Funfetti Cupcakes (from scratch!)
Believe it or not, we had no idea what funfetti was until about seven years ago. Once we started to read food blogs, we discovered this phenomenon, which is basically a boxed white or yellow cake with flecks of rainbow colors baked right in. Not surprisingly, these cakes, cupcakes and cookies are extremely popular with kids and a lot of people have fond memories of enjoying them at childhood birthday parties. We probably missed this whole trend for a variety of reasons: (1) our mom always ordered our birthday cakes from the same bakery, year after year; (2) we were never a fan of cakes, so once we were old enough to realize there were options outside of traditional birthday cakes, we started requesting ice cream cakes and cheesecakes for our birthday; (3) we don’t remember our mom ever baking a cake from a box mix. Like, ever. Maybe she did and we just don’t remember it, but we don’t think they were on her radar, either.
We can see why the funfetti concept is so popular – who doesn’t love bright colors and sprinkles?! It’s so festive and fun and totally appropriate for any birthday party (kids or adults, we say). We've never had the box mix version, but was all-in on creating a from-scratch version. Sprinkle fun!
Truth is, funfetti are totally straightforward to mix right at home, all you need is a basic vanilla cupcake recipe and some rainbow sprinkles. We've been trying out some different vanilla cupcake recipes and love this one that we stumbled upon over at Cookies and Cups. Shelly adapted it from the Back in the Day Bakery cookbook, and we think they’re fabulous. They have a distinct butter flavor (score!) and are nice and plush. The only thing that could make them better? Sprinkles!
Once the cupcakes were baked and cooled, we topped them with our favorite vanilla buttercream frosting and more sprinkles, of course.
Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, or just another special kind of day, we can’t think of anything more fun and cheerful than these. We also love that they kind of look like ice cream cones with sprinkles on top :)
One year ago: Vanilla Cream-Filled Doughnuts
Two years ago: Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes and Broccoli Cheese Soup
Three years ago: Traditional Mardi Gras King Cake
Four years ago: Asiago Bagels
Five years ago: Baked Oatmeal
Six years ago: Royal Crown’s Tortano
Funfetti Cupcakes (from scratch!)
Yield: 24 cupcakes A from-scratch version of funfetti cupcakes - buttery vanilla cupcakes loaded with sprinkles and topped with vanilla buttercream frosting.For the Cupcakes:
- 1¾ cups (218.75 g) cake flour
- 1¼ cups (156.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 1¾ cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 2½ teaspoons (2.5 teaspoons) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup (244 ml) whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (80 g) rainbow sprinkles
For the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
- 2 cups (454 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 5 cups (600 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- Rainbow sprinkles, for decorating
- Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt, and mix together on low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer on low, add the butter, a few cubes at a time, continuing until all the butter has been added and the mixture resembles coarse sand.
- Keeping the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Slowly pour in the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, until batter is smooth, scraping the sides of bowl as needed. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir in the sprinkles.
- Fill the liners two-thirds full (about ¼ cup of batter) and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the centers are set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the Frosting: Using the wire whisk attachment of your stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated. Whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Frost the cupcakes as desired (we used the Ateco #808 decorating tip) and garnish with additional sprinkles. Frosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutritional values are based on one serving
- Yield: 24 cupcakes
- Prep: 20 minutes
- Cook: 20 minutes
- Total: 50 minutes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1¾ cups ( 218.75 g ) cake flour
- 1¼ cups ( 156.25 g ) all-purpose flour
- 1¾ cups ( 350 g ) granulated sugar
- 2½ teaspoons ( 2.5 teaspoons ) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup ( 227 g ) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup ( 244 ml ) whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup ( 80 g ) rainbow sprinkles
For the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
- 2 cups ( 454 g ) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 5 cups ( 600 g ) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- Rainbow sprinkles, for decorating
Method
- Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt, and mix together on low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer on low, add the butter, a few cubes at a time, continuing until all the butter has been added and the mixture resembles coarse sand.
- Keeping the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Slowly pour in the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, until batter is smooth, scraping the sides of bowl as needed. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir in the sprinkles.
- Fill the liners two-thirds full (about ¼ cup of batter) and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the centers are set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the Frosting: Using the wire whisk attachment of your stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated. Whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Frost the cupcakes as desired (we used the Ateco #808 decorating tip) and garnish with additional sprinkles. Frosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
