This recipe will show you how to make a beautifully moist vanilla cupcake that uses oil instead of butter. It produces a dense and spongy cake that is just sublime. This is a quick and easy recipe that beginners and seasoned bakers alike can enjoy making. IT can easily be adapted to other flavors but let’s keep this simple with lovely vanilla!
If you are a fan of making cupcakes you are probably always on the hunt for a recipe that is quick, easy and can produce consistent results. We like to think that this will become your “go to” recipe. Topped with vanilla frosting it doesn’t get much better than this.
Using oil instead of butter means we don’t have to wait for the butter to hit room temperature. That speeds the process up considerably and you can probably get these cakes in the oven in 10 minutes or less once you master the recipe. Remember to preheat your oven before you get started or that might hold you up a bit! Another advantage of oil is that it makes the cakes much moister than when using butter which tends to give a much tastier final result.
Right, that is enough info for now, let’s get started on this recipe!
Ingredients
- Two cups of granulated sugar
- Half a cup of vegetable oil
- Three large eggs
- One tablespoon of vanilla extract
- Half a cup of light sour cream
- Two and a half cups of all-purpose flour
- Three teaspoons of baking powder
- One teaspoon of salt
- One and a quarter cups of nonfat cow’s milk
- Vanilla Frosting
Instructions
1. The first thing to do is preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Get a cupcake pan ready with liners.
3. Take your mixing bowl and combine the oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until the eggs and oil are well mixed in and you have a nice light batter. Should take around 2 minutes, scrape the bowl sides as you go to make sure everything is mixed in.
4. Add the sour cream and continue beating in the mixer until it is well mixed in.
5. Take half the flour and add that to the mixture. Add the baking powder and salt. Turn the mixer to a low speed and slowly pour in half of the milk as it mixes.
6. Add the rest of the flour and keep mixing on a low speed while adding the rest of the milk. Keep mixing until everything is really well combined and mixed together. If you need to stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure it’s all mixed in.
7. Using a cookie scoop or a spoon fill each cupcake liner to be two-thirds full. Do not overfill. A cookie scoop allows you to be consistent here.
8. If your oven is up to temperature you can now place them in the oven and bake for around 15 minutes. From around 14 minutes you can start checking to see if the cakes are done by inserting a toothpick into them. If it comes out clean they are done.
9. Place on a wire rack to cool.
10. You can now add your vanilla frosting and decorate them as you like. You can use pre-bought frosting but for the best results, you can make your own. Recipe below.
Please Note
- This mixture will be thin because we are using oil instead of butter. This means it is imperative everything is mixed in well!
- This recipe will make around 25 cupcakes.
- Use a real and high-quality vanilla extract for the best results.
- If you want to substitute the sour cream you can use a greek yogurt but we find that using sour cream keeps the cakes moister for longer.
Vanilla Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- Two and a half tsp of Vanilla extract
- Two tbsp of heavy whipping cream
- One and a half cups (3 sticks) of Unsalted butter, cold.
- Five cups of powdered sugar
Instructions
1. Take the butter and cut it up into pieces
2. Use the paddle attachment on your mixer and whip the butter for 6-7 minutes. Make sure you scrape the bowl to allow the mixer to get it all. Beat until it turns light in color.
3. Add two fo your cups of sugar and mix on low speed until everything is well mixed in.
4. Now add 2 tsp of vanilla extract to the mixture and let it combine. Continue mixing for a further minute.
5. Add another two cups of the sugar and keep beating on low speed until it is mixed in.
6. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high and beat for around 3 minutes.
7. Add the last of the sugar as well as the whipping cream and half a tsp of vanilla extract. Mix on low until everything starts to mix together.
8. Turn the mixer back to medium-high and beat for another 4-5 minutes until you get the desired texture for your frosting.
