These Moist Vanilla Cupcakes are super easy to make and so moist – for days! They are my new favorite vanilla cupcake!
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!
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Moist Vanilla Cake
- Moist and Fluffy Vanilla Cake
- Perfect Moist and Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes
- Easy Moist Chocolate Cake
- Homemade Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
Watch How To Make These
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 1x
- 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. You could also try leaving the water and reducing the baking powder to 2 1/2 teaspoons.
To make as a cake: For a three layer 8-inch cake, divide the batter evenly between the three cake pans and bake for 24-28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
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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also I want to say that I always adjusted the final water measure, I think I decreased it almost by half. Other than that these are so delicious
I’ve been using this recipe since 5-6 years ago and I learned it already, now I haven’t baked in couple of years and came back because I don’t want to try any other recipes.
These cupcakes come out so fluffy like a sponge and also very moist tender and tasty, you can eat them without any frosting.
I used this recipe for baking cakes, pies (adding apple) and anything. I used to add salted caramel as a filling and top it with cream cheese cream. They were absolutely yummy and I’ve never tried any other cupcakes that tasty.
Came back to bookmark not to lose again!
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them! 🙂
Horrible flop!!!!! Waste of time and money. Im furrious. Wish I could post a picture to show this utter disaster.
If you’d like, you can email the photo to me at lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com. I’d be happy to help troubleshoot. I know people sometimes have issues with this recipe, but I truly cannot recreate the problem people describe. I’ve had multiple friends and another professional recipe developer all test them with perfect results. If you’d like to help me figure out where people are going wrong, shoot me an email!
First try and my son is so happy to share these for his birthday!! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I have 1 question, hoe do i store them? In the fridge or outside😅 please forgive me, its my first time making these
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Without frosting, they can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature. With frosting, they can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 48 hours, then refrigerated. Serve at room temperature.
I like the recipe ALOT but if i want to make it as a cake should i oil my pans or use parchment paper?
I’m so glad you enjoy it! I would use parchment paper. I use the recipe as a cake in this cake recipe, if you’d like to reference it.
Total failure. I followed recipe and it was very liquidy. Cupcakes didn’t set very well
Did they just need more bake time? Ovens can certainly vary.
I loved this recipe so much but the only thing is it was REALLY liquidy and 15-17 minutes is not enough. But other than that it was amazing.
I’m glad you enjoyed them! All ovens can certainly vary and you should always adjust to your oven. 🙂
We haven’t tried it yet but so evpxcited for the result!! From 2 9year olds
I hope you enjoy them!
It’s a great recipe. If I wanted to use it to make a cake instead of cupcakes how long should I bake it for ?
I’m glad you enjoyed it! For a 3 layer 8-inch cake, bake for 24-28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
These came out great. The vanilla were nice but I added some lemon extract and they were simply divine.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
If mine are a little too moist in the middle how much more time should I add?
It depends on how moist they still are. Without seeing it, I really can’t say. You don’t want to be opening the oven door too often, so if you aren’t sure, try looking through the oven window to see if more time is needed. It’s safer to just added 2-3 minutes, but depending on your oven, they could need longer.
Once we took them out, they sank imediently. When we tried to take them out of the casing they split and we saw the inside-gooey mush. PLEASE EXPLAIN!
It can be hard to explain from a distance, because I can’t see what you did or didn’t do. I understand why that would be frustrating though. If something isn’t fully baked, it’ll definitely sink when removed from the oven, since the structure of the cupcake hasn’t fully set or stabilized. Since they were gooey inside, it sounds like they weren’t fully baked. They can also sink if the oven is opened too soon during baking for the same reason. One thing you can look for during baking to know if it’s ok to open the oven door is to check the centers of the cupcakes through the oven window. If they still look underdone, you probably don’t want to open the oven yet.
This recipe honestly wasn’t the best the cupcakes are definitely moist but the taste isn’t there/that good
If you aren’t a fan of the flavor, it’s probably the oil. Some people like oil, some prefer butter. If you prefer something butter-based, I have a couple options. These homemade vanilla cupcakes use the creaming method and just have a touch of oil for moisture. These vanilla cupcakes are a more simple mixing method, similar to this recipe.
These are delicious and actually moist! Not too sweet, just the right amount of vanilla. I did have to bake them for 20 minutes, but every oven is different. My 7y.o. daughter approves and she’s my biggest critic! Thank you for this recipe, this is my go to forever!!
I’m so glad you enjoy them!
Turned out just as stated. I followed the recipe exactly except I added coloring to the icing.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
I have made your chocolate cupcake recipe and they were so delicious and is my go to recipe now. But I am making cupcakes for a toddlers school party and those will be too soft and crumbly and messy 🤣 Are these vanilla cupcakes the same texture or will they hold together a bit better?
These hold together a bit more than the chocolate ones and I have actually made them for my kid’s school parties when they were toddlers and often make them for their birthdays. That said, if you’d like something butter-based and more solid, these homemade vanilla cupcakes would also work well.