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!
This cupcake is so whimsical and fun
How do you keep/make your cupcakes so moist?
mine tend to come out seeming condensed. any tips or advice you could give me?
By the way, love your site, i use it to cook/bake everything! true talent!
Hi Ella, So happy to hear you enjoy the site! Make sure your baking soda/powder is not expired so that they raise properly. Once my cupcakes cool, I place them in an airtight container for storage.
Made these last weekend and they were okay. (I’m more of a chocolate lover, made the ultimate chocolate ones too). I think I baked a touch too long as they were a little dry… tasty though.
I’m from the UK and made a batch of these a few days ago. They turned out beautifully moist and delicious despite the fact that I didn’t realise what cake flour is as we can’t get it in the UK. I used self-raising flour instead as I thought this was an equivalent but I just found out that’s not the case. Apparently you can make your own cake flour by replacing some of your plain flour with corn flour so I may have a go at that but actually they turned out so well I don’t really feel the need. Thanks for a great cup-cake recipe, I’ll be using it again & again.
Hi, I am making these for my daughters 2nd birthday tonight. Can I use 2% milk in place of whole milk? Thanks!!
Hi Kristen, I do recommend using whole milk because it contains more fat than 2%, which helps keep the cupcakes moist.
Just made these this afternoon. The cake turned out pretty great and made exactly 24 cupcakes which I feel like never happens for me! However, the buttercream recipe that you shared was so so so SO sickeningly sweet (and I am someone who seriously loves sweets). I even tried it before I iced them and thought it was fine, but when I went to have an assembled cupcake I couldn’t choke it down. Tasted very much like straight up super sweet butter. Ended up scraping all of the cupcakes off and improvising with a chocolate buttercream from my head which turned out great and paired very well wih the cakes. Besides the frosting, thank you for this recipe!!!
These were amazing! I made them for a coworker’s baby “sprinkle” and am so pleased with how they turned out. The cupcakes are really light and fluffy, and that frosting … gaaaahhhh, so rich and delicious. I added a few drops of red food coloring to make the frosting pink for the baby girl, so they’re extra cute. I’m definitely pinning this recipe, so I can make these again. Thank you!
How many cupcakes does this recipe make?
24. See “yield” above under the recipe title.
I made these this weekend and they were fantastic! The texture was so light and fluffy. I could have eaten the whole batch of frosting with a spoon! So delicious and pretty!
Can you use the “perfect party cake” recipe and still do this? I love that cake but wonder if it’s too light and sprinkles will sink to the bottom…
Hi Diana, I’ve never used the perfect party cake recipe for cupcakes, so I couldn’t say for sure.
The batter can be made into a cake instead of cupcakes with no alterations, yes?
I made these for a coworkers birthday and they were a great success. People enjoyed the frosting the most. I ended up blending the sprinkles in the batter way too much, so I just turned it into tie dye cupcakes!
I did make a few adjustments to the recipe if anyone had some trouble with the batter. I did the typical cupcake baking instructions where you mix the dry into the wet ingredients. I then found the batter was too thick, so I added 1/4 cup of more milk.
Can I use this recipe to make a cake? What’s the difference of cake flour and all purpose flour? Can I make this without the yolks?
Hi Lolita, Yes, this recipe could be made into a 9×13-inch cake or two layer 9-inch or 8-inch cake (just be sure to watch the baking times, as you will need to increase slightly). Cake flour as less protein in it, which makes it more tender. I do not recommend making this without the egg yolks, it will not be as moist.
I want the cake to turn out as white as possible. What else can I add instead of the yolks to keep the cake moist?
Hi Lolita, I would not recommend substituting anything for the egg yolks; they are an important part of the recipe.
I just made this in two 8 inch round cake pans and baked them for 35-40 minutes. I followed the recipe to a ‘t’ except I used almond milk since I had it on hand. The proportions were perfect and the cake was great! My jimmies stayed suspended in the batter while baking. The buttercream had a nice flavor but was way too sweet for my taste. Luckily the cake is dense enough to cut the sweetness of the frosting. This recipe probably works best as cupcakes where the ratio of cake to frosting is higher. Next time I would add lemon zest to the batter to brighten it up.
Update: We initially ate the cake freshly frosted at room temp and the buttercream was too intense and greasy. The next morning I had a piece slightly chilled from the fridge and the buttercream was way better- the sugar had time to dissolve and mellow and the buttercream was firm and less greasy. Now I know a) why I’ve never like homemade buttercream before b) to always chill a cake frosted in buttercream before serving. Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Hi, Michelle!
I made your funfetti cupcakes today and they tasted great! I do have a question for you. As the cupcakes were cooling, the dome of the cupcakes started to deflate or flatten. Is it because I over-beat the batter?
Hi Ream, It could have been from over beating, or slightly under baking them.
Did you prefer this vanilla cupcake base better than the vanilla cupcake recipe in your browneyedbaker recipes? The browneyedbaker vanilla cupcakes are my normal go to, but I’m looking to make some funfetti cupcakes for my daughters 1st birthday and don’t have time for trial before the party….which vanilla cupcake should I choose!?!? I don’t want to screw it up, they need to be nice and moist!
