Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes (from scratch!)
Believe it or not, I had no idea what funfetti was until about seven years ago. Once I started to read food blogs, I 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. I probably missed this whole trend for a variety of reasons: (1) my mom always ordered our birthday cakes from the same bakery, year after year; (2) I was never a fan of cakes, so once I was old enough to realize there were options outside of traditional birthday cakes, I started requesting ice cream cakes and cheesecakes for my birthday; (3) I don’t remember my mom ever baking a cake from a box mix. Like, ever. Maybe she did and I just don’t remember it, but I don’t think they were really on her radar, either.
I 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, I say). I’ve never had the box mix version, but was all-in on creating a homemade version. Sprinkle fun!
Truth is, funfetti are totally easy to make right at home, all you need is a basic vanilla cupcake recipe and some rainbow sprinkles. I’ve been trying out some different vanilla cupcake recipes and really love this one that I stumbled upon over at Cookies and Cups. Shelly adapted it from the Back in the Day Bakery cookbook, and I think they’re fabulous. They have a really distinct butter flavor (score!) and are nice and moist. The only thing that could make them better? Sprinkles!
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Once the cupcakes were baked and cooled, I topped them with my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting and more sprinkles, of course.
Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, or just another special kind of day, I can’t think of anything more fun and cheerful than these. I 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!)
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
Instructions
- 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 (I 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
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
WOW! Can’t get over how beautiful your photos are, even the sprinkle placement is perfect!
these are so fun!
Try Kut from the Kloth jeans. Nordstrom & Zappos (and 6pm) carry them for sure. Not crazy expensive and fit well and lots of styles.
So much fun! And obviously better than a box mix. I just made a confetti layer cake from scratch. Love all the rainbow sprinkles.
I love homemade funfetti cupcakes and just made some for my birthday. These are gorgeous!
Nothing is happier than a cake full of sprinkles, topped with more sprinkles. Great homemade version!
I can’t think of anything more fun and cheerful either! These look so delicious and are so cute!!
can you make this recipe in a cake pan :) ?
Hi Kelly, I haven’t tried it, but I think you could. Either two-layer 8″ or 9″ cake, or a 9×13-inch.
I tried to make this in a 9×13 pan today and I think a 11×15 would be better. The cake turned out delicious (no surprise there) but because there was so much batter, by the time the middle was close to done (55 minutes) both the edges and the bottom were quite done (not burnt but definitely overdone). The cake was still a hit, but I’ll try the bigger pan next time.
(I also only used half the frosting, but that’s a personal taste)
Sort of a silly question, but I have to ask: where did you buy or what brand are the sprinkles you used to top the cupcakes with? I noticed that there aren’t the brown colored ones included in those, and have been searching for them everywhere! I love sprinkles and funfetti, but for some reason the brown ones drive me crazy. Neurotic much? I know. :)
Saw your comment as I was scrolling down to leave one… I just got a bunch of rainbow sprinkles from The Cupcake Social. Colors are great!
Hi Madeleine, One of the larger grocery stores I go to has a whole row of different colored sprinkles (including rainbow) in the bulk section where the nuts, grains, etc. are located. I get mine from there, and have no idea what brand they are. I’m sorry that’s not more helpful!
Funfetti-anything is pretty much my favorite thing to make. They’re just so happy!
Beautiful, as always!
Funfetti cupcakes are the best! So fun!
Double yum!!!!! These look perfect and amazingly delicious! :)
I too would like to know what piping tip you used please. they look wonderful. I cant wait to try
Hi Denise, I used the Ateco #808 tip.
Thank u . Would wilton have a similar tip?do you think?
Hi Denise, I’m sure they would, it’s basically a jumbo-sized round tip.
These are so cute – like little cakes of happiness!
I was a bit late getting into the whole funfetti thing, too, but I’ve definitely made up for lost time the past 10 years or so. I love homemade versions so much more, and these look terrific! Your photos are beautiful with an up close and personal view of those sprinkles. :)
I could use one of these as a pre-friday celebration. LOVE me some funfetti!
Believe it or not, I’ve never made nor eaten funfetti cakes/cupcakes. This may very well change now that you have posted your homemade recipe for them!
