through, but they tasted amazing!
Have made these cupcakes 4 times now perfect every time , they are so easy and really moist and delicious.
I even stirred a few 100s & 1000s in the batter . Yum the best recipe.
Is shortening required for the frosting?
I love this recipe so much. It’s a little bit different to a lot of recipes we use here in Australia, but so far the best i’ve tried. The only thing i’m struggling with, is, getting the cup cakes looking even and not over flowing in the pan. Any tips? Thanks in advance.