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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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It tasted like oil, who in their right mind likes the taste of oil when eating cupcakes
Would you be able to add berries to this ?
The berries would sink to the bottom of the cupcakes. It’s a very thin cupcake batter. I would recommend these fresh strawberry cupcakes. You could use a mix of berries.
i love the cupcakes
so watery! I wasted my time doing this! Diud not cook well and was so watery and awful to eat! Would not recommend!
I hated this recipe all of them were uncooked even thought I fully cooked them they were sunken and exploded do not recommend
I love this recipe, but I would love to make them into lemon cupcakes. Would I be able to add lemon juice to the recipe? Or should I stick to zest??
I just made these ….( did not add the 1cup of water) and I had to use sea salt… very pleased with the outcome …im making my own root beer frosting … and maybe a coconut too….
To be honest, I was nervous to keep adding water to the batter. I actually only added maybe 1/2 a cup. It is a very thin batter but they came out great! A very sweet cupcake. Only issue I had was it was a little grainy from all the sugar. Other than that it is a great recipe for a vanilla cupcake!
I tried out this recipe and it did not work out at all. The cupcakes were rubbery and sunken. All in all i was very sad and will not be using this recipe again.
This is quite literally the best vanilla cupcake recipe I’ve ever used. Made them for my room mates birthday and the whole house loved them! Didn’t dry out at all-even after a few days.
So glad you enjoyed them!
I have used this recipe many time over the past 2 years and again today they ALWAYS come out perfectly every time and are delicious 😋
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them!
This recipe works so well! I love it so much! >///< ❤️
Super sad. This recipe is a no for me. Waaayyyy too sweet. Too much sugar. I thought 2 cups sounded like a lot and it is. I love icing so I’m sad these cupcakes would be nauseating with them. The last time I baked something this convex, I was living at altitude. They did not puff up. Not fluffy. No bueno.
I wondered if it would be too sweet so I halved the sugar. I’ve used this recipe heaps and with half the sugar. They still turn out great and not too sweet with the frosting added
Have you ever used buttermilk vs. regular milk in this??
I have not.
Made these the other day! Absolutely amazing honestly. Put them in the fridge and a few days later they were still very moist! Making another bunch now, I did fail the first lot of buttercream as I didn’t realise we had different kinds of “icing sugar” (our powered sugar) in australia! Hoping this round I don’t mess it up as I have the right kind now! but still was great regardless of my error!
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
This truly is the best cupcake recipe I have ever come across. They always come out perfectly, and I love how moist and delicious they are!
Just a question… Could I use the same recipe to make a cake instead of cupcakes…?
So glad you enjoy them! Yes, it’ll work as a cake. You can see it in a cake here.