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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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Amazing cupcakes and easy to follow recipe!
Can I make this almond flavor instead? If yes, how much extract?
Just swap out the vanilla extract for the Almond.
Amazing recipe, the cake came out nice and moist, not like regular dry cupcakes i’ve made in the past. I didn’t use the frosting recipe because I didn’t have any butter. Would make these again!
Glad you enjoyed them!
Very good ,I also make a chocolate cake with i cup of boiling water ! I made 12 cupcakes and one square cake !
These cupcakes are amazing! So is the frosting! Have you made a cake out of this recipe? I’d love to make a layered round cake but wondering what the cooking time would be. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed them! I used it as the cake layers in this cake, if you’d like to refer to that. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/berry-mascarpone-layer-cake/
Is it possible to half the recipe.
Definitely
Thankyou so much. Yes I tried and it’s a hit.
Thankyou so much. Yes I tried and it’s a hit.
I made some cupcakes for my coworkers and I can say they are a hit! They’re begging me to make more!
They turned our perfectly! Was nervous about the water but ended up using just under a cup and the texture was ideal. Thank you so much!
So glad you enjoyed them!
I love this recipe so much. My only issue is if I make them ahead of time they shrink up significantly. Any suggestions or ways to combat this shrinkage??
Gosh, I haven’t heard of people having that issue so I’m not sure.
This is more of a light sponge cake texture. The icing makes it because it would be pretty bland without. I reduced water by 1/2 cup and still had batter I put in a small individual loaf pan And correct to say it’s easy due to ingredients on hand. I didn’t have any sour cream on hand for a more decadent cake like cupcake.
I made these and they were Devine! I just wanted to know how much cocoa I should add to make them chocolate cupcakes and if that would take away from them being so most?
Glad you enjoyed them! I’d recommend these chocolate cupcakes for a similar type chocolate cupcake.
Do you think water would be good to replace milk in a pinch??
Considering there’s already water in the cupcakes, I don’t think so. You need some fat from the milk to add to the texture of the cupcakes. You could try sour cream.
I think the water is to much, the recipe doesn’t work for me 🙁
The finished cupcakes barely rise up and were mushy even though i followed the recipe exactly.
Unfortunately I think the batter felt too runny, I left out maybe a tablespoon or two of water but my cupcakes were still watery once the timer was up. I tried to set them back in at a lower temperature, but some of the tops still ended up browning in a way I didn’t like and still the middle never fully cooked.
I don’t know if it is because I left out a pinch of water or if my oven is just drastically different than the authors.. but this recipe did not work for me.
So you can leave out the cup of water entirely? How would I know ahead of time if it should be left out? Would it make the cupcakes dry? Thanks!
Unfortunately it’s hard for me to say, since I honestly don’t even know why some people have problems and some don’t. I’m very sorry. I’d remove the recipe altogether, but so many people love them. So instead there are notes all over the place about it. The best I can say is maybe try cutting it in half and testing it one way first to see.
Instead of using milk, I was out so what are your thoughts on 1 cup of buttermilk instead??? Fixing to bake these and I’m sure that using the veg. oil really makes these very moist. Can’t wait to try them, even though I’m a chocaholic…
I would think buttermilk should be fine.
Did the buttermilk work for you? I plan on trying it today.