Perfect Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes
Jan 27, 2017, Updated May 07, 2023
Simply perfect Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes topped with a creamy and delicious Vanilla Buttercream Frosting!
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Simply perfect Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes topped with a creamy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.
A classic cupcake for all occasions!
How gorgeous are these cupcakes? Seriously there’s something so amazing about baking cupcakes and decorating them, it just makes me super happy! I think I am just plain biased when it comes to cupcakes. I mean I like cakes, but cupcakes are so much better for me in every way.
They are cuter, more fun to decorate and perfect to feed a crowd. Win win! I wanted to bake and share a Vanilla Cake recipe with you guys for Valentine’s Day but at the last moment I opted for cupcakes. And aren’t you glad I did? Just look at them!
Valentine’s Day is around the corner and I am already seeing tons of red and pink recipes floating around on the social media. This year I didn’t really get to plan much or bake in advance since I just came back from India so I will post as I bake.
These cupcakes I baked yesterday and they are on the blog today! I don’t have a basic Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes recipe on the blog and I know a lot of you love eggless bakes and so I thought Valentine’s Day would be perfect to share these.
There’s nothing fancy about these eggless vanilla cupcakes. They are made with very basic ingredients which I am sure you must already have in your pantry. I have been playing around with a lot of eggless recipes lately.
I made these eggless cupcakes sometime back, I guess way back in October but I didn’t like how they turned out. There was a strong taste of baking soda (metallic taste–>yuck!) and even though they looked pretty and I clicked pictures as well, I obviously couldn’t share them on the blog.
This time around I changed the recipe a bit and ended up with these Perfect Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes!
These Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes Are
✓ Eggless
✓ Super Soft
✓ Full of vanilla flavor
✓ Topped with a creamy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Vanilla is such a classic flavor. It goes for every occasion and almost everyone likes them. I mean I know people who don’t like chocolate but I have never met someone who doesn’t like vanilla. Have you?
You can make these eggless vanilla cupcakes for birthdays, anniversaries, valentine’s day or whenever you feel like. After all who needs a reason to eat cupcakes? I don’t!
The cupcakes are topped with a classic American Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. I am not a huge buttercream fan honestly but since these were vanilla cupcakes and I wanted to make a classic, the buttercream just had to happen.
Please feel free to use any frosting of choice. One thing which I would like to mention here is that these cupcakes are very lightly sweetened and that’s because the buttercream is super sweet so it all goes well together.
TIP: If are going for whipped cream or cream cheese frosting, you might want to add an extra 1/4 cup sugar for the cupcakes.
Method
In a bowl whisk together all purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Sift the mixture twice. Set aside.
Meanwhile mix 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon white vinegar and set aside for 5 minutes while it curdles (or use 1 cup buttermilk).
Using paddle attachment of your stand mixer or using your hand mixer, mix together oil and powdered sugar. Mix till creamy and well combined.
Add vanilla extract and mix.
Start adding the flour mix and milk-vinegar mixture in parts. Start by adding one part of the flour mix.
Then add one part of the milk-vinegar mixture. Add the flour-mix in 3 parts and milk-vinegar mixture in 2 parts, starting and ending with flour mix.
Mix till all is well combined but do not over-mix. The batter is now done.
Using an ice cream scoop (or any spoon), fill the cupcakes liners 2/3 full with the batter. Bake at 350 F degrees for 15-18 minutes or till toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from oven and transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting – Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer or using your hand mixer, beat room temperature butter for 5 minutes till smooth and creamy.
Now add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Add vanilla extract, milk/cream and mix.
Add food color (if using) and mix. Once everything is nice and combined, beat the buttercream at medium speed for 5 minutes to make it all fluffy and creamy.
Frost the cooled eggless vanilla cupcakes with the prepared vanilla buttercream frosting and enjoy.
Perfect Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes
- 1.25 cups all purpose flour 163 grams
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch 22 grams
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar 75 grams or add more to taste
- 1.25 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup canola oil 80 ml
- 1 cup milk mixed with 1 tablespoon white vinegar or use 1 cup buttermilk, 8 oz/240 ml milk + 15 ml vinegar
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1/2 cup salted butter at room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3-4 tablespoons cream/milk 45-60 ml
- pink food color optional
Instructions
Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes
- Pre heat oven to 350 F degrees. Line a 12 count muffin tray with cupcake liners or spray with a non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a bowl whisk together all purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Sift the mixture twice. Set aside.