Hi Bethany, I do love this recipe, I would recommend using it!
I loved Funfetti as a kid and still love it. There’s just something so happy and fun about tons of sprinkles! These looked SOOO good, I’m actually making them right now for my daughter’s first birthday! I plan on topping them with homemade, vanilla whipped cream. Yum!
One question, though: my batch ended up filling 30 cupcakes instead of 24 and I used a 1/4 cup scoop to fill them all exactly. Have you ever gotten a bigger yield before or do you think I [gulp!] did something wrong? I followed the recipe exactly. I guess I’ll see if they came out ok in 10 minutes, when they’re done! Eeeeek!
Hi Noelle, I think they should be okay, I’ve found that not all muffin tins are made alike. Some of the ones my mom has have very different cup sizes.
Hi, can I use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour? Will the cake come out more dense or what difference will it make? Thanks! ;)
Hi Karina, The cupcakes will be more dense if you use all-purpose flour. Cake flour creates a lighter, more tender cupcake.
I’ve made many of your cookie recipes without problems, but today I tried 2 of your cupcake recipes and found I needed to do some adjusting. My pan must be a different size than yours because 2/3 full made them overflow. I cooked them 20 minutes and the bottoms burnt.
The good news is that it made THREE dozen cupcakes so the first batch I kept for my family to dig into (the part that wasn’t burnt was scrumptious!) and the next batches I only filled it 1/2 full (if that), and I cut the baking and cooling in the pan time and they came out perfect.
Tomorrow I’m delving into your savory recipes for the first time and trying the slow cooker mac ‘n cheese. Can’t wait!
You know what, after I submitted this I realized I’m a big fat liar. I’ve made a couple of your cupcakes recipes!! The strawberry and lemon limoncello. I didn’t have a problem with those though (except for the panic attack I had when the strawberry meringue frosting curdled—if only I’d read the comments first!)
Anyway, make of that what you will.
Hey Michelle,
Was wondering if you can use salted butter instead of unsalted?
Hi Amanda, Yes, but omit the salt called for in the recipe.
How do I adjust the recipe if I only have salted butter on hand.
Thanks
Hi Rika, Omit the salt in the recipe.
Hey Michelle!
Thoughts on baking this in a sheet pan (18×13)? Or perhaps a jelly-role pan (10×15)? Is there enough batter produced for either sizes? I’m thinking of a somewhat thin cake to use in those push-up pop containers.
Hi Joe, This would be perfect for a 9×13, but if you are looking to go thinner, a jelly roll would work. I’m not sure if there would be enough batter for a 13×18. Just be sure to reduce the baking time! Enjoy!
Hi! I have been looking for the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe and a friend told me I HAD to try this one Although is it possible to use table salt instead of kosher salt? They sell these big jars of them, and I don’t use kosher salt for anything else…
Hi Chloe, Yes, but reduce the amount to ¾ teaspoon.
Have you doubled this recipe? Do I need to make any alterations to the recipe if I double it?
Hi Kristen, I have not doubled this recipe. You wouldn’t need to make any alterations.
Ok thanks!
What do you suggest for a round cake? What would be the difference?
For a round cake, you would need two layers – either 8″ or 9″. You will also need to increase the baking time a bit.
Hi Michele, I love funfetti, but I want a really flavorful and good textured cupcake as well. Which recipe do you prefer: this recipe (minus the sprinkles) or your vanilla cupcake recipe? Can the vanilla cupcake be adjusted to make it funfetti?
Hi Rikki, I would definitely choose this one!
Will they turn out okay if I use a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer?
Yep!
I made these for a coworker who loves Funfetti Cupcakes, and I ran into a strange issue. Although the yield states 2 dozen, I feel I easily could have gotten 30 cupcakes out of the batter. As it is, I overfilled the 2 dozen, trusting that that was how many it was supposed to make, ending up with gigantic cupcakes that overflowed into each other and nearly collapsed under their own weight.
Although they rose beautifully, once I took them out of the oven, most of them deflated quite a bit, leaving them with flat instead of rounded tops. Additionally, they were a little dry, but that could be attributed the extra baking time required to cook through the extra-large cupcakes.
It’s quite possible my last two issues were a result of the cupcakes simply being too big; if I make these again I will be sure to make more than 2 dozen. Regardless, they were attractive, and I didn’t have any issue with the sprinkles sinking to the bottom.
Hi Emily, It does sound like they may have been over-filled. Please do note that in the directions it states to fill the cups only ⅔ full. There can be some variance in the size of cupcake pans (my mom’s from years ago are different than mine), so I would advise to follow the fill instructions, even if that means you get more cupcakes than the recipe yield states.
Great pictures! I just made these to bring into the office tomorrow. Also made some mini versions for my son, he is going to be so happy when he sees them:) I snuck one and yes, delicious:) There just isn’t enough Funfetti.
How many cupcakes does this recipe produce?
Hi Belle, 2 dozen (see “yield” in the recipe box above).
Hi! I was wondering if this cake will hold up well under fondant? Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Hi Marizza, It should hold up just fine.