There are few things better than homemade cupcakes, especially when they're as easy as this vanilla cupcake recipe! These super moist vanilla cupcakes are soft and full of vanilla and almond flavor--they're the perfect base for all types of cupcake fillings and frostings. Today I’m keeping them classic and pairing them with my vanilla bakery buttercream which has a hint of cream cheese and a smooth and creamy texture.
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⭐ What makes these the best vanilla cupcakes?
There's no denying it - these made-from-scratch cupcakes are very moist and delicious! Maybe you tried them at the former Amycakes Bakery, or maybe you are a fan of my Vanilla Almond Cake recipe. Here are a few other reasons that make this the best vanilla cupcake recipe:
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- Vanilla and almond extracts give these cupcakes a delicious "bakery-style" flavor.
- They freeze well and stay moist for days, so you can make them in advance!
- The cupcake batter is super easy to make—this is one of my two-bowl method recipes, meaning two bowls and a whisk are all you need to whip these up!
- These cupcakes can be made extra fancy by adding a filling to the center of the cupcake before frosting them. Try them with strawberry compote, mixed berry compote, or fudgy ganache.
🥣 Ingredients (and substitutions)
- All-purpose Flour—I use Gold Medal
- Sugar
- Instant Clearjel or Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix—this is a secret ingredient to a moister cupcake--the modified cornstarch in these ingredients gives your cupcake more stability and a softer texture. That's because it allows the cupcakes to retain more moisture while keeping a soft and light texture. While both options are delicious, cupcakes with Instant Clearjel will be a little lighter in color than the ones made with Instant Pudding Mix (just make sure it's labeled as instant--you can read more about Instant Clearjel here).
- Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt
- Buttermilk—you may already know how much I love this ingredient for making moist cakes. While I don’t recommend substituting it, I have heard that thinned sour cream (thinned to the thickness of buttermilk, a thick milk) works similarly.
- Water
- Egg and Egg Whites—these cupcakes have more whites than egg to make them closer to a “white” cupcake with a lighter crumb.
- Light Corn Syrup—this is not the high fructose kind. It enhances the moisture and texture of the cupcakes, but you can also substitute it with equal parts sugar.
- Vanilla Extract—use regular or imitation in the cupcake batter, and save the pure vanilla for the delicious buttercream. 🙂
- Almond Extract for vanilla almond cupcakes—you can use pure or imitation. We used McCormick Culinary Imitation Almond Extract at Amycakes Bakery, as it’s nut-free and affordable. I find that almond is a perfect complement to so many cupcake combinations, but if you do not want as strong of an almond flavor, you can decrease the almond extract and up the vanilla extract in equal parts.
Alternatively, you can use only vanilla extract to make golden vanilla or yellow cupcakes. These are a great base for my delicious Nutella Cupcakes. - Apple Cider Vinegar—this adds a boost to your cupcakes’ rise when the vinegar reacts with the acid from the buttermilk and baking soda. You can substitute with regular white vinegar if needed.
- Salted Butter—I use salted butter in all my baked goods for added flavor, but if you need to use unsalted, add ¼ teaspoon salt per stick of butter.
🎥 Quick Step by Step Video
Watch the recipe video above or watch it on my Youtube.
📋 Instructions and tips
- Whisk your dry ingredients, then your wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the apple cider vinegar. Watch it bubble as you whisk it together!
- Pour the melted butter into the batter and whisk until smooth. Use a 2-oz scoop (¼ cup) to divvy your batter into cupcake tins lined with cupcake wrappers.
- Put the cupcakes in a preheated 325 degree oven. After 10 minutes turn the oven down to 300 for the remainder of baking. This is how I get them to rise taller and keep their light color; otherwise vanilla cupcakes have a tendency to over-brown on the bottom and edges.
- Brush the warm cupcakes with a small amount of simple syrup. This is optional, as they are already moist and delicious without it. But I always recommend simple syrup for cupcakes as it soaks into the cupcakes, seals in the moisture and makes them extra-moist!
Tips:
- Let your scooped cupcakes sit for about 5-10 minutes before baking them. This will allow the Instant Clearjel or Instant Pudding Mix to thicken the cupcake batter, giving them a slightly better rise.
- Watch the cupcakes carefully towards the end of baking! Vanilla cupcakes have a tendancy to turn golden quickly, and we want to take them out of the oven right when a toothpick comes out mostly clean. They will continue to bake a little as they cool.
- Place your cupcakes over a portable fan if you want them to cool faster. I have my cooling rack set up over a fan and my baked goods cool twice as fast!
