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

4.96 from 72 votes
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Soft and fluffy cupcakes that are so easy to put together!
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 18 minutes
Total: 28 minutes
Servings: 11 cupcakes
Author: Cakes by MK

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
  • 1½ 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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144 Comments

  • lilitha

    5 stars
    I‘be never made such a soft, fluffy cupcakes in my life. Wow! Actually blew my mind. This will 100% be my go to for the rest of my life, thank you.

    • Cakes by MK

      Hi Lilitha! Thank you so much for your feedback, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the cupcakes 😀

  • Ruth

    5 stars
    It tried it two days ago,its really taste good and fluffy thank you for this recipe 👍👍,good luck and more baking

    • Cakes by MK

      Thank you so much for the feedback Ruth! So happy to hear you enjoyed them 🙂

  • Julie

    5 stars
    This recipe is by far the most melt in your mouth vanilla cupcake recipe, ever since I made them had to do away with other recipes .

    • Cakes by MK

      Thanks so much Julie! So happy to hear you love the recipe 😀

  • Nat

    Thank you for sharing your recipes! I’d love to try the cupcakes and I wonder… could I substitute the yoghurt for sour cream?

    • Cakes by MK

      Hi Nat! I haven’t tried with sour cream myself, but it usually works as a good substitute so I imagine it should be okay 🙂

  • Maryam

    4 stars
    I used this recipe for my Eid cupcakes and it was so tender and soft. It finished immediately.
    Thank you for this full proof recipe.

  • Sheridan Ford

    5 stars
    These are amazing! The additions of butter for flavour, oil for moisture and yoghurt for texture make for THE most perfect cupcake!!

    • Cakes by MK

      So so glad to hear you enjoyed them Sheridan 😀

  • Refentse

    5 stars
    I absolutely thank you for sharing this recipe I tried for my children they loved the cupcakes and they more.

    • Cakes by MK

      Thanks so much for your feedback! So so happy to hear that your children loved them 😀

  • Nazia

    No the biggest fan of anything vanilla but these cupcakes can easily take over my go to chocolate ones. They’re so fluffy and buttery again another fail proof recipe by MK.

    • Cakes by MK

      So happy to hear you enjoyed the cupcakes Nazia! 🙂

  • Alan

    Oh i remember this one . Loved the texture.tge falvors were to die for

  • Ra-eesa

    5 stars
    Truly the best cupcake recipe out there. After I’ve used it once, I’ve never gone back. It’s soft, fluffy, and everything you need. Also flop-proof!

    • Joanne

      5 stars
      These cupcakes are amazing as are your other recipes. I look forward to each video you post . . you make it so easy to follow your recipes

    • Cakes by MK

      So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! 😀

4.96 from 72 votes (35 ratings without comment)

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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!

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