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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 baked these today, I was a little skeptical about the runniness of the batter but the cupcakes turned out perfectly!
Awesome! So glad to hear that!
A reliable recipe for sure
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
They came out okay but so salty and I only used the 1 teaspoon of salt like I was told
These cupcakes were a hit for my daughter’s birthday party. Any suggestions on how long they keep. Whether in the refrigerator or the freezer.
So glad they were a hit! They should keep for about 4 days. You could leave them at room temperature for about 24 hours, then they should be refrigerated because of the buttercream.
This is an extremely good cupcake recipe. I have been searching for one like it for years, the cake comes out springy and not too dense. I halved the recipe to make 12 cupcakes and had no issues at all. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoy them!
I am not a good baker but these were so easy and turned out perfect!👍
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Hi! What happens if my batter is watery? We’re hoping to do this for our school project, and have made formal proposals about it. However, upon seeing some comments, I felt a bit scared, thinking we might fail. And can we use salted butter instead of unsalted one? Thank you!
The batter is supposed to be very thin. And I wouldn’t recommend all salted butter in the frosting. It’d be quite salty. You could do half salted and half unsalted, if you wanted.
It seemed like a nice recipe but it wouldn’t bake . Instead of making a last minute anniversary present for my parents, I made a mess in the kitchen..
Thank you for the recipe! I’ve tried a few recipes but this one is super/quick & delicious! I used canola oil instead of vegetable as I ran out and baked abit longer due to my oven being very old. Definitely my go-to cupcake recipe going forward! Thanks Lindsay
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Every recipe I do that’s from her turns out AMAZING!!!! I love her!!
These vanilla cupcakes are the best!
That’s so awesome to hear! Glad you’ve enjoyed everything!
Can this be used as a cake and not cupcakes
Yes, you can find it as a the cake layers in this cake recipe.
The recipe was easy enough to follow, and it came out slightly burnt but okay. The thing is, it was way too salty for me. I followed the recipe and only added one tablespoon of salt, but it still overpowered everything else.
I just made these for the first time and they’re delicious!
I’d encourage you to try them again. The recipe calls for one teaspoon of salt. They’re just right! 👌
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
It’s supposed to be one *teaspoon (tsp) of salt not tablespoon (tbsp). I can definitely see why it’d be salty if you added 1 tbsp.
I dont know what i did wrong! This sounded like a great recipe but turned out gross. The cupcakes were thick after baking and tasted gross.
I have made these a handful of times and never had a issue. My current batch I had to use buttermilk and self raising flour, and they still turned out fine. Slightly different texture to the top, but still delicious
Hi! It’s going to be a problem if i reduce the sugar at least to be 300g instead of 414g, thank you.
It all depends on what you are trying to achieve by reducing it. It would make the cupcakes less sweet. But sugar also adds moisture and affects the texture. Reducing it by that much can affect the outcome.
I love this recipe! Its an easy and delicious recipe. My 3 boys always ask me to bake these. The only thing I was unsure about is how long do you beat the frosting for?
I’m so glad you enjoy them. You only need to beat the frosting until it’s smooth and creamy. You can beat it for longer if you’d like a whipped buttercream.