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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 made 28 regular cupcakes out of this recipe. One of the best recipes I found. love it! Thanks
Hello, I am wanting to know if this is a good recipe for a 14 inch cake pan? I know I would need to increase the amount of batter I make to have enough. I am going to make a wedding cake and wondered if this would work. My concern comes from some of the comments that said they had trouble with it turning out too wet or chewy and some even collapsing. Is there something I can do to eliminate that possibility?
I am new to your blog and I am absolutely amazed at your recipes. I am so excited to try them. I am mostly looking for great cake and cupcake recipes for weddings and showers.
I haven’t made this recipe in larger pans than a 9×13, so I don’t know for sure how it’d turn out. I’ve never had it turn out wet or chewy and I truly don’t know why some are having that issue to be able to say how to avoid it. Part of what I love about this recipe is that it’s so straight forward, but it seems it isn’t for some. I’m not sure why.
I made this recipe the other day and it was great! is there a way to make this into a chocolate cupcake without altering this recipe?
There actually two recipes that are options. One would be these cupcakes. They are slightly different in that they use more liquid and bake slowly at a lower temperature. The option is this cake, which can be made as cupcakes. I’d say this one is the chocolate version of these vanilla cupcakes. Both recipes are relatively similar. My all time favorite though is the first one. 🙂
First of all these are super light and yummy! This has been one of my favorite recipes so far.
I followed the directions very closely but for some reason the bottoms of mine were burnt. I had the rack the position as previous cupcake bakes and didn’t have that problem.
I plan to continue making these as they were scrumptious. Any help would be appreciated.
Hello. This vanilla cupcake recipe is for 24-26 cupcakes so I need to cut half for all ingredients for 12 cupcakes? including the frosting?
Yes, cut everything in half. For the frosting, I could probably use all of what’s listed for half of the cupcakes. If depends on how much frosting you like on your cupcakes.
Hi Lindsay,
Will it be ok to make the cupcake on Friday and serve on Saturday? is the cupcake still be moist? How to store them properly? Thanks in advance
Yes, definitely. Store them in an air tight container. If you make the frosting as listed (with half butter, half shortening), I’d store them at room temperature. If you use all butter, as some people like to do, I’d store them in the fridge.
Can i replace the shortening to salted butter too? Will the frosting came out to be salty and sweet at the same time?
You can replace the shortening with butter, yes. If you are using all butter, I’d suggest either half salted and half unsalted or just use all unsalted and add a little salt (maybe 1/8 tsp). You just don’t want the frosting to be too salty.
I made these cupcakes in 2 9-inch layers earlier this month. My family and i loved your recipe so now my daughter is making it for my birthday tomorrow. I made 1 1/2 of the frosting recipe, using 1:2 cup shortening and 1 cup butter. The consistency and flavor were perfect for our taste. Quick question…did you edit your recipe this month and take the “hot” out of the the water description? I thought for a minute that I was returning to the wrong recipe but I’m certain this is the one we loved. Thanks for the wonderful recipe! 🙂
I’m so glad you’ve enjoy it! Yes, I was getting a lot of questions about the exact temperature of the water, so I edited the recipe. Water temperature isn’t particularly important in this. 🙂
I just made these cupcakes for a graduation party, not knowing how they would turn out or taste. They are the best vanilla cupcakes I have ever made. They came out all even and look just gorgeous. They are my new goto cupcake recipe. Thank you so much for the post.
So glad to hear you enjoyed them! 🙂
Hi!! I am an avid baker, raised 4 boys so I needed to be! I am going to try a sample run on these tomorrow. I am making cupcakes for my last 2 kiddos graduation party this weekend and I was looking for an awesome vanilla cupcake recipe. Fingers crossed and I will keep you informed!!
I hope you enjoyed them!
hi
i loved your works they’re just lovely
but i’m not sure what the shortening is
can you tell me please ?
It’s a butter substitute. If you don’t have it or aren’t a fan, just replace it with additional butter.
Hi, Lindsay. I am not new to your blog, as I have been using for years! ????! Your directions are simple and easy to understand. I love how you include videos with most of your posts, and believe me, I could spend hours watching them! I recently made your lemon meringue cupcakes, and the cupcakes were still raw when the baking time was up. I had noticed earlier that the batter for the cupcakes had looked really wet, but since all of your other recipes are to die for, I didn’t think much of it. I double checked the oven time and temperature, but it was all set right. I had to bake the cupcakes for another good 15-18 minutes before they were baked enough to eat! ????! The cupcakes turned out dense and chewy and stuck to the wrapper, which is so strange as all your other cupcake recipes typically turn out amazing! I even tried a second batch and had the same results! Your frosting, however, turned out AWESOME! I had tried a meringue frosting using a different recipe many years ago, and it was awful. All melted and gooey! ????! I was scared to try it again, but I did (using your recipe), and I felt like I was in marshmallow-heaven! I may have licked my Kitchenaid stand mixer’s whisk more then once????! I truly hope you realize what a talented baker you are, and how baker-licious your recipes have proven to be. And don’t worry- just because your lemon meringue cupcakes didn’t completely work out, I will continue using your blog for as long as I bake (#forever)! Thank you so much for all of your wonderful posts!
Thanks so much Lola! I’m not sure why that recipe didn’t work out, but I’m glad you’ve enjoyed everything else!
These cupcakes were very good! I had a little oops… added the water to the wet ingredients instead of after, but turned out ok. The batter being runny made me worried but they were fine. My only issue was that I halved the batch and it made 12 cupcakes fine, but halving the frosting and using slightly less frosting than you show pictured per cupcake I ran out w/ 3 cupcakes to go so that was a little annoying. Next time i’ll just make a whole batch and frost not quite as much and it will be fine. recipe is definitely a keeper, thanks!
Hi. Just so you know your flour weight in grams is wrong. One cup of plain flour is 220grams, i just made your recipe, water thin. Supposed to be 550grams ????
Hi Nic! It isn’t wrong actually. I do weigh my ingredients, so the amount is correct as written. For a little info about my conversions, please see my conversion chart. The batter is meant to be very thin.
Hello Lindsay I made these cupcake this weekend, and the cupcakes were great, but I was a little concern with the shine to describe how they came out is rubbery and sticky, just the top part of the cupcake. My question is did I do something wrong? The recipe called for hot water was I supposed to use room temperature water. The cupcake was good, and the Icing came out great . Can you advise me if I need to make changes
Do you have an eggless vanilla receipe for this cake. pls can you send me the receope eggless.
thanks
I don’t have an eggless cake recipe. I’m sorry.