Last updated on November 26th, 2018
Wonderfully sweet and buttery, vanilla cupcakes are easy to make and particularly luscious with lemon icing on top. Follow this easy recipe to achieve perfect cupcakes every time, and freeze leftovers ready for those unexpected guests popping in for a cup of coffee.
Vanilla Cupcakes
Prep Time: 20 mins- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
Yield: 12 Cupcakes 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
A classic vanilla cupcake recipe that is quick and easy to make.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour (all-purpose or cake flour)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
Instructions
- Sift dry ingredients together.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat well until smooth and creamy.
- Place paper cups into muffin tin and fill each cup 3/4 full.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 180° C.
Icing
- Cream together 125g margarine and 125g icing sugar
- Add two tablespoons of milk and mix well.
- Add cocoa or food colouring.
Can you please submit the complete recipe for these cupcakes – There seems to be parts of the method left out. The cakes look great though.
Regards
Wayne
Hi Wayne, thanks for the note, you just need to add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Let us know what you thought of them!
Hello! Does this recipe requires 1 cup of oil or 1/2 cup? I saw one of the comments and you said it is 1 cup while on the recipe it says 1/2 🙂
Thank you for your response!
I absolutely did not like this recipe. The cake was heavy and unlike any previous recipes I have tried.
hi there, i love this recipe, i use self raising flour and 1 teaspoon bakingpowder, the cupcakes comes out light and fluffy, its a hit with all my friends
Hi Lynette, use Self raising flour instead of cake flour. I think Lynette omitted to specify the type of flour.
Stunning recipe, they came out perfectly – so incredibly easy to make and delicious!
This recipe is fabulous, it has become my tried and trusted base for every cupcake batch I ever make!
It’s really durable, and i switch up the flavours to change the cakes every time.
My best yet is to add cocoa and coffee granules, shove a square of bar-one chocolate into the middle of the cupcake and bake as per instructions. Top with mocha icing and it’s delicious 🙂
Tank you for my fool-proof, flop-proof favourite recipe!
first time i tried this recipe and it worked wonderfully tasted great and the whole family loved them….
thanks
Hi
I absolutely love this recipe I use it all the time my kidz think i make the best cupcakes in the world Thanks for posting this recipe.
This is a lovely recipe. The cakes rise beautifully and bake to the perfect consistency. S/he who does not like the recipe may find that s/he has made a mistake in the baking process because these are lovely. This cupcake recipe is my favourite one so far.
Absolutely delicious!!!
I made this recipe for the kids to give to the mom’s for mother’s day (I work at a nursery school) I mixed in pink food colouring, they came out great. One of the mom’s asked for the recipe. Thumbs up and thanks 🙂
very easy an nice cakes ..they come out perfectly… my daughter cant stop talking about it.. we all loved it
Simply beautiful! I am a huge critic when it comes to cupcakes and these beauties really are the epitome of perfection – light and decadent. For those with a slightly less sweet tooth, these cakes are delicious when eaten plain with a little spread of butter. Thanks for sharing!
Recipe was really nice but I found that I had to add more milk to get the proper consistency.
I live by this recipe! Made it once and family and friends loved it so much i now have to make it almost everyday!! Thanks!
This is a good recipe. The taste of the cupcakes were good, however, mine were’nt as light, and was a bit dense..Any solution to that?
Thanks, I love this recipe!
Fabulous recipe. Perfect to decorate
Great Recipe! Enjoyed by all! Thanks
Love this recipe. Easy and excellent!!!
Wow super easy recipe love it love it…
Extremely easy, and rose beautifully. Found the cake a little on the dry side, like my cupcakes a bit moist. But if u are pressed for time, need to bake larger batches, or are baking for kids, this is recipe if handy to have.
I loved these! They were a gorgeous colour, rose with perfectly round tops, and the cake was moist and fluffy. They’re good on their own, or with some icing. They also don’t go stale quickly, which is great, because it means I can keep them over a few days for snacks or desserts.
Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Hi,
This is the best cup cake recipe I have ever made, it is soooo simple.
Thank you
The Caketroll
So easy and so moist and delicious! A huge hit and I made three double batches in a row in two days over new year. Many thanks!