🧁 How to store these cupcakes to keep them super moist
First things first, these vanilla cupcakes are best eaten at room temperature! I want you to enjoy their super soft, fluffy and moist texture, and the delicious butter in these cupcakes makes them firmer when coming straight from the fridge. Here's how I recommend storing them:
- Cupcakes frosted with my Vanilla Bakery Buttercream can stay at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 24 hours, but the frosting can melt in warm conditions.
- I recommend refrigerating frosted cupcakes (up to 1 day ahead), but remove them from the fridge 2-3 hours before serving so they can get back to room temperature.
- Always store these cupcakes in an airtight container, wrapped in plastic wrap if the container has any air holes.
- You can wrap unfrosted cupcakes in their cupcake tins (double wrap the cupcake tins with plastic wrap all the way around the tins). I find this keeps them extra fresh as there is less air around each cupcake.
- Freeze any cupcakes that aren’t going to get eaten within a couple days—they freeze amazingly well and stay moist in airtight containers—especially in the cupcake tin method described above!
👩🏻🍳 Tools and equipment
💭 Recipe FAQ
Can I use this recipe to make a cake?
No, this recipe is best suited for cupcakes. Instead, make my deliciously moist Vanilla Almond Cake recipe!
Can I make mini cupcakes or jumbo cupcakes with this recipe?
Yes, you can! You can keep the oven temperatures the same, but you will need to adjust the baking times. Decrease the temp to 300 degrees halfway through baking.
*Jumbo cupcakes (4-ounces of cupcake batter each) typically bake for a total of 20-22 minutes
*Mini cupcakes (4 teaspoons of cupcake batter each) typically bake for a total of 8-10 minutes.
I hope you love these vanilla cupcakes as much as I do! Comment below or tag me on social media @amycakesbakes! 🙂
Thanks for Reading. ❤️
📖 Recipe
Super Moist Vanilla Cupcakes
This easy vanilla cupcake recipe is a bakery recipe from the former Amycakes Bakery! It makes super moist, soft, and flavorful vanilla cupcakes that are the perfect base for all types of cupcake fillings and frostings.
👩🍳 For the most accurate baking results, use the grams measurements with a kitchen scale.
Watch the quick recipe video
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 216 grams (1 ½ cups + 2 Tablespoons) All-Purpose Flour (I use Gold Medal)
- 2 Tablespoons Instant Clearjel or ¼ cup Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix 1 (Make sure whichever you use is labeled as INSTANT)
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 200 grams (1 cup) Sugar
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup Buttermilk
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- EITHER 1 Tablespoon Almond Extract (for Vanilla Almond Cupcakes) or an additional 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract (for Golden Vanilla Cupcakes2)
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil
- ¼ cup Light Corn Syrup 3
- 1 large Egg
- 2 Egg Whites
Other Cupcake Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 stick (4 ounces) salted butter, melted
Simple Syrup
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons water
Frosting
- 1 x batch prepared Vanilla Bakery Buttercream Frosting (or your favorite frosting)
Instructions
Make the Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat Oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake tins with 19 cupcake grease-proof liners.
- Sift Dry Ingredients in a bowl and then whisk until well blended.
- Whisk the Wet Ingredients in a separate bowl until well blended (make sure the egg and egg whites are fully incorporated).
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and immediately add the apple cider vinegar. Stir until well blended
- Pour the melted salted butter over the batter and whisk just until the batter is well-blended, smooth and shiny.
- Scoop the cupcakes with a 2-ounce scoop or ¼ cup into prepared cupcake liners. Allow the scooped cupcakes to sit for 5-10 minutes before baking (this will give them a better rise).
- Bake on the middle or top rack (avoid bottom rack) of the preheated 325-degree oven for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 300 degrees. Set the timer for an additional 7-10 minutes, or until a toothpick or paring knife comes out mostly clean (watch closely towards the end of baking). A couple of moist crumbs on your knife are fine, but they shouldn't look wet.
- Make an easy simple syrup by combining the sugar and water and microwaving for 20-30 seconds, or until the sugar dissolves when stirred. Brush the warm vanilla cupcakes with the simple syrup, then allow them to cool completely. Unfrosted cupcakes may be left at room temperature, or frozen in their cupcake tins (wrapped well).
Frost and Decorate the Cupcakes
- Frost the cupcakes with my Creamy Vanilla Bakery Buttercream Frosting, or choose your favorite fillings and frostings. Store the frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator, but remove them from the fridge at least 2-3 hours before serving so they can come back to room temperature. The buttercream can melt in warm conditions, but the cupcakes have the best texture at room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
These notes correspond to their numbered ingredients above:
- Both of these ingredients stabilize the batter and make a moister cupcake with a softer crumb. Instant Pudding contains Instant Clearjel (modified cornstarch) as the 2nd ingredient which is why it works similarly with delicious results. Always make sure your Instant Clearjel is labeled as INSTANT--cook-type and original clearjel do not work the same. Cupcakes made with Instant Pudding mix will be slightly more golden than the Instant Clearjel option.