- Meanwhile mix 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon white vinegar and set aside for 5 minutes while it curdles. (or use 1 cup buttermilk)
- Using paddle attachment of your stand mixer or using your hand mixer, mix together oil and powdered sugar. Mix till creamy and well combined.
- Add vanilla extract and mix.
- Start adding the flour mix and milk-vinegar mixture in parts. Start by adding one part of the flour mix, then add one part of the milk-vinegar mixture.
- Add the flour-mix in 3 parts and milk-vinegar mixture in 2 parts, starting and ending with flour mix.
- Mix till all is well combined but do not over-mix. The batter is now done.
- Using an ice cream scoop (or any spoon), fill the cupcakes liners 2/3 full with the batter.
- Bake at 350 F degrees for 15-18 minutes or till toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove cupcakes from oven and transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer or using your hand mixer, beat room temperature butter for 5 minutes till smooth and creamy.
- Now add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition.
- Add vanilla extract, milk/cream and mix.
- Add food color (if using) and mix.
- Once everything is nice and combined, beat the buttercream at medium speed for 5 minutes to make it all fluffy and creamy.
- Frost the cooled eggless vanilla cupcakes with the prepared vanilla buttercream frosting and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes
Hi I made it but the taste was extremely bland and unfortunately but no one liked it so we had to throw it away. Can I check is the sugar powdered sugar , which is icing sugar? it wasn’sweet at all.
it taste really floury so not sure if something is wrong?
furthermore even though i baked it for 20 mins they all said it was undercooked?
note i made plain cake and no icing.
kindly advise.
Hi Manisha, it might be that the ingredients were not measured correctly. That’s the only reason I can think of as to why cupcakes weren’t sweet enough for you. And you check any cupcake recipe, mostly all cupcakes bake around 20-22 minutes (even less for some) and these do bake with in that time frame. Please check you oven temperature setting with a oven thermometer. It looks like the temperature are off and hence this problem. Sorry this didn’t work out for you.
Can I substitute the canola oil for another oil? If so, What would you suggest?
yes any flavorless oil would work- vegetable, avocado
what about olive oil?
I would not use it but that’s a personal preference. If you want to, go ahead
Hello there.i want to know the difference between corn starch and corn flour as we use in india
Indian corn flour is same as cornstarch in US
I think your measurement are perfect in cups
I made the cupcakes for a cultural event and they were delicious. Light & fluffy. Thanks for the awesome cupcake recipe.
Thanks, these were awesome. Now, I’ve finally learned how to make a good buttercream frosting.
Hi Manali,
Does the baking time increase if I use 6 cup muffin tray instead of 12 cup?
no!
Hi…
Just wanted to bring to your notice….there is someone who has copied your recipe word for word and has shared it on a Facebook group. I can link you to the group…buy unless you are a member, you won’t be able to see the content.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/132949466715054?view=permalink&id=2863379210338719
thanks Preeti for letting me know. Unfortunately a lot of people keep doing this, they copy posts and photos. Hard to keep a tab on this so I just let it go. Wish people had more moral ethics…
This is a super easy and quick recipe. We added 1/3 of a cup of blueberries to the batter and blended them to make purple cupcakes. They looked really cool!
good to know!
Hi Manali,
I tried your cup cake receipe and it awesome. can you please send me chocolate cupcake receipe if you have.
Thank you.
good to know! and here is the chocolate one: https://www.cookwithmanali.com/eggless-chocolate-cupcakes/
Hi can you please confirm what you mean by 1.25 cups of flour?
1 and 1/4 cup flour
Hi, do you think Soy milk would work in this recipe as well?
should work
Hello
Can I use castor sugar instead of powdered sugar?
yes should be okay
Hi, can I add some fresh chopped pineapple pieces to this recipe. My daughter loves vanilla-pineapple combo and I want to try it out!
