
Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes: When I posted the recipe for these egg free vanilla cupcakes, I never thought that any other cupcake recipe can even come closer to that one. I was so ecstatic that I have found the best eggless vanilla cupcake recipe. But the only drawback was that it used Ener-G egg replacer powder and it's not easily available in all parts of the world and many of the readers were asking me for a substitute for Ener-G.

Also, people who tried it with Ener-G gave mixed reviews. I have tried it a couple of times now, and I have gotten it right each time, but I understand that not everybody is able to get it perfect.
I was working on finding another recipe for vanilla cupcakes that use easily available ingredients. I tried a couple of recipes but was not satisfied with any of them. That is when I decided to try this eggless vanilla cake recipe. Another reason for deciding to use that recipe was that some of the readers wanted a substitute for condensed milk in that recipe.
So, I used the vanilla cake recipe as a base, made a couple of variations, and baked it twice to get the right combination. I have to say that I'm completely satisfied with the results. If you love orange-scented eggless vanilla cupcakes, I'm pretty sure that you would love these orange cookies, too! Do give it a try.
If you tried this Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
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Recipe

Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 and ½ cups Cake Flour
- ¾ cup White Sugar
- 1 and ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ tablespoon Orange Zest Zest of about 3 oranges
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 cup Milk See My Notes
- ¾ cup Orange Juice Freshly squeezed, See My Notes
- ½ cup Butter Melted
- 1 tablespoon Vinegar I used apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
Substitutions:
- Cake Flour = 2 and ⅔ cups of all purpose flour + 5 tablespoons of cornstarch
- Milk = Evaporated Whole or 2%; non-dairy for vegans
- Melted Butter = Oil or melted margarine
- Apple cider vinegar = White vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Prepare muffin tins either by lightly greasing it with cooking spray or line it with paper liners.
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients and make a well.
- Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry mix one by one, stirring with a whisk simultaneously. Don't be bothered by some small lumps. Do not be tempted to dissolve the lumps by mixing the batter with an electric beater. (See My Notes)
- Fill each muffin cup ¾th full, which is about 3 tablespoons of batter for each cupcake. Bake for about 13-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Mine was done in 14 minutes. But note that my oven usually bakes quicker than the time mentioned in a recipe by at least 3-5 minutes.
- Remove the pan/s from the oven and allow it cool for about 5 minutes on a cooling rack. Then take out the cupcakes from the pan and let it cool on the rack completely before frosting, if you decide to.
My Notes
- I have tried this recipe using cake flour only. I have not tried it using the substitution I have mentioned. All purpose flour plus some cornstarch is the general substitution for cake flour. So I'm not sure about the texture of the cupcakes using this substitution.
- So far I have tested this recipe twice. The first time I used evaporated milk (unsweetened condensed milk) and the 2nd time I used 2% milk. I personally liked the cupcakes baked using evaporated milk. It was richer and lighter than the 2% milk cupcakes.
- I have mentioned it in many of my recipes and I'm mentioning it here again; use only freshly squeezed orange juice while baking. Store bought juice in cartons lends a bitter after taste in baked goods. That's my personal observation.
- Also the first time I just used ½ a cup of sugar and felt that the sweetness was very mild. It was okay for us who usually prefer mildly sweet treats. The 2nd time I increased the quantity to ¾th cup. ½ cup sugar is perfectly okay if you are going to frost/slather it with frosting.
- My personal experience has shown me that cake flour and electric beater are not compatible. I tried the Ener-G eggless vanilla cupcakes twice using cake flour and mixing the batter with a beater and ended up with cupcakes which sunk more than the Titanic. The cupcakes looked very pitiful. So please avoid the temptation to use an electric beater while preparing the batter in these recipes, especially with cake flour.
- Update: I tried a vegan version of this vanilla cupcake recipe for my son's birthday and it came out very well. I used 1 and ¾ cups of almond milk in place of the milk and orange juice. I also substituted ½ cup melted butter with coconut oil. I did use cake flour and the cakes turned out light, fluffy and tasted awesome. I got about 3 dozen mini cupcakes for this recipe.
