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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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So I just made these cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday party tomorrow. While I love the frosting, the cupcakes are a miss. I followed the recipe exactly but the cupcakes do not rise and they leave the cupcake liners very wet. The flavor is very good and I will serve them, but I won’t be making this recipe again.
I’ve never had that happen with these cupcakes. The method itself is pretty straight forward so I’m not sure what went wrong. Sorry you weren’t happy with them. Feel free to try out these vanilla cupcakes or the vanilla cupcake base of these.
Just made these for my daughter’s birthday party. The cake is super delicious and perfect flavor. The icing I didn’t care for however. I thought it was too sweet for me. Thanks for the recipe!
Unfortunately, I did not have a good experience with these. The cupcakes did not have any rise or fluff. They were dense with a doughy crumb. I tried baking a batch for a few extra minutes but it only helped slightly. Like another reviewer mentioned, I also had a lot of cake stick to the paper liners. The cake has a pretty good flavor and seems so easy to come together. Maybe I’ll try again but this batch was a sad waste.
This looks amazing. Do we have to use water at room temperature or warm??
Either is fine.
Hi! I am baking these cupcakes this weekend for a party, and I was wondering if you spooned and leveled the flour into the measuring cup or if you scooped the flour right out of the container with the measuring cup?
I actually weight my ingredients these days so that it’s accurate. But when using a scoop, I’d typically stir up the flour so it isn’t packed in and then scoop out of the container.
Hi Lindsay!
If I want to bake this as a cake in a bundt cake pan, how long do you recommend I bake it? I used this recipe for the cupcakes and they were so good!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes! I’m not sure how it’d do as a bundt cake. I’d guess you’d want to double it and bake for at least 45 minutes, possibly more.
Mine tasted like cornbread. ???? I mean, I like cornbread, just not as my cupcakes ????
What milk do you use in these, is it whole milk?
I use 2%, but whole should be fine.
Can I use Skim?
I prefer milk with a higher fat content for a better textured cupcake, but you could use skim.
How can we substitute shortening?
With additional butter.
this taste like egg.
I made these recently and they were so tasty! They’re perfectly moist and fluffy and my whole family loved them. So glad I found a great simple vanilla cupcake recipe because I’ll be using it again. 🙂
Hi Lindsay,
I’m new to baking and really excited to try this recipe and the similar chocolate cupcake one! Could I use almond milk? Would it change the recipe or texture?
Thanks!
Laura
I haven’t tried it. You could see how it does. Almond milk has different properties than regular milk, specifically fat content. Fat gives the cupcakes some of their moisture and texture, so it’d likely change it a bit if it does bake up well.
Just made these today with almond milk. Might have changed the color a bit (almond milk is a bit gray) and perhaps the flavor slightly but put some chocolate icing on top and no one will know.
Hi.
These cupcakes looked so good when they came out of the oven but upon cooling they all sunk down. What could be the reason?
Hmmm, not sure. Did they overflow at all? Sometimes that can cause them to fall as they cool.
Hi, I’ve been on the lookout for super fluffy, super moist cupcakes, but always failed.
I tried these and they are absolutely fluffy & I love it!
The only problem I’m facing is that they taste a lil gluey once eaten. What could be the reason?
Thanks,
Nash from Goa, India
Hi Lindsay,
My cupcake didn’t rise. I half-ed the recipe.
Ok I don’t normally comment but I feel like I need to. I am a total cake snob. I have been making wedding cakes and specialty cakes for about 14 years, so if it isn’t good cake what is the point of eating it? Don’t even get me started on the “doctored cake mix” cakes… Yuck. Anyways, I loved this. I just pulled them out of the oven, they were very light in color and I wasn’t sure if they were done. After testing I realized they were (so people, don’t overcook) . I feel like I just bit into a cloud! This is a fantastic recipe I will be keeping around. Good job, your hard work is evident and the price of the vanilla and butter it took to perfect this recipe wasn’t in vain.