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These Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes are tender, fluffy and easy to make! They’re full of sprinkles and topped with buttercream frosting!
Funfetti Cupcakes
These Funfetti Cupcakes have been a long time coming. How have I not had a recipe for these until now?? I don’t really know, but I’m so glad to finally have one now. And I’m telling you – these are THE BEST! They are moist, light, fluffy – everything you want. So. Darn. Good.
What Makes These the Best Funfetti Cupcakes?
So while funfetti cupcakes are basically vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles in them, I actually found it more difficult to get these just right than it’d seem. Just add sprinkles? Not so much.
I started with my Moist Vanilla Layer Cake in cupcake form. I’m a big fan of those vanilla cupcakes (and the cake, of course), so it seemed a natural fit. Well, the sprinkles sank.
So I tried messing around with a few things, but as I mention often – small changes can make a big difference it how things turn out with baking. Often, making a cake batter that things stay suspended in means having a more dense cake and I really didn’t want that. Not at all. So after trying several things. Eventually I decided to try whipping the egg whites.
Winner!! Not only did it fix the sinking problem to have the volume of the egg whites keeping the sprinkles in place – it also make the cupcakes even lighter and more tender. Pure heaven! So in love!
How to Make Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes
Cream the butter, oil and sugar: To start with these cupcakes, you’ll cream your butter, vegetable oil, sugar and vanilla extract together until they get light in color and fluffy in texture. If you don’t see a very noticeable difference, keep mixing until you do.
Add the egg yolks: Next, you’ll add the egg yolks. The whites will be whipped later, so set those aside.
Add the dry ingredients: Now it’s time to add our dry ingredients and milk. You’ll want to add the dry ingredients in three parts and the milk in two. This part is important for making sure things mix evenly. Since the egg whites are added later, the batter is a little dry when you start adding the flour, so mixing in a couple more parts helps the batter not dry out too much before adding milk and then giving you a lumpy batter.
Whip the egg whites: After adding the flour and milk, set that mixture aside and whip your egg whites to stiff peaks. If you’ve never whipped egg whites, it’s super easy. Literally just add your whites to a bowl and whip them with your whisk attachment until you can lift the whisk out and they stand up straight without falling over.
Fold in the egg whites: You’ll want to gently fold about half of the whipped egg whites into your batter so that you loosen things up and don’t deflate the egg whites.
Add sprinkles and bake: Add the remaining egg whites and sprinkles, then gently fold everything together and you’re ready to bake them!
Which sprinkles are best for funfetti?
As far as sprinkles go, I recommend using jimmies (I use these). They don’t bleed as much as other types and don’t end up crunchy either.
Once baked, these Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes are topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting and plenty of sprinkles! The buttercream pairs with them just perfectly!
These Are the Best Funfetti Cupcakes!
After waiting for too long to share a great Funfetti Cupcake with you, I’m excited to share these because they are seriously delicious. No need for a box mix when you can just make these! They are moist, tender, fluffy and so darn good. You can even swap out the sprinkles for various color combinations for any occasion. I hope you love them as much as we did!
More funfetti recipes to try:
Funfetti Millionaire Cake
Funfetti Cheesecake with Cake Bottom
No Bake Funfetti Oreo Birthday Cake Cheesecake
Watch How They’re Made
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Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 3 minutes
- Yield: 12 cupcakes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes are tender, fluffy and easy to make! They’re full of sprinkles and topped with buttercream frosting for a delicious cupcake!
Ingredients
Funfetti Cupcakes
- 1 1/4 cups (163g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs, divided
- 6 tbsp (84g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (155g) sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (150ml) milk
- 1/4 cup sprinkles (I recommend jimmies)
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups (460g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2–4 tbsp water or heavy cream
- Pinch or two salt
- Sprinkles
Instructions
1. Prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
3. Add the egg whites to a large mixer bowl and set aside. Set aside the egg yolks for later use.
4. Add the butter, sugar, oil and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and cream together until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time. You should be able to see a visible change in the color and texture of the mixture when it’s ready.
5. Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing until combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
6. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
7. Add half of the milk and mix until well combined. The batter might look a little curdled, but that’s ok.
8. Add another third of the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
9. Add the other half of the milk and mix until well combined.
10. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Do not over mix the batter. Set aside.
11. Grab the egg whites and whip on high speed with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form.
12. Gently fold about half of the whipped egg whites into the cake batter and gently fold together until mostly combined.