Thanks,
Nidhi
yes you may
I need to bake 30 of these. Can I make better in bulk and leave or do I have to use immediately?
This recipe looks so good! When exactly do you add the oil, powdered sugar and vanilla to the cupcake mix? Do you add it to the flour before alternating with the milk/vinegar?
exactly like I have mentioned in the recipe, please refer to the step by step pictures. Oil, sugar and vanilla are mixed and then flour mix and milk/vinegar mixture is added alternating.
Best egg-less cupcake/cake recipe I’ve found! Thank you so much! My son has an egg allergy so I’ve been trying to perfect egg-less baking for a few years. This one is a keeper! Moist, stays together with out crumbling, and delicious!
Awesome! You are welcome 🙂
Most egg free cake recipes we’ve tried are rather dense. This one was definitely light and moist. Didn’t miss the egg at all! Only comment I have is that I doubled the recipe to make 24 cupcakes but should not have doubled the frosting recipe. I ended up throwing out a lot of frosting. Oh well. They were excellent! I’ve got some great pics, if there’s a way to share them. Thank you for sharing this recipe, I’ll definitely be using this one again and again!
glad to know! you can always tag me on Instagram using #cookwithmanali so that I can see the pictures or mail me at manali@cookwithmanali.com
Hi, quick question is powdered sugar icing sugar
yes!
These were delicious. I am making a sweet bread that calls for two eggs. What exactly is replacing the eggs in this recipe (the oil and powdered sugar)? Can this replace the eggs in the bread recipe? What would the ratio be?
If I replace the all purpose flour with wheat flour should I make any changes to the other ingredients?
I couldn’t wait and I tried a batch with whole wheat and I must say they were one of the most delicious cupcakes iv ever had. Best part is, my daughter who is my best critic, loved it and said it was perfect. Thank you so much 🙂
Welcome! glad you enjoyed it!
Baked this today and it turned out perfect!!!
Awesome! 🙂
I cooked mine just like the recipe calls for and they have comes on top and taste a little like corn muffins. Suggestions?
Domes not comes. Sorry! My phone “autocorrects”.
corn muffins? hmm not sure what happened…maybe you over-mixed? Did you use bleached all purpose flour? if they have a dome then you might want to fill the cupcake liners less next time…
Hi Manali,
My cupcakes turned a little bread like texture and I want them a little more moist. How can I add little more moisture? And also what can I do to add a little dome on top.
Hi there, I think you over-baked the cupcakes that’s why they didn’t turn out that moist. Please check your oven temperature settings. For the dome, usually I do it for muffins- bake at a high temperature first (which causes the dome) and then bake at a lower temperature. However I am not sure why you would want a dome for cupcakes? Cupcakes are frosted so a flat surface is preferred. Are you talking about muffins or cupcakes?
Is cornstarch same as cornflour
yes will work!
Hi! Looking to try these this weekend for an eggless friend.
When you say “or 1 cup buttermilk” does that replace the vinegar all together? Is there a reason why you wouldn’t just use buttermilk? Seems easier than having to wait for the milk to curdle?
I didn’t use buttermilk because it’s not something that I have in my kitchen all the time so the milk + vinegar is just an easy substitute for that..you can very well use buttermilk in place! hope that helps!
Hello Manali mam,
I want to know how to preserve these vanilla cupcakes for a week? Please answer me. Thanks in advance
I am Saumya.
Hi Saumya, I will let the cupcakes cool completely and then wrap each cupcake in a cling sheet and them add to a ziplock bag and freeze. This way u can freeze them for a month.
Hi, can I use corn flour instead of corn starch or are they different? Thanks
You may!
These were delicious!!! Thank you so much! My 10-year-old daughter is allergic to eggs and always feels so sad when she sees other kids enjoy cupcakes. These are moist and tasty, even without the frosting, although I made the frosting too!
I am so glad these made you daughter happy, yay! 🙂
Hey
Can i use the same recipe for cake or there is some difference in cup cakes and cakes?
you can..but when you bake a cake, it would take more time..cupcakes are mini cakes so they bake quickly..for a 8 inch cake, you would probably need to bake this for around 25-27 minutes. Just be sure to not over-bake.