Beautiful! What tool do you use to frost your cupcakes? They look yummy!!
Sprinkles really? I am pretty sure around here those things are called jimmies!! Great recipe – I can’t wait to bake these cupcakes.
Are you from Philly? We call them Jimmies too!
Not Philly but your cross state rival – Pittsburgh
I knew i wasn’t crazy!! Finally someone else who calls them jimmies!!! LOL
I’ve lived in Pittsburgh my whole life and have never heard them called jimmies! Maybe there are different “jimmies” and “sprinkles” sects around the city ;-)
In Boston we have sprinkles AND jimmies. Sprinkles are multi colored, jimmies are chocolate only.
In Australia we call them 100s and 1000s haha!
Ha! 100s and 1000s are hard balls, these are sprinkles! (I’m an Aussie too ;) ) Funny how everyone has different names for virtually the same thing! 100s and 1000s are what we use to make fairy bread. Om nom nom, fairy bread..
Wow these look delicious!!! I would love to make them soon. Can you please tell me what piping tip you used?? Those tall swirls are perfect!
Hi Audrey, I used an Ateco #808 tip.
I never had funfetti cookies/cupcakes growing up either! I think I knew they existed, but when I started reading food blogs was when they really seemed like a much bigger thing :)
These are so fun and cute! Heard great things about the Back in the Day cookbook too!
Do you think I could send these to college? It takes three days in the mail….My son’s birthday is coming up and it would be a cute way to share with his dorm floor.
Hi Lori, I always think that cupcakes are difficult to ship because the box can get tossed around and the frosting messed up. If you have a box that can keep them steady and upright, it might work. In general though, I don’t recommend cupcakes as a shipping-friendly baked good.
How about ship them two at a time, face to face with frosting in between. Like in a jar or other cylindrical container? I have done it and it works. It’s not as pretty as decorated cupcakes but they still taste good!
Hi :) Imma professional baker/mama/business lady/etc- and I really enjoy looking at all of the yummy treats the Brown Eyed Baker posts! Regarding shipping them, you definitely can. However it will take a few materials and preparation. We ship them all the time in my bakery and they arrive fresh and pretty. Make your cupcakes as usual, freeze them, and put them in the plastic cupcake containers you’d find in your local grocer’s bakery section-you know, the ones with the secure yet semi irritating snaps lol. You can buy them at most craft stores or if you live in a fairly large city there should be bake shops that sell them. with packing peanuts and a snug box, you can ship them anywhere in the USA- I prefer over night but if it’s too costly two day shipping can work. be sure to FREEZE THE CUPCAKES-cant stress enough, AND invest in the cooling gel packs, one on the top and one on the bottom. You’ll be good to go.
Such memories. My mom always used box mixes to make us treats to take to school for our birthdays and they were always so creative to us (e.g., cupcakes made in ice cream cones). I remember when I started baking myself not even contemplating using anything but a box mix – baking (cakes anyhow) was just “changing things up” with that box to do different creations of flavors, colors and shapes. Now I can’t remember the last time I ever used a box. If you want to get even more “from scratch” with this recipe, Food52 just had a recipe a couple of weeks ago for homemade sprinkles – http://food52.com/recipes/26425-homemade-sprinkles – haven’t tried it yet but it looks super easy and I’m sure they’ll taste awesome.
so I can’t tell you how happy I was to see this- been craving this lately but didn’t want to make the cake box version so this is perfect!! Thank you!!
As always, such stunning pictures you have! Your funfetti cupcakes are gorgeous! I do love funfetti – such sweet indulgence that reminds me of being a kid. Thanks for the happy memories :)
Absolute perfection!
I love funfetti cakes!! They’re so….FUN! HaHa. Thanks for reminding me of these. I think I’ll mix up a batch tonight!!! :)
I love funfetti. My introduction to social media came very late so only recently discovered funfetti cakes. Love them, very happy looking cakes. Lol
I love Funfetti and I have the Back in the Day book, (love it!) and also saw Shelly make them, and now yours…I have to try this recipe! You rocked these cupcakes and I love the non-skimpy use of frosting…amen :) Pinned!