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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 really moist but I’m wonderin’ if I can make this mini cupcakes? If yes, how long should i bake them?
Yes, that should be fine. Bake time would probably be around eight minutes.
I had fun baking this and it’s yummy! It’s simple and easy to make too.
Can this recipe be made into an 8” or 9” layer cake?
Yes, I made it into an 8 inch layer cake here. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/berry-mascarpone-layer-cake/
I love this recipe you
This is a brilliant recipe but can it be turned into chocolate cup cakes please.
Yes, you can find the chocolate cupcakes here. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/moist-homemade-chocolate-cupcakes/
This recipe helped me get a 97% on my practical at skl thank you so much for this amazing recipe
I’m so glad you were happy with it!
1 cup of water was too much. I followed this recipe exactly as is and they come out good but too much water is unnecessary also the mix is extremely sweet so if you are going to make a sweet frosting reduce the sugar by 1/2 cup. I made not too sweet cream cheese frosting and so it was balanced
I ove this recipe it is so good!!! I put swiss merangie butter cream on it SO GOOD!!!!!!!!
So glad you enjoyed them!
Should I swift the flour
I don’t usually, but if your flour is fairly lumpy and isn’t used often, you certainly could.
I agree, this recipe is definately alittle too sweet for me, but it’s so delicious and makes the softest cakes and I love it for that. However, for anyone looking to try this recipe, I suggest you cut down the sugar by atleast half a cup for the cake batter and a whole cup for the icing or if you like the cake as is, I suggest you make a much less sweeter icing…
I was sceptical about that cup of water but I went with it and they turned out PERFECT added a bit of raspberry flavour concentrate to the frosting and it was a very nice touch, I think I found my new favourite vanilla cupcake recipe
The best Cupcake recipe ever!! – been making it for more than a year and it’s always a hit!!- I personally love them plain or spread some Nutella and sprinkes.
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them!
HI Lindsay
This is my go-to recipe for my vanilla layer cake AND cupcakes. They are flop-proof and the positive comments at functions an de orders that follow speaks volumes. Live your recipes!
So glad to hear that!
This recipe was so easy and great to make! I only added about 1/4 cup of the water at the end and they turned out perfectly!
I don’t know 🤷🏻♀️ why people did not like it… It turned out great for me. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi- can your cupcake recipes be cut in half? I don’t have a big family and we are suppose to watch our sweets! But, a splurge every know and then is fine!!
That should be fine, as long as the ingredients divide evenly.
dough was was too liquidy. took forever to bake in the oven and came out so soft that you cant put any toppings or it will just break. sad
I thought I would try it first before I am influenced by comments. Will admit it was a total waste of ingredients, definitely dont add all the water, time in oven nit enough but then with an added 5 min tgey turn out rubbery and tasteless. Definitely wont be suggesting this recipe to anyone.
If your looking for a moist super easy cupcake, this is it! Everyone enjoyed and commented on how moist. Recipe to save! Can’t wait to try these with adding different extract flavours since I finally found a moist cupcake that stays moist for days !
Great recipe!