13. Add the remaining egg whites and sprinkles and gently fold together until well combined.
14. Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
15. Remove cupcakes from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.
To Make The Vanilla Buttercream And Decorate
16. To make the frosting, add the butter to a mixer bowl and beat until well combined.
17. Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
18. Add the vanilla extract and 1-2 tablespoons of water or cream and mix until well combined.
19. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
20. Add additional water or cream as needed to get the right consistency frosting. Add salt to taste.
21. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes. I used Ateco tip 847. Add sprinkles, if desired.
Notes
For something a little different flavor-wise, try substituting a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract for cake batter flavoring. It makes a little unique and fun flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 476
- Sugar: 54.4 g
- Sodium: 69.8 mg
- Fat: 24.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 66.3 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 87.1 mg
What size Ateco 847 tip are you using in this recipe?
There is a thing called deliciousness and these cupcakes are above that
There is a thing called cuteness and these cupcakes are above that
There is a thing called fluffiness and these cupcakes are above that
I made these cupcakes for my family and OH MY GOSH they were delish
Lol! So glad to hear you enjoyed them!
🙂
Hey instead of vegetable oil can I use coconut oil?
I haven’t tried it to be able to say.
This recipe is very yummy and looks great, i really recommend it
Can I use vegetable shortening in the recipe instead of butter? If so would I omit the vegetable oil in the recipe?
In the cupcakes? I wouldn’t recommend it, but you could try it. And no, I’d still use the oil.
I made these with your chocolate buttercream frosting, and they turned out delicious and looked so festive! So light and fluffy.
Made these cupcakes recently and gave them to several of my neighbors. This recipe is amazing! Brought me so much joy when the neighbors told me how much they loved their special treat! Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m so glad to hear everyone enjoyed them!
These are so fun! Would like to make a small cake to accompany them for my daughter’s first birthday. Would this recipe work for a 3 layer, 6 inch cake? Or, do I need to double? What temp and bake time? Thanks!!
Does the frosting recipe make just enough for the cupcakes? Or is there usually left overs? If I cut the frosting recipe in half but still made all 12 cupcakes, would this still work?
It really depends on how much frosting you like on your cupcakes. I clearly add tall swirls to mine and this recipe makes JUST enough frosting for 12 cupcakes. If you like less frosting, then you could reduce it.
I’m tried a LOT of homemade funfetti cupcake recipes, and tried yours today. My new favorite for sure. Very fluffy and moist cake. Will be making again for sure! Thank you!
Also, your Instagram is so good! Looking forward to trying many more of your recipes!
Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them!
How long would you bake for mini cupcakes?!
Usually around 8 minutes.
Can I use buttermilk for the cupcakes?
That should be fine.
How would I substitute with buttermilk? Do I omit the butter in the cake recipe altogether?
No, leave the butter. Just swap out the regular milk for buttermilk. Same amount.
Can I make this recipe in two 8″ layer cake pans?
That should be fine.
Hi! How would I change this recipe to do a 3 layer cake? I recently made your chocolate cake and it was AMAZING, so I wanted to use a funfetti recipe from you for my daughter’s third birthday cake! Thanks!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the chocolate cake! I would check out this vanilla cake as a guide. The recipes are quite similar. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/moist-vanilla-layer-cake/
I just made these cupcakes, but I made mini cupcakes rather than the regular size cupcakes. I must say the cake is absolutely delicious. I think I may like using salted butter in the frosting. Has anyone tried that yet?
Anyway, these are wonderful with a delicious, light cake.
Thank you for this recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! You can either add your own salt to the frosting or use salted butter. If using salted butter though, I would do half and half. All salted butter is usually too much salt.
Hey Lindsay! I’m a big fan of anything sprinkles! 🙂 These look so good and I can’t wait to try them!
Also, how are the twins? They must be so big by now! Haven’t seen a life post around here in ages 😉
I hope you enjoy the cupcakes if you try them! I am actually posting an update on the boys tomorrow. They turned two on the second. They are definitely getting so big! Thanks for asking!
Hi, Lindsay! What little girls wouldn’t want to bite into these colorful vanilla cupcakes! I have to granddaughters who just love to bake with me. We will definitely make the cupcakes during our next sleepover. Thanks for sharing! Enjoy the day!!!
Hi Lindsay
These look so good.
Can you double or triple the recipe for a 2 layer 8” cake?
Thank you.
Yes, that should be totally fine.