What sort of oil do you use
sunflower or any vegetable oil…
Wow and wonderful!! I am a bit of a baking rebel and tend to do exactly what I want, often with messy results but these were easy enough for my young daughters to do alone and a phenomenal success! Thanks for sharing….
I’ve tried the recipe on Sunday and my cup cakes were delicious. Its easy and cheap. Thank you…….
easy as pie 😛 delicious!!
Fantastic recipe. Easy, fast, reliable. Thank you so much for this, we are having lots of fun making batches of cup cakes and decorating them for the kids! This is certainly an idiot-proof cup cake recipe – as I am no skilled baker and they always turn out great!
well Lynette maybe its you and not the food ive used this recipe tuns of times i love it my family loves it and my friends did you ever think maybe bakeing is not your thing its not for everyone you no
Felt like something sweet… which lead to finding this easy cupcake recipe – not too shabby. Light, fluffy and tasty. Many thanks.
The best! I tried it for the first time and it was perfect. Tasted great!
Thanx so much for this awsome recipe!!!
🙂
The cupcakes turned out great! However, the icing was awful!! I had to add a WHOLE lot more icing sugar to get a less ‘margariney’ taste and a better texture.
great recipe!
Made them like 100 times already 🙂
Simply the best!
After an 8hr drive from a weekend away, on Sunday night had to go to Plan B to make cupcakes for daughters birthday ring. I needed something easy & quick, this was the perfect recipe. Was easy to follow, did not flop, tasted moist & great. I made mini ones so got some more. The icing was also too buttery for me, but that didn’t deter me from making grass green toppings! Thanks for the recipe.
Wow…just tried this recipe!!!! Wonderful…the entire family loved them:)
the cuppies came out great :).i always thought i didnt have the touch when it comes to making great cup cakes and this recipe just proved me wrong u can be novice to baking and im sure u can have great sucsess with this recepie thanx 🙂
Best cupcakes ever. My whole family enjoyed it. Thanks.
Real goods for our teatime and we enjoy the tast of it.
Gosh !!! these are the most delish vanilla cupcakes ever’!!!!
They come out sooooo moist and crispy on the outside.
For the icing I used castor sugar and it came out better than icing sugar. I also used a sandwich bag and cut a small piece off a corner and filled it with the buttercream, worked beautifully!
Thanks for the great recipe!
D 😀
easy as thanks great recipe 🙂
Fantastic recipe! Easy and very tasty!
What kind of oil? :S and what size cups do you use? :S Im sure there lovely, but this isnt very accurate? 🙂
Any vegetable oil – sunflower, canola, etc and 1 cup = 250ml
Hi, i’ve been looking for an easy recipe and this one looks great. It’s very clean and simple. Initially the first negative comment put me off a bit… but the subsequent positive comments have truly inspired me to give it a go! If they flop ten to one it will be my fault anyway! 🙂
Ok people we have a verdict! I’ve tried this recipe – the most perfect cupcakes in less than 30 min… wow. I was worried as I needed to hand beat but, the end product great. Light and fluffy giant cup cakes (overfilled silicone cups by mistake!)
Thanx soooo much Louise!
H
Great recipe! My son and enjoyed making them! I added halved Morello cherries and cherry kirsch…..yummy! The frosting is very buttery though!
best cupcakes ever
good cupcakes but it needs to be more accurate thanks anyways:)
A quick and easy recipe that tastes great! Not too sweet, just right. Fun to make with the kids as well.. Perfect with a cup of coffee 🙂
Love these – so quick and easy and they come out great every time. I have made them often since I discovered the recipe in July. Only thing: I have a 12 cupcake pan, and this recipe JUST makes enough for 12. Nowhere near 16.
The cupcakes are just what I was looking for. They came out moist and delicious. I used goats milk to make a dairy free version for my son (also used olive oil)
I used Olivani for the icing and found it to be quite buttery and sweet so will be searching for a different icing recipe for my next lot. Thanks for sharing 🙂
These cupcakes were great but it only makes just enough for 12, not 16! Anyway, thanks for the recipe
Cup cakes came out perfectly, but they were too sweet for my likings. I had to add a little extra milk and oil as the mixture was a bit too thick. I did not use this icing, I made a butter cream icing. Besides the sweetness and extra oil and milk, they were perfect.
