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    Soft Vanilla Cupcakes

    These fluffy vanilla cupcakes are so soft and moist, they literally melt in your mouth! With a classic vanilla flavour, you can frost and fill these cupcakes with almost anything!

    Soft vanilla cupcakes with an American buttercream

    What makes these vanilla cupcakes so soft?

    There are a few reasons behind the fluffy, soft texture of these cupcakes! Firstly, this recipe uses the creaming method, where you cream together your butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This helps to incorporate air into our batter, giving us a lighter and fluffier cupcake!

    Secondly, this recipe uses oil and yoghurt, which help tenderise the crumb of the cupcake. The oil also helps to keep the cupcake moist as oil is liquid at room temperature.

     

    What is the shelf life?

    You can store these cupcakes at room temperature in an air tight container for up to a week. If you stay in a really humid climate, then you may want to refrigerate these after a few days, but wrap them in foil or cling wrap to prevent them drying out in the fridge.

    Soft vanilla cupcakes with an American buttercream

    Soft Vanilla Cupcakes

    Soft and fluffy cupcakes that are so easy to put together!
    4.98 from 36 votes
    Print Pin Rate Watch Video
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 18 minutes
    Total Time: 28 minutes
    Servings: 12 cupcakes

    IMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.

    Ingredients
     

    • 1 cup (125 g) flour - regular all purpose
    • ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter - room temp
    • ¾ cup (150 g) white sugar
    • 2 eggs
    • 2 tsp vanilla essence/extract
    • tsp baking powder
    • 1 pinch of salt - omit if using salted butter
    • 1 tbsp unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola
    • ½ cup (122 g) greek yoghurt - unsweetened

    Instructions

    • All your ingredients should be at room temperature before beginning 🙂
    • Preheat your oven to 165 °C (329°F) with the fan on (see note 2 if you don't have a fan function) and place cupcake liners in a cupcake tray. Set aside.
    • Using a hand or stand mixer, cream your butter and sugar together on a medium speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Make sure your butter is soft, but not melted (see note 1).
    • Add in your first egg, and mix for about 15 seconds, and then add in your second egg and mix for another 15 seconds.
    • Add in your vegetable oil, vanilla and yoghurt and mix that in until well combined.
    • Finish off by sifting in your flour, baking powder and salt, and then mix on a low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
    • Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, fill the cupcake liners about 2/3rds of the way up (do not overfill them), and then bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
    • Let them completely cool before frosting 🙂

    Video

    Notes

    Note 1. You want to make sure your butter is soft enough that you can make an indent in it with your finger, but not too soft that it's losing its shape. The purpose of creaming your butter and sugar is to whip air into our butter, so we need to make sure its not too hard or too soft otherwise it won't be able to hold the air we are trying to whip into it! 🙂
    Note 2. In this recipe I use an oven with the fan function turned on. The fan forced function cooks cakes/cupcakes faster, so if your oven doesn't have a fan option, then you will need to increase the baking temperature to 175°C (347°F) so that the cake/cupcake bakes at the same rate as mine 🙂

    Nutrition

    Calories: 158kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 33mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 164IU | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.

    Keyword: cupcakes, vanilla cupcakes
    Tried this recipe?I love hearing from you! Tag me @cakesbymk.nz on instagram so I can see your amazing creations 🙂

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    84 Comments

    • Mani

      I love ur cakes. Will u plz do this in an eggless version

    • kathija

      and i forgot to ask this 😕: i added choco chips but they seem to settle at the bottom of the cupcake. why is that so?

      • Mani

        Hi i found a good hack for that is to put some plain batter at the bottom first then put the choc chip batter on top

    • kathija

      5 stars
      hello! this recipe is amazing, thank you. will be great if you can help me with these: what is the reason for the top of the cupcake to turn brown (even though i followed your instructions) and can a double action baking powder be used? thanks! ☺️

    • Ivy

      Thank you for sharing your recipe. Im excited to try it! Does it have to be a regular sugar? Can I use extra fine granulated sugar (berry sugar) I currently have at home? 🙂

      • Cakes by MK

        You’re welcome Ivy! 🙂 And I haven’t tried this recipe with extra fine sugar myself but I think it would be fine for cupcakes 🙂 hope you enjoy the recipe!

    • Kat

      Can I fold in blue berries as last step before scooping to the pan?

    • Kavita

      5 stars
      Hi Maryam!
      I made two batches of vanilla cupcakes. I made one using one using buttermilk and other with Greek yogurt but yoghurt turned so fluffy, smooth and delicious. All our friends loved it. I am gonna make it tomorrow again .
      Thanks
      Kavita

    • Paschallina Kunfah

      Hello Maryam,
      Can I substitute the unsalted butter with oil and omit the 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil as well?

      If yes, how much oil should I use?

      Thanks

      • Cakes by MK

        Hi Paschallina! 🙂 Because this recipe uses the creaming method, butter is required to incorporate air into the batter which helps makes the cupcakes fluffier so I would recommend sticking with the butter 🙂

      • Prevendri

        5 stars
        Hellos Maryam

        Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I made a dozen of them yesterday, and it was super delicious. The cupcakes were light, fluffy and had a beautiful texture. Thank you so much.

    • Nulia Nwokolo

      Can we replace the yoghurt with buttermilk? If so, how much can we use?

      • Cakes by MK

        Hi Nulia! I haven’t tried that myself but I think it should be fine, just substitute the same amount 🙂

    • TC

      5 stars
      Last night I made this recipe. Instead of a full batch, I halved this recipe to give me 6. I substituted the yogurt for sour cream. I was pleasantly surprised because I am very particular about the texture of my cakes/cupcakes. This recipe makes a VERY nice, soft, and fluffy cupcake. I paired it with a lemon cream cheese frosting. Will definitely use this again!!!!

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    About me

    Welcome to my blog! My name is Maryam and I LOVE baking! :) I hope to provide you with the tools (i.e. simple, from-scratch, quality tested recipes), so that you can confidently bake up delicious treats to share with your family and friends!

      Categories
      Tips & Tricks
      Single Layer Cakes
      Quick Desserts
      Muffins
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