* This post was updated with new photos 🙂
These celebration cupcakes really live up to their name of FUNfetti! Moist, tender, and soft cupcakes bursting with the crunch and color of sprinkles are more than enough reason to celebrate!
Whether you call these "funfetti cupcakes" or "confetti cupcakes", they make perfect birthday cupcakes! The addition of sprinkles to a moist and tender vanilla cupcake batter yields a super fun and colorful dessert!
And although these are traditionally intended as celebration cupcakes, I think just a regular day is enough of an excuse to make yourself a batch of these! Celebrate Saturdays, Fridays, and everything in between!
(Besides, it's someone's birthday somewhere in the world)
They're incredibly easy to make any time, any day. THAT'S something I can celebrate.
What are funfetti cupcakes:
Funfetti cupcakes (also known as confetti cupcakes, rainbow cupcakes, or sprinkles cupcakes) are basically vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles mixed into the batter! The sprinkles add color, crunch, and sweetness to the cupcakes.
You can use any vanilla cupcake or cake batter as your base for this style of cupcake. If you've seen our latest sour cream vanilla cupcake recipe, you'll notice that this recipe uses the exact same base batter, with just an addition of sprinkles.
I personally love to make these using a sour cream cupcake base just because that's my ABSOLUTE favorite!
Funfetti cupcakes ingredients:
This recipe includes a cupcake recipe and a recipe for vanilla buttercream frosting. You can use vanilla frosting, chocolate buttercream, chocolate ganache, or any other type of frosting you like!
To make the cupcakes and buttercream, you will need:
• flour, baking powder, & salt: standard dry ingredients for any great cupcake recipe
• unsalted butter: for the cupcake batter and buttercream
• vegetable oil: I like to use a combination of butter and oil for the BEST cupcakes! The butter adds flavor while the oil adds moisture and softness
• sugar: granulated sugar for the cupcakes and powdered sugar for the buttercream
• egg & vanilla: nothing too crazy for a cupcake recipe
• sour cream: the secret to perfectly moist and tender cupcakes!
• sprinkles: what would funfetti cupcakes be without sprinkles?? Rainbow jimmies are a must for this recipe. Those are the long sprinkles that look kind of like super thin and small sticks. These sprinkles don't bleed into the batter as much as other types of sprinkles (nonpareils... I'm looking at you.)
• milk or heavy cream: to thin the buttercream frosting to the right consistency
The best sprinkles for baking:
When trying to decide what sprinkles to use for funfetti cupcakes (or even baking in general) there's really no better than jimmies (the long sprinkles that look like thin sticks). So these are the sprinkles you should look out for:
Pleaaaaassse do NOT use nonpareils to bake with (unless you want to get grayish, brownish vanilla cupcakes)!! Nonpareil sprinkles bleed. like. crazy!
They bleed when you add them to the cake batter, and continue bleeding once you bake and expose them to heat. Jimmies will give you a more distinct, bright, and colorful speckle of sprinkles throughout the cupcake!
My trusty nonpareils are reserved for decorating the frosting. Because ... sprinkles.
And don't get me started on dragees. They can break a tooth.
Another note on sprinkles is that I personally like to use lighter, more vibrant colored jimmies, just because I like the brightness they add! But you can use any shades you like.
Darker colored sprinkles can be more prone to bleeding into the batter though, so be careful when working with them. Try to mix the batter as little as possible after you add your sprinkles.
And avoid using jimmies with chocolate sprinkles mixed in because they are the MOST prone to bleeding of the jimmie family.
How to make funfetti cupcakes:
1. Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Combine wet ingredients. Beat sugar, butter, and oil together until somewhat smooth. Add egg, sour cream, and vanilla, and whisk to combine.
3. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Stir until just incorporated. Fold in sprinkles.
4. Portion into cupcake tin & bake! Cool the baked cupcakes in the tin for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and set aside to cool completely before frosting.
Make your buttercream:
1. Beat together butter and sugar.
2. Add salt, vanilla, and cream/milk. Beat again until light and fluffy. Add more cream/milk as needed to reach your desired consistency.
3. Frost your cupcakes! Top with more sprinkles if you'd like (and I'd like).
Funfetti cupcakes storage:
Frosted funfetti cupcakes will keep for about 2 days at room temperature, while unfrosted cupcakes will keep for about 3 or 4 days at room temperature. Keep them stored in an airtight container for maximum freshness!
You can also keep these cupcakes in the fridge (with or without frosting) for up to 1 week.
If you liked these funfetti cupcakes, check out some of these similar recipes!
• moist chocolate cupcakes
• vanilla cupcakes with sour cream (the base for this recipe!)
• vanilla cupcakes without sour cream
• marble cake
• chocolate chip cookie sheet cake
Funfetti Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 & ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 & ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup rainbow jimmies (long sprinkles)
For the vanilla buttercream frosting:
- ¾ cup (1 & ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
- more sprinkles (I used nonpareils), for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a standard, 12 count cupcake tin with paper liners, and set aside.
- Make the cupcakes: In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine, and set aside to prep the wet ingredients.
- In a large bowl, combine butter, oil, and sugar. Beat together until they're incorporated (some small clumps are fine). Add your egg, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix together until just combined. Again, some lumps are fine! Fold sprinkles into the batter until combined. Take care not to over mix as it can cause the cupcakes to end up tough and the sprinkles may start to bleed into the batter!
- Portion the batter into your cupcake cups (filling each one no more than ¾ of the way full). Bake in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely to room temperature before frosting.
- Make the buttercream frosting: In a large bowl, combine butter and powdered sugar. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
- Add your salt, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of milk or heavy cream. Beat the mixture again for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until light and airy. Gradually add more milk/heavy cream if needed to reach your desired consistency.
- Pipe or spread your frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. (Optional) Top with more sprinkles of your choice! (Not optional) Celebrate!
Enjoy!
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