The best cupcakes ever!! Quick and easy and always a winner! My kids loved it and I’m so selfish to share this recipe with anyone!
Thank you for this delicious cupcake recipe,I baked for the first time and it was perfect.My son loved it.unfortunately my icing flopped.The cupcakes were great tho.Thanks again
The cupcake recipe was very good however the icing sounded revolting as margarine is not only the most awful tasting stuff as well as being toxic. Used butter and they came out beautifully. FYI margarine is not used by professional bakers in first world countries.
Can I make them in a cupcake maker?
cupcakes are delish ;)… i aded parkartement of soda and it dident come out that well oeps … but we made a nother bunch so im sorted . thanks gor shearing x0x
Great recipe, quick easy fun. 30 min in total and my friend and I had cupcakes for a snack. Instead of the icing I melted chocolate and combined it with whipped fresh cream (delish!!). ?
Thanx for sharing! 😀
These came out great, quick and easy, for the icing though I used salted butter instead of margarine and coffee cream and vanilla extract instead of milk. I’m going to use this recipe to make a full cake 🙂
These cupcakes are perfect! I took my son out for the day on Sunday and came home to freshly baked cupcakes… my daughter (10) had googled an easy vanilla cupcake recipe and yours came up. She made them all by herself while dad was snoozing infront of the grand prix 🙂 They were delicious! Thank you. I used a cooked chocolate icing which was super delicious. I am now making them in a diff kind of pan – one that leaves “holes” in the tops of them to be filled. Can’t wait to experiment with fillings.
Brilliant, simple, recipe!
great recipe.. tried it.. they turned out awesome and delicious..!
hi
the 1 ½ cups flour is how many mls???
thanks
Benny
Super good! I loved them both the
cupcakes and the icing are great!☻
Divine!!!!! 🙂 absolutely yummy. ! I loved it
I absolutely love these. I discovered this recipe when I wanted to make easter cupcakes… they were fabulous… now I just bake it in a cake tin for tea… I’m so glad I discovered this site. Thanks again
These are a winderful snack for me and my horse after a lond day of riding. …” They also make good treats”…??
Best recipe I’ve been trying to bake foe so many years but your recipes are quick and easy. Now I’m enjoying baking with my kids
Thank you for making our lives easier, I’ve been trying to bake for years but now with these recipe who cannot bake now I’m enjoying baking with my kids. Thank you
Really simple recipe 🙂 Made 24 small cupcakes. Icing on the recipe wasn’t enough to decorate so made more & added lemon (I always make with lemon!). Delicious, thanks for sharing. Not sure how to upload a pic 🙂
This was my first experience with baking and i was a little scared. Turned out wonderful and my kid just loved them and my dog woke up from her hibernation and actually walked all the way from bedroom to kitchen sniffing! Thanks. I made 6 muffins and divided the quantities given there by 1/2 but used 2 eggs by mistake instead of 1. turned out perfect so i will keep using 2 🙂
i will love to try this recipe for my cupcake business
They were great but I think you should have a vanilla cake recipe but thanks
I made the vanilla cupcakes but I put in 1/2 cups of coco in sted of flour and they come out perfect but I made the iceing but I think it taste a bit to buttery but the cupcakes were amazing thanks soooo much for sharing???
great recipe my kids loved it although the cooking time was a bit off and I needed to make 60 cupcake so I double mix 1st time to make 32 but It only made 20 other then that they were yummy
Looking forward to trying out this recipe…but where will I find the recipe for lemon icing? Thanks!
Hi thanks for sharing great recipe,made them for my grandsons preschool bazaar Kidos loved them ?
Great recipe but I wanted to make it better so I added a bit more vanilla essence and kept them in the oven a bit longer to let it crisp. I also added a few cut up pieces of chocolate to make choc chips. FYI it makes 16 small cupcakes so double it to make roughly 24 average size ones
Also it was the best cupcakes I’ve ever consumed! 😀
Great cupcakes! Fun for kids to make. Moist and I added some chocolate chips. Yum!
