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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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This is one by far the best cupcake recipe I have ever made. I take them to work for very morning tea and get glowing reviews! Could I make the same recipe and bake it as a cake in 2 7inch pans? How long would I need to bake for?
You could make a small cake, I just am not sure what it would be for 7 inch pans.
Can I leave these in the fridge for a 4 days before serving or is it best to freeze them?
I supposed it’s probably best to freeze them. Just wrap them well and thaw them in the fridge.
So I used this recipe (cake only) with 2 little changes. I used Namaste Gluten free all purpose flour and I added about 1/2 bag of chocolate chips. They were delicious.
This is the absolute worst recipe ever!!!!! I AM WARNING YOU PLEASE DON’T TRY THIS!! As soon as i made the batter it tasted and smelled really good but when it came out of the oven then it was disgusting as hell. Right now I am trying not to throw up, I am sort of getting this feeling that I have got food poisoning. For my sake DO NOT TRY THIS (unless you want fodd poisoning)
Are you sure your eggs weren’t old or something? I’ve made this recipe countless times and every time they’re amazing. I’ve never had an issue with them at all 🤔
I’m sorry but are you trying to blame a recipie for you experiencing food poisoning!? 😂😂 i cant with people anymore. Listen, start with fresh ingredients and a clean kitchen (disinfected surfaces.) Try again.
I’ve made this recipe three times, it’s in the oven again right now. It is my favorite go-to recipe. How exactly could you get food poisoning from a recipe unless your ingredients were bad? And if that’s the case, why are you blaming the person who came up with the recipe? Sounds like you messed it up.
What a terrible review! You get food poisoning from bad INGREDIENTS not a bad recipe!!!
I simply love this recipe. Cupcakes came out soft and so moist. I separated the egg and folded in my egg whites. DEFINITELY A WIN FOR ME!!
This recipe turned out really great! Definitely a go-to for whenever I need a simple cupcake recipe.
I made these without the water because my battery was already getting quite thin and they turned out perfect and fluffy. Definitely using this recipe again
This cupcake is horrible! It tasted like a muffin. Worst recipe ever.
Worse recipe I have ever used. What a waste of ingredients and totally unedible
Love the recipe! We followed the instructions and the cupcakes turned out beautiful and delicious, we will definitely will be making them again.
This recipe is my favourite cupcake recipe ever! The cupcakes are so moist and fast. I love them, Thank you
Made these the other day and everyone LOVED them! Not sure why some people can’t seem to bake them correctly but they turned out just fine for me. Do you think this recipe would be good for a cake as well? Thank you!
I’d love to use this recipe for a large batch of cupcakes for a party. Do you know if these would freeze ok? Thank you in advance!
I think they’d freeze fine. Just wrap them well and then thaw them in the fridge.
DO NOT MAKE THIS!!! My friend and I made this recipe and it turned out HORRIBLE. The batter tasted great, so we were excited to see the results, and when it came out it tasted like some sort of nasty mug cake. It was gummy and doughy. Right now we’re sitting on my bed feeling like throwing up, not only from the taste but something that made our stomachs feel like we got food poisoning or something. I know the author said it works for some people and for others it doesn’t. To me that doesn’t make any sense,it should be able to work for everybody unless someone doesn’t follow the recipe correctly, which I followed very carefully. We have been baking for years together and never have been so disappointed. I don’t want to be rude,I know you must have worked hard on this recipe, but this is just atrocious.
I always get compliments making this recipe! So
Soft and moist. Tastes like cake batter!
I’m sorry but I had to comment on this post. I bake cakes all the time and this is the only vanilla recipe I use. The cake is so moist and flavorful. My customers always ask for the vanilla cake, because they love it. Great recipe!!
That’s ridiculous, you can’t get food poisoning from a recipe. If you feel like you got food poisoning, maybe check the expiration dates for your ingredients. I baked these yesterday for my daughters 4th birthday and they turned out perfectly! Now trying to figure out how to make this batter into a cake for her party. I loved it and will be saving the recipe for sure!
A recipe can’t give you food poisoning lol this is the most ridiculous comment I ever read. Maybe your eggs were bad. Maybe you under cooked. Maybe you cross contaminated something in YOUR kitchen. Don’t blame the author for your wrong doing.
This recipe was so good they tasted like they were store bought! I max these for church but now I’m thinking about eating them all myself
Great recipe and the cupcakes came out delicious especially topped with the frosting. Glad of being told batter will be thin beforehand. I will definitely make them again!