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My homemade funfetti cupcakes recipe is loved by thousands of families! When you follow this recipe, you’ll have moist, fluffy confetti cupcakes that are full of sprinkles and perfect for any celebration!
I’ve been making cupcakes for years, and during that time I’ve learned several tricks to bake the perfect cupcake. I’ve applied that knowledge to this recipe, so you can make perfect funfetti cupcakes from scratch with zero guesswork.
Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes
I’m starting to wonder how funfetti cupcakes got their name. White cake with sprinkles somehow turned into funfetti cake.
Sprinkle cake would seem a little more obvious.
I’m not sure if this is correct, but funfetti seems like it could have been derived from the word confetti.. so even sprinkle confetti cake would make more sense.
But someone decided that FUNfetti was more fun then sprinkle confetti cake and it stuck.
Regardless of the name, there are sprinkles involved. Lots of sprinkles. There is nothing worse than a funfetti cake that is lacking on the funfetti side.
Our recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sprinkles in the batter, plus more sprinkles to top the cupcakes. When topping the cakes with sprinkles, you have full control over your desired sprinkle quantity.
I’m sure if you let your kids decorate the cupcakes they’ll be on the heavy sprinkle side like mine. I mean have you ever met a kid that didn’t like sprinkles?!
Funfetti Cupcake Recipe Ingredients
- unsalted butter: makes the cake tender and helps with leavening
- granulated sugar: adds sweetness and flavor
- egg whites: binds the cake together by providing structure
- sour cream: adds moisture and creaminess
- milk: adds moisture
- vanilla extract: adds flavor
- all purpose flour: flour is necessary to build structure
- baking powder: helps to leaven and lift the batter, reacts with the sour cream
- salt: just a pinch to balance the sweetness and enhances the other flavors of the cake
- jimmie sprinkles: sprinkles are critical in homemade funfetti cake
Confetti Cupcake Frosting Piping Supplies
- Piping bags – I love these bulk piping bags
- Piping tips – Larger piping tips are better for frosting cupcakes. My go-to tips are the Wilton 1M, 2D, 12 and 199.
What sprinkles to use for funfetti cupcakes?
Jimmie sprinkles are the best type of sprinkle to use when making funfetti cake and cupcakes. Jimmie sprinkles are the long, skinny “hot dog” shape sprinkle.
I do not recommend using nonpareils, the small round ball sprinkles, because their color tends to bleed during baking.
After much searching, I found that Walmart’s Great Value brand jimmie sprinkles are the best looking sprinkles because the colors are bright and the sprinkle mixture doesn’t contain brown sprinkles. I don’t want brown sprinkles because they don’t look appealing!
How to Make Funfetti Cupcakes
- In a mixing bowl combine the butter and sugar, beat using an electric mixer, 1-2 minutes until fluffy.
- Add in the egg whites, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat lightly with the electric mixer.
- In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sprinkles. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a few spoonfuls at a time. Mix until just incorporated.
- Fill the muffin liners 1/2-3/4 full. Bake for 17-19 minutes at 350º F or until a few moist crumbs remain on a toothpick when inserted into the center. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before adding the frosting.
Time Required to Make Confetti Cupcakes
- 10 minutes to prep the batter
- 15 minutes to bake the cupcakes
- 1 hour, at least, to cool the cupcakes
- 15 minutes to make the frosting and frost the cupcakes
How to Pipe Frosting onto Confetti Cupcakes
- I used a wilton 2D piping tip to pipe the frosting on these cupcakes. A wilton 1M and an Ateco 844 are both very similar to the 2D.
- Start in the center of the cupcake, applying pressure to the frosting bag, going in a swirling motion until you reach the edge of the cupcake then lift the tip up and tip more frosting onto that base layer you just made, stacking the frosting and continuing in a swirling motion until you reach the center of the cupcake.
- I also wanted to show various options for frosting the cupcakes.
- Referring to the image above, on the far left is the simplest method – spread a small amount of frosting on top of each cupcake using a butter knife.
- The center cupcake, the buttercream is piped on using a wilton 1M tip.
- The cupcake on the far right does pack a lot of frosting, but I like the perfectly domed look. To achieve that look use a large cookie dough scoop, scoop up the buttercream and gently release it on top of the cupcake.
Funfetti Cupcakes Recipe Variations
Confetti Cupcake frosting
You can easily make the vanilla buttercream into any color you want with food coloring – I like wilton’s gel food colors because they are vibrant and a little goes a long way!
Here are more frosting options:
- Lemon frosting
- Cream cheese frosting
- Strawberry whipped cream
- Peanut butter frosting
- Chocolate frosting
- Chocolate whipped cream
- Espresso frosting
How to Make Funfetti Cupcakes Gluten Free
This recipe turned out great using gluten free flour! We love King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour. Follow the directions as stated, but substitute gluten free flour for all purpose flour.