Anvita says
My cupcakes did not rise. And took around 30 min to bake. They were moist from the bottom too. I did nt have baking powder so increased the quantities of baking soda. Woll that make diff. Pl help
Madhuram says
Yes Anvita, using baking powder and baking soda interchangeably doesn't work out always. It's a hit or miss kind of thing.
jack loganbill says
The reason baking soda and baking powder are not always successful as substitutes for each other is as follows...
Baking soda requires acid to activate. Acids include vinegar, buttermilk, cocoa, etc. Without acid, baking soda will not leaven properly. Furthermore, baking soda activates almost immediately; its leavening ability diminishes significanlty if the product is not baked immediately.
Baking powder is baking soda combined with additional chemicals that provide the acidity, o that acid is not required in the recipe. Plus, most baking powder is double-acting, meaning it activates like baking soda when mixed, plus activates again with the heat of the oven during baking.
I am surprised that many recipes call for baking soda when no acid is present or when baking will be delayed until after a period of refrigeration (cookies for instance). These conditions kill the leavening ability, thus the baking soda would do nothing but add some flavor.
Madhuram says
Thank you very much for the brief and clear tutorial.
Yeiri C. Serrano says
Hi!
I want to give it a try to some Nutella cupcakes that I found the recipe for, but I'm allergic to eggs and I'm wondering if this recipe will be good for it. The original recipe asks for 1 cup of Nutella spread... Do you think it will change the final result?
Thanks in advance!
Madhuram says
Hi Yeiri, it would be better if you give me a link to the original recipe so that I can suggest the most appropriate egg substitute or see if you can use the Nutella in the cake recipe.
Tina Kalpesh says
Excellent recipe. After a long time one of my cakes turned out well. Just one question instead of using it for cup cakes I used it for baking a cake in a 9 inch circular pan and it turned out to be a bit small. Could u help me with the right quantity Also can we use this same recipe in a chocolate version? Thanks. Btw I love ur website! Regards tina
Madhuram says
Thanks Tina. Do you mean that the height was less? If that's the case, it's not an issue because when you bake it as two 9 layers it doesn't give enough height. You should try it either in two 8 inch pans or a 9x13 rectangular pan.
Alexis says
ok...so I have this in the oven now and can't wait for it to come out. I didn't have any oranges so I used a lemon instead and since my 4 year old has milk allergies I used vanilla soy milk...the batter tastes amazing!!!! We are actually making a blueberry upside down cake as we have sooooo many blueberries right now.(she didn't want cupcakes so hopefully it works ok)Thank you for finding and posting this...can't wait to let you know the results~i was so excited with the batter i had to comment already
!
Bob says
Used this with 4 tbsp of cocoa powder and orange flavouring 1 tbsp to get chocolate/orange version they were so good!
Madhuram says
Chocolate orange combination is one thing I have been wanting to try for a long time now. It's great to know that this recipe works out well with that variation too. Thanks Bob.
Veera M says
Do you have to reduce the flour quantity if adding cocoa powder? And by how much.. Thanks so much! Cant wait to try this!
Madhuram says
Yes Veera. I think 1/4 cup of cocoa powder should be fine, so reduce the quantity of all-purpose flour by the same.
samixa says
Hi,
I made this cupcake and came out really good. Everyone in my family loved it. Thanks for this and other eggless recipes.
Samixa
Madhuram says
You're welcome Samixa.
Leanne says
Just made these for my kids tonight as one of them suffers with an egg allergy it is very hard to find a tasty egg free recipe. These cupcakes were easy to make and really nice I didn't add the vinegar but they still turned out fantastic!! Will be making these again!!
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback, Leanne.
Elizabeth says
Hi there!!