- Use almond extract for vanilla almond cupcakes similar to my Vanilla Almond Cake. Use additional vanilla extract for a "golden vanilla" or yellow cupcake.
- Light corn syrup enhances the moist texture of these vanilla cupcakes, but you may substitute the corn syrup with equal parts sugar if needed.
Amy Gooch says
Really nice, I love the flavor with the almond extract, was are delicious as-is, and as a base for other flavors. I was expecting 1 tablespoon of almond extract to be overpowering, but it was perfect. I also used these as the base recipe for raspberry lemon cupcakes - rubbed some lemon zest into the sugar of the cupcake batter, filled the baked cupcakes with raspberry curd, and topped with white chocolate buttercream. Very Yummy. (I used your raspberry compote recipe, but added the extra egg yolks from the cupcakes and some butter). With the curd, the cake around it became a little too moist, almost wet. Is there any way around that, or is that just going to happen with curd fillings? I also had to freeze the filled cupcakes, would that have anything to do with the change in texture? Thanks!
Lisa Byrd says
I have tried seven different cupcake recipes to get a very fluffy and moist cupcake didn't have any good results until I tried this one today oh my goodness this cupcake was so fluffy and so moist that this will be the cupcake recipe that I will be using to make cupcakes
Amy says
Hi Lisa, thank you so much for your comment! I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed the vanilla cupcake recipe. 🙂
Hortencia says
I tried this recipe, everyone loved them..Super moist and soft. B
Amy says
So glad you enjoyed the vanilla cupcakes! Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
Rebecca says
I love this recipe and I use it often. I have had great luck baking it as a cake as well-I prefer it over the actual vanilla almond cake recipe since it doesn't require whipping the egg whites. The moisture and flavor is phenomenal.
Amy says
That is a great tip! I will have to try that, thank you Rebecca! So glad you've enjoyed the recipe:)
Brittany says
Made a double batch for my sons birthday. Best cupcakes ever!
Amy says
Thanks so much for your comment, Brittany! I'm so happy that you enjoyed the vanilla cupcakes recipe!
Cassie says
These are by far the best vanilla cupcakes! So moist and delicious. I did omit the Almond extract and added in some Vanilla Bean Paste. I made them for a 75th Birthday party and they were a hit! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and great recipes. I look forward to making more of your recipes.
Amy says
That's awesome to hear, thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Cassie!
b hess says
i made these for a baby shower so as to not pay a fortune for sub par cupcakes they were absolutely amazing and so worth the effort tons of complements
Amy says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you so much for your comment!
Cheryl says
So I made these as a trial run for an upcoming party. These are amazing!!! Gave out to family members to taste and give feedback and it has been 5 stars all around! Was told these are the best ones that I have made so far over the years. So moist and yummy! Even the upcoming 5 year old birthday boy loved them. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I will take pics next month of the party cupcakes with your buttercream and tag you.
Amy says
That's so awesome to hear, thank you Cheryl! So happy to hear that you enjoyed the vanilla cupcake recipe. 🙂
Rebecca says
I cannot, CANNOT explain how good these are. I’ve never made a cake/cupcakes with some of the ingredients required but oh my gosh. I will never, ever use another recipe. I’ve made the cupcakes, cake, and cookies from amycakes and I’m going to have to try more recipes from here. My 3 year old’s birthday party was a huge success thanks to these recipes. I received endless compliments and was so satisfied and proud of myself for how GOOD everything was! Better than if I would have ordered custom!
Amy says
This made my day! Thanks so much, Rebecca, so happy to hear everyone enjoyed the vanilla cupcakes and other treats at your son's party. 🙂
Devin says
Taste great! Buuuut I learned what “grease proof cupcakes” means 🥴 I’ll try again and hopefully this time it’s be less greasy at the bottom.
Amy says
Yes, grease-proof cupcake liners make a big difference! Glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Sue says
I Love these delicious and moist cupcakes!
Amy says
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Katie says
These are superb! Incredibly moist and tastes just like wedding cake! ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you for sharing such a great recipe.
Amy says
Thank you so much, Katie! I'm so glad that you enjoyed the vanilla cupcakes! 😀
Chris says
Yay! These worked out wonderfully and the ease of not having to cream the butter and sugar or whip the whites is an added bonus. Ridiculously soft and moist and tender with a pleasant buttermilk and vanilla (I omitted the almond this batch) flavour. Just a note to others who like the big domes for decorating, for me their domes flattened a bit coming out of the oven but they didn’t sink or deflate or anything. Excited to try more recipes!
Amy says
Thank you so much for your comment, Chris! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