Hey, Dinah, I’m pretty sure you can make it in a cupcake maker. Just read the instructions needed for your maker! I’m pretty sure it’ll come it just fine!
The cupcakes are delicious, taste like the ones which are prepacked. This recipe makes 12 not 16
Thanks a lot for this recipe my family loves it and my customers can’t get enough.15 min in total then my cup cakes are ready… And my buttercream goes perfect with my cupcakes one agan thanks alot
You saved my bacon Lou! Just made these for T’s bakerman tomorrow. I put them in those edible wafer cupcake holders and it worked so well. Delicious!! Thanks, Megan xx
These were perfect!! I had so much fun making them and they can out perfectly! I had them for a snack and shared them with my family and they loved them!! I don’t want to share the recipie because it is so good!!
Awesome cupcakes! Light, fluffy and moist…and such an easy recipe!
best cupcakes ever! they are so spongey and tasty.
it only makes 12 though, and the icing is too buttery.
thanks for this great recipe 🙂
These are the best cupcakes I’ve ever made. My grandchildren and I can’t stop making them. And you can freeze them frosted. Thaw when people come over to visit. Thank you for this great recipe!
I tried these. they were super easy to make and and they were delish.. the only thing I change was the time mine took 18 minutes.. thank will be trying the some with the icing next! thanks for this great recipe!
Amazing recipe,super soft, I just baked it in a mini cupcake maker and I lo’ve it! Well done and thanks a lot for posting the recipe.
Nice recipe. We like it but my husband says it’s more like a vanilla muffin and not cupcake. Does the stirring make a difference? I just used a wooden spoon.
Taste great but it took extra time to bake. It also serves just enough for 12, not 16. Other than that, I loved them! Thanks for sharing!
great cuppies, made these last nyt. so simple and not time consuming. this will be my go 2 recipe. reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup. thanx a bunch
Nice and simple. I supervised my 13 year old daughter to make them and they came beautiful
Yum best cupcakes ever
Very tasty 🙂
Followed the recipe to a T and they came out perfect! Moist, fluffy, buttery (surprisingly!) and the right sweetness for me. Was looking for oil instead of butter cupcakes and will be adding this recipe to my growing list of tried and tested recipes. Took no time at all especially if you have measuring cups and spoons. I just mixed all the wet ingredients together in a jug, quickly sifted the dry ingredients together and mixed the former into the latter and hey presto! Took 15 mins exactly- definitely perfect for a last minute treat if someone pops over or you just fancy it. Thank you!
The yummiest and easiest cupcakes ever, definitely saving this recipe fo future use.
I call this my kitchen cupcakes as I have everything I need to make them at hand. Inexpensive and delicious.
Hats off to you Louise ! What an awesome recipe ! all my family were spell bound ! thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe !!! <3
Please please what are the measurements In imperial or Metric….here in the uk we use kitchen scales, and weigh in ounces or grams. Either would be lovely
Could you pleased give me the measurements in ozs, as u.k. is different with our measurements. Thank you, Mrs. Forrest
It is a great and wonderful recipe thanks
this recipe is amazing i use it as my basic cupcake recipe then add all the different extras each time i make it. absolutely love it !!!
I tried these cup cakes and the result was great.I just want one thing of anyone can answer.I used every ingredient in the mentioned quantity and beated well. Since my oven is not that much perfect there days so it took around 30 mins for me to get baked properly.But still I found that my cup cakes were not completely moist or like the better still needs to be baked .Can anyone guide me in this regard that what I should do to have completely soft and moiist cake without any feeling for some better needed to be baked more.
The oven temp is in Celsius. You should have put it to 350°F.
Perfect, first time round! shape, texture, taste, moist. This is a keeper.
Perfect recipe and easy to make! Baked them this morning and had them for breakfast..they came out jst perfecto and they are so delish! My son loved them.
Thank you for such a simple and perfectly moist cupcake! I’ve been using this recipe for over two years and keep the link saved on my phone. I’ve often used it for a cake too. I’ve made over a 1000 cupcakes with this!!!!! Yummy!!