Funfetti Cupcakes Recipe Tips
- Properly measure the all purpose flour using the spoon and sweep method.
- Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until they are combined. Over mixing could lead to dry, dense cake.
- Store these cupcakes covered on the counter.
How to Store Confetti Cupcakes
How to Freeze Unfrosted Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely. Wrap each cupcake in plastic wrap, then place inside a freezer ziplock bag or freezer storage container.
To thaw: place the bag or container of cupcakes on the counter overnight. Frost once fully thawed.
More like this Confetti Cupcake Recipe
Homemade Confetti Cupcake Recipe FAQs
Our recipe calls for a lot of moist ingredients. We use egg whites instead of whole eggs, sour cream and milk. Using egg whites only gives the batter a nice white look. The sour cream and milk are where the fat, flavor, and moistness come into play.
While both cakes share a similar base, the magic of Funfetti lies in the addition of colorful sprinkles mixed into the batter. These sprinkles add pops of color and a touch of whimsy to the cake, making it perfect for celebrations and bringing smiles to faces. So, while the flavor may be similar to vanilla, the fun and festive appearance of Funfetti cake sets it apart as a cheerful and playful treat!
Baking cupcakes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (or around 175 degrees Celsius) is a pretty sweet spot! It allows them to bake evenly without burning or drying out too quickly. Just keep an eye on them towards the end of the baking time to ensure they’re perfectly golden and fluffy.
Fill cupcake liners about halfway to three-quarters full. This leaves just enough room for the cupcakes to rise and form those cute little domes without overflowing.
Yes, funfetti cake batter should typically have a similar consistency to regular cake batter, which is pourable but not overly thin. However, because funfetti cake batter contains sprinkles, it may appear slightly thicker due to the additional ingredients.
The best frosting for funfetti cupcakes is usually a classic vanilla buttercream. Its smooth and creamy texture complements the fluffy cake and adds a deliciously sweet flavor without overwhelming the colorful sprinkles. Plus, you can easily tint the frosting with food coloring to match the festive vibe of the funfetti cupcakes.
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Confetti Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
Funfetti Cupcakes
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, 1/2 cup
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg whites
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup milk, skim, 1%, 2% or whole
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup jimmies sprinkles
Vanilla Frosting
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened, 1 1/2 cups
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- more sprinkles, to top the cupcakes
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
- In a mixing bowl combine the butter and sugar, beat using an electric mixer, 1-2 minutes until fluffy.
- Add in the egg whites, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat lightly with the electric mixer.
- In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sprinkles.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a few spoonfuls at a time. Mix until just incorporated.
- Fill the muffin liners 1/2-3/4 full. Bake for 17-19 minutes at 350º F or until a few moist crumbs remain on a toothpick when inserted into the center.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before adding the frosting.
Frosting
- In a mixing bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Add in the vanilla extract and 2 cups of powdered sugar, mix by hand with a spatula.
- Add in more powdered sugar as you see fit, then mix one last time with the electric mixer.
- Add the frosting to the cooled cupcakes by spreading the frosting on with a knife, piping it on or using a large cookie dough scoop.
- Decorate with additional sprinkles.
These cupcakes are so cute and such a classic- perfect for celebrations :)
Beth these cupcakes are just the CUTEST! How fun would these be for a summer birthday party?? All those sprinkles just call to me!
Haha I hear ya! They are calling my name too!
Hi, this recipe looked so promising so I went and tried it tonight, but the timing did not work for me. It took about an additional 15 mins for it to be done! Is there something wrong with my oven? Did anyone else experience this? Also, unfortunately the sprinkles I got just melted and disappeared! 😞
But they taste good! Thanks.
Baking times are suggestions, not hard and fast rules! Did you use jimmie sprinkles or nonpareils?
I had the same issue. They were cooked on the outside and wet in the middle.
I know this might be hard for you to answer but maybe a ballpark? I baked these yesterday (I wish I would have taken a picture) first when I added the wet ingredients to the butter/sugar it almost looked curdled, but I went ahead, when I removed them from the oven they were greasy all on the bottom. They were greasy and super dense. I ended up trashing them. Any idea what I might have done wrong? I’ll keep trying😁 Thanks so much!! Sherry
If the wet ingredients are cold, it can cause the butter to look chunky after beating, but it doesn’t affect the taste! How did you measure the flour – the spoon and level method?
Hello I love this recipe it is delicious, but I constantly have the same problem. The taste is great but my cupcakes always sink in the middle a few minutes after they are out of the oven. Any advice on what I could be doing incorrectly or how I can fix this?
Hi Bee! How are you measuring the flour? Are you mixing with electric mixer?