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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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I can’t say I followed the recipe instructions to the letter, but they came out the best cupcakes I’ve ever made! Thank you for sharing the recipe
Glad you enjoyed them!
What are the measurements in metric to make 12 ?
You’d want to cut the recipe in half.
Absolutely love these cupcakes, they are a big hit!! Can i half the batter and add cocoa powder and make marble cupcakes
So glad you enjoyed them! The only problem with marbling these is that the batter is so thin, the layers probably wouldn’t stay separate. I’d recommend my Marble Cupcakes recipe.
Was looking for a quick and easy cupcake recipe that didn’t need butter. The cake was very moist and spongy but I had to tweak the recipe as I think there might be a miscalculation in the grams, as 2.5 cups in grams 325g is less than 2 cups in grams 414g, which doesn’t seem right as technically it’d be half a cup more in grams? Anyway, I adjusted the sugar so it was the same weight as flour and it turned out ok. Also, baked for a few more minutes.
Different ingredients don’t weigh the same. Sugar is heavier than flour. The grams measurements are correct. If you’re happy with them with your changes, that’s great! Feel free to try them the way the recipe is written as well. 🙂
Just made these, I halved the recipe and didn’t use the water as I saw that it was pretty liquid-y already. Wow so soft and delicate. Literally the cakes felt so light in my hand. I didn’t have any vanilla so I used rose water instead and they tasted like home. Such a great simple recipe and easy to half which is also a plus! Cook time was 15 mins for me so right on the dot!
So glad you enjoyed them!
This turned out great. But had to bake about 5 minuts longer
I love this recipe
So glad you enjoyed it!
Loved them! They came out perfectly moist and delicious as is. I did add 5 minutes to cooking time.
Glad you enjoyed them!
I made these cupcakes and they were delicious!! Very moist and great flavour! Would I be able to use this same recipe for a round cake pan? If so, what size would you suggest?
Glad you enjoyed them! Yes, you can use it as a round cake recipe. I use it as an 8 inch cake in this recipe if you’d like to check that out
I absolutely love this recipe however cant get the ratio in the cups quite right, I either over fill or way underfill if i only go half way.
Any tips?
i can’t wait to use this recipe
Thank you
I made these for the first time and my husband and children just loved the cupcakes. Iam now making them daily 😂😂
LOL! Glad they were a hit!
i am in sixth grade we made these c upkakes for a con test in my home ec they won first place
Awesome! So glad they were a hit!
your a verry nice person
I tried this recipe because I just didn’t have enough butter to make a regular batch of cupcakes. And it worked wonderfully! I made a few changes though: I omitted the 2 cups of water because it just seemed like too much liquid and cut out 1 cup of sugar. It turned out to be the perfect amount of sweetness for me and was very moist. It almost reminded me of cake in a mug recipes. I also paired it with ermine frosting to not overpower the cupcake with sweetness. It was so easy to inhale at least 3 of these in one sitting. So GOOD!
I love this recipe! I even add some vanilla bean paste to the batter for vanilla. And then I add some cocoa powder for chocolate and they turn out perfect everytime.
So glad you enjoy them!
Phenomenal. Absolutely delicious! I filled them too full the first time I made these. They blew their tops and the middles had to be baked longer. But I realized what I did wrong and the second batch was perfect. I did save the first ones, but please learn from my mistakes. And the butter? It isn’t missed. Not even noticeable! Thanks so much for the only vanilla cupcakes recipe that I’ll ever make from this point forward!
So glad you enjoyed them!
Can you make this into a cake 13×9 inch pan instead of cupcakes? It is such a great cupcake recipe, but wanted to make a big cake instead.
Yes, you can find that recipe here.
The cupackes taste really really good but when i was baking instead of 15 minutes it took me 25-27 minutes