I will like to thank you for this recipe. I just finished baking my first batch and is cooling, but I couldnt resist and tasted the cupcake. My goodness it was delicious!! It is unbelievably moist and good. I thought it was going to taste like flour batter with a orange scent. I was wrong. At first I thought the batter was soo liquidy and I thought I must have done something wrong. I dont pack the flour I usually just pour it into the measuring cup. I also used coconut oil instead of butter(thats what I had in hand).It is well balanced, the orangy flavor is awesome, not too much, just perfect!! Thank you. I will share this with my sister, my nephew has all kinds of food allergy, even chicken!! Thanks!!
Madhuram says
You're most welcome Elizabeth. Hope your nephew will like it too!
Muted says
Wanted to rustle up cupcakes - no eggs! Found your recipe and instead of eggs, added your suggested vinegar and butter to already prepared dry stuff: flour bicarbonate sugar lemon peel blueberry - wet stuff: milk yogurt oil. I had to add milk to wet the mixture and it was starting to bubble nicely as I placed in oven. Result: light and delicate texture - practically a brioche! Thanks for your advice - I'm going to experiment. Best wishes, Louisa
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback, Louisa.
Parinda says
Is cake flour, self raising flour?
Madhuram says
No, Parinda. Self-raising flour has baking powder in it. Cake or pastry flour is made very soft wheat otherwise you can use the substitute I have mentioned.
Rayna says
Hi, I tried out your recipie it was super delicious just one note,it tasted very orange-y but overall very moist and it was all gone in one day
Madhuram says
Thanks Rayna. I wanted it to taste orange-y.
Kinesias says
I used all purpose flour, I didn't alter it into cake flour. It was moist and soft and just unbelievable. I LOVED THIS!
Madhuram says
Thanks Kinesias.
Alka says
The cake flour substitution with all pupose flour given is one cup cake flour to one and 2/3 cups of allpurpose ? Can you explain that please..
Madhuram says
All-purpose flour plus some cornstarch is the substiute for cake flour. By reducing the quantity of all-purpose flour we are lowering the protein content. This is done because cake flour has less protein content. But to offset the reduced quantity of flour, we are adding some cornstarch.
Polkadotlady says
Hi, just wanted to say thanks for "saving the day". I had been promising my daughter an "activity time with Mom" that did not include paper and scissors (I scrapbook!) I thought about cupcakes....told her about it and she was very excited for "real baking". I forgot the need for eggs required in a store bought cake mix so.....to the internet I went and found your blog. Every one in the family loved them. I wanted to pass on that I used your recipe in a "mini cupcake maker" with pretty good results. My mini cupcakes came out over browned at the bottom but an unexpected plus was how crispy they were. That made up for the over browned part. Again, thank you.
Polkadotlady and daughters
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback Polkadotlady. Mini cupcakes always need less time to bake than the regular size cupcakes. Around 12-14 minutes should be enough for mini cupcakes.
Sarah Abbott says
I just made these cupcakes and they are fabulous!! Such an easy recipe using ingredients you can find in the cupboard. Thank you for sharing this recipe-I will definitely be making these again!
Madhuram says
You're welcome Sarah.
jack L says
Putting together eggless cupcake/cake recipes for our church youth group. I was wondering about the statement regarding cake flour and electic beater? Are you suggesting to mix/beat by hand only, no electric mixer?
Thanks
JackL
Madhuram says
Just using a wooden spoon or spatula to mix the ingredients. I tried beating the batter with electric beater and ended up having very flat cupcakes. I guess we tend to overbeat using an electric beater.
Fanta Jackson says
I just used the Easy eggless vanilla cupcake recipe and I have to say that I am greatly pleased with the results. The taste is great. My mom who is not allergic to eggs said that they taste good. My son loved them and he is the one with the egg allergy. Thanks for this great recipe, can't wait to try some more recipes.
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback, Fanta.
Avni says
hey madhuram, thanks a lot for sharing such a great recipe i would definitely like to try it out, I would like to know the purpose of adding vineagr to cupcakes and can i make them without vinegar?
Madhuram says
Vinegar gives a lighter cake. You can try using lemon juice instead of it.