Making great vanilla cupcakes isn’t easy!
When I first started baking, I tested several light vanilla recipes and was disappointed by most of them. The most common issues were:
- Dry cake
- Boring flavor
- Nice flavor, but sunk in the middle and sticky
- The liners peeled away from the cakes
- The liners stuck so much to the cake that they were almost impossible to remove
I often experience this with baked goods: The ones that taste best, are usually the ugliest or they are so soft that it’s difficult to use them for further decorating.
The reason? The best flavor comes from using sugar and butter. But the higher the sugar and fat content of a cupcake, the softer the end product. Figuring out the right quantities has been a challenge. That’s when I discovered vegetable oil as a great subsitute. I started baking all cupcakes with oil, and have never looked back!
Today I have for you a great recipe for vanilla cupcakes that look and taste great. They are quick to bake and easy to decorate. The oil makes them moist and juicy, but not sticky.
Everything starts with a good “mise en place”:
- Line your baking tin with cupcakes liners
- Preheat your oven
- Weigh all ingredients and have them ready at hand.
Let’s begin!
How to make vanilla cupcakes
Place sugar, eggs and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
Beat with a whisk until frothy, about 2 minutes.
Add oil and milk, stir well.
Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl.
Lastly, sift in the flour and baking powder. Not too much at a time, stir well but not too long.
One level ice cream scoop is the perfect quantity of batter for one cupcake:
Bake for 20 minutes! And leave to cool on a wire rack.
Here’s the recipe for you:
Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 140 g (2/3 cup) sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
- 130 g (2/3 cups) vegetable oil (rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil)
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
- 140 g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 170 C (350 F). Line the baking pan with the cupcake liners of your choice. Measure all ingredients.
- Beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla until frothy (about 2 minutes).
- Add vegetable oil and milk, stir well.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Sift this to the batter, stirring slowly but not for too long.
- Fill your cupcake liners with batter, using an ice cream scoop. Bake immediately for 20-22 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. After taking out of the oven, remove the cupcakes immediately from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack or on the counter.
- Decorate the vanilla cupcakes as you please – for example with Swiss Meringue buttercream.
Instead of oil, melted butter may be used.
Will you leave a comment when you bake these cupcakes? I’d love to hear from you!
Happy Baking!
Love,
Hi can I double this recipe ?
Hi Nadia, yes no problem. Have fun baking and let me know how it goes!
Thanks, just baked some and best cup cakes ever wish I could send you a pic.
Hi Anthea, So glad you like them!
Buttery and moist.
Perfect.
Thanks for a great recipe
This recipe is my go to! Is there anyway to adapt it for chocolate cupcakes easily?
Thank you Elizabeth! Yes, just substitute a quarter to a third of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder. Let me know how it goes!
Happy baking, Xuân-Minh
Oh my gosh I loved the cup cakes
Thank you for the recipe
The recipe is so easy to make but the taste of the egg was very pronounced, I’ll probably reduce the egg next time and see what happens.
Hey Eunice, thanks for your feedback and for trying this recipe. You can easily omit one egg, no problem. Adding more vanilla is always an option, as well. Let me know how it goes next time! Happy baking, Xuân-Minh
If you want these to be chocolate do you just substitute some of the flour for cocoa powder?
Hi Jill, yes you can! I’d substitute about one third, but you can play around. Happy baking, Xuân-Minh
Hello . How do you store these fairy cakes with oil and for how long
Hi Milee, they should be good for 3 days in the fridge.
Can I ask please do you use plain flour ?
Many thanks Tara
Hi Tara, yes I use regular white all purpose flour. Happy Baking! XM
Can I ask if I want to make 24 do I just double all the ingredients? Wasn’t sure if then that would be too much vanilla extract.
Many thanks Tara x
Looks lovely! If I used unrefined coconut oil will the cakes taste too strongly of coconut?
Hi Seema, Hmmm, I can’t tell as I’ve never tried. Why don’t you try and let me know how they turn out.
Your oil would definitely be perfect for coconut cupcakes, so you can try adding a couple tbsps of grated coconut to the mix, and replace the milk with coconut milk… yum!
Thank you for sharing this delightfully easy, mouthwateringly delicious recipe. Have baked this cake several times since I first tried it a few weeks back and it’s been a huge success each time!
Thanks for the reply!
Me and my kids made these last week and they turned out pretty good! I just guessed at the quantity as I didn’t have a scoop myself and filled the paper liners just a tiny bit over half full though I think next time I’d go even a little bit further.
Great recipe though 🙂
Looks like a great recipe. I’m wondering just how much a ‘level ice cream scoop’ measurement actually is as all ice cream scoops are different?
Hey Alex! Great question, thanks for asking! I finally got around to measure my ice cream scoop for you. It’s exactly 50 ml (or approx. 1.7 fluid ounces or a bit less than a quarter cup). That said, I’ve since found that the “standard” 5 cm cupcake paper liners come in different sizes as well: Some can be filled more than others. 50 ml fills a smallish liner well. Hope that helps and happy baking! Xuân-Minh
Loved this recipe, this will definitely be my new go-to recipe. I am still a young baker and this recipe will help me whenever i go into a baking competition. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Thanks for the awesome comment… best of luck competing and happy baking! Love, XM
Perfect cupcakes ever so delicious just tried it out. Can you send me one for cappuccino and chocolate pls
Super tasty and easy recipe! My family loved the cupcakes made today. Thank you so much Xuan-Minh!
Hey PD – I’m so happy they worked for you. Thank YOU for leaving a feedback. Happy baking! 🙂 XM
Great recipe. Easy to bake and good end products. So yummy!
Thanks dear Shirley – happy further baking! Love, XM
In South Africa, 1 Cup is 250ml ?♀️
Oh dear! That’s why I would definitely recommend weighing your ingredients… you can’t go wrong with grams! ? Love, XM
Hi ✨ is a 2/3 cup sugar & oil 160ml?
Hi Tracy, yes! One cup is 245 ml – so 2/3 is approximately 163 ml. Happy baking! Love, Xuân-Minh
This is my go-to recipe! My almost 3 year old absolutely loves it. Thank you so much for such a perfect recipe. It’s a keeper!
Thanks for that lovely comment, dear Pam! I’m so glad you like it. Happy baking! Love, XM <3
Finally the kind of recipe I’ve been looking for. Thank you very much for this. Well written and easy to follow.
So glad to help – have fun baking, and do let us know how it turned out! 🙂
Best quick recipe ever!!!…and super moist…thank you?
Awesome, so glad it worked for you! <3 Thanks for taking the time to comment. Love and happy baking, XM