I tried the cupcakes with Almond Milk to make it vegan. Next week I will attempt a full cake. Texture was a little different from using regular milk. You think it will hold in a full cake if I use Almond Milk? Or do you have another Vegan receipe you recommend.
Hi Sira, I have never tried this recipe with almond milk..so I really can’t comment if the recipe would work in a full cake. No harm in trying I guess! You may also check out this recipe for vegan cupcakes- https://minimalistbaker.com/one-bowl-vegan-funfetti-cupcakes/
Thanks for replying.I live in a city that’s neither too hot nor too chill.. But ya now its summer here and the temperature is soaring high.. Will consider your suggestion if my cupcakes turn out sticky the next time.
sure Durga, let me know!
hi manali, your cupcakes look beautiful. whenever i bake them the top layer becomes sticky after a few hours inspite of correct measurements and well cooked inside.could you pls help me out ?
Hi Durga, sticky top can be due to the humid environment..is it hot & humid where you live? Try to the mix the sugar very well until its well combined..let the cupcakes cool completely before you cover them or wrap them in a cling sheet..that can be another reason for sticky top if you cover them before they are completely cooled…and if this still doesn’t help, just use a knife to remove the top layer and then frost..it will be all good 🙂
I love your receipe for vanilla cupcakes. Its my go too every time. Today I used same receipe to make 8 inch cake. Do you do the same? Do you think its ok to triple this receipe for 10 inch cake?
Hi Sira, it works well for an 8 inch cake! 🙂 I am not sure about the tripling part, never tried it myself! If you happen to do so,let me know how it turns out! Glad you like the cupcakes!
I tripled this recipe for 10 inch cake. It was awesome. No problems. Thank you very much!
Hi manali,
I tried ur recipe today it came out to be perfect.
Thank u so much for sharing the recipe. First time I baked cupcake at home that too with soft texture and perfect taste. All credit goes to you.this has boosted my interest in baking now. Will try other recipe u have shared . Thanks again.
You are welcome Ani! 🙂 Keep baking!
Can I make them the day or 2 before the party? Will they dry up? Should I make and frost and store them in refrigerator? Did they turn out airy as mine usually turns out a little dense but again I use yogurt and this one has milk-vinegar..
Hi Mokshi, you can make them in advance..I would wrap each cupcake individually tightly in a cling plastic wrap and keep at room temperature. I would frost them on the day of the party. Yes they should turn out airy, hope it works for you!
Can this recipe be made into a cake? How long would you bake it?
8 inch cake,bake around 25 minutes?
Hi,
If i replace the oil with butter in this recipe, do i need to melt the butter or will softened butter work?
oil would work, I prefer oil as it makes the cupcake softer..use softened butter in place,you may need to add little additional liquid in this case..
Hi Manali, your cup cakes looks great. Please let me know what tip did you use for frosting them
Hi Lalli! It’s wilton 2D!
Good day.. Can i replace a cup of milk with vinegar with a cup of yoghurt?
not in this recipe!
looks fantastic , will try this cupcake .
hi manali,
could u please convert the measurements to gram for this recipe.
would appreciate ur efforts.
Hi Sneha, I am sorry I am travelling right now. I will get back to you next week, thanks for your patience.
hi manali, thank you for ur reply.
hi Manali, ur cupcake looks so delicious. could u pls help by converting the measurements into grams as I always mess up the baked goods when cooked with cup measurements.
would love to make it for my son’s birthday.
thanks
sneha
Hi Sneha, I can do that but it would take me few days. I am India these days and don’t have a kitchen scale here. I used US measuring cups so you can search online for gram equivalent if you need the conversion urgently.
Hi Manali, do you have the recipe in grams for me to follow? Thanks Sonia
Hi Sonia, unfortunately I don’t right now. Sorry about that! I have used US cup measurements, you may try this conversion chart – http://www.errenskitchen.com/cooking-conversions/cups-to-grams-and-oz/
Hi! Can you tell me how to make pink food colouring? 🙂
Hi Anshika, the food color I bought from the market..
Thanks Mira!
Thanks for the pin Harriet!
Thank you Alice!
Thank you Kathy! Simple is the best! 🙂
Thank you Annie!
Thank you Angie!