These funfetti cupcakes are a perfect way to brighten anyone’s day. Fluffy, moist, and packed with colorful sprinkles, they’re topped with creamy vanilla buttercream frosting and are the perfect birthday cupcake (or for any celebration!).
Funfetti cupcakes, also called confetti cupcakes, are the perfect celebratory treat. The moist, tender cake full of colorful sprinkles topped with fluffy frosting just screams happiness and joy.
I first started working on the perfect funetti cupcake recipe several years ago, but it wasn’t until today that I decided to post the recipe. I wanted to make sure I perfected the cake so it was perfectly moist, tender, and held it’s shape well once topped with frosting.
These are the ultimate birthday cupcakes, perfect for both kids and adults!
How to make funfetti cupcakes
This recipe follows my basic vanilla cupcake recipe, with a few modifications explained below to make them extra white and fluffy. If you have a birthday coming up or need some added cheer, these confetti cupcakes are just for you.
- Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the dry ingredients and set them aside for later.
- Cream butter and sugar together. In a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This will take at least 3 minutes — it’s important you don’t skip this step because it’s crucial for light and fluffy cupcakes.
- Add in the egg whites, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
- Alternate mixing in the dry and wet ingredients. Turn the mixer to low and add in half of the dry ingredients, beating until just combined. Beat in the milk and sour cream, followed by the other half of the dry ingredients.
- Add the sprinkles. The last step is to stir in the sprinkles, but be careful not to overmix the batter. I prefer using a rubber spatula to do this gently, because the less you mix, the lighter your cupcakes will be.
- Bake. Divide the batter into your cupcake liners, filling each cup about ¾ of the way full. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350°F/180°C, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting and topping with more sprinkles.
Frosting funfetti cupcakes
You can use any frosting you’d like for these easy funfetti cupcakes. I prefer to use a white frosting so when you sprinkle on the rainbow sprinkles, you really see the colors. But if you have a chocolate craving, by all means use chocolate frosting (I love this chocolate frosting with these cupcakes).
My favorite frostings for these cupcakes are:
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- Vanilla buttercream frosting: Decadent and classic.
- Swiss meringue buttercream: Light and fluffy.
- Cream cheese frosting: Rich and creamy.
Whichever frosting you choose, I recommend topping the cupcakes using a piping bag and a piping tip I personally prefer this piping tip but any start tip with do!
Tip: Make sure the funfetti cupcakes are cool before piping on the frosting. You can store extra frosting in the fridge, bringing to room temperature before piping onto the extra cupcakes.
Funfetti cupcake ingredients
There are a few secret ingredients that make these the best funfetti cupcakes. When turning my funfetti cake into cupcakes, I wanted a lighter and whiter cake that didn’t need to hold up as a layer cake.
- Egg whites – I prefer to use egg whites instead of eggs to give the cupcakes an extra light texture and keep the color white. You can use 2 eggs instead, but note that the egg yolk will give the cake a yellow tint.
- Whole milk – Whole milk has the most amount of fat of all the milks, and lends amazing texture and richness to these cupcakes.
- Sour cream/heavy cream – In addition to whole milk, I like to add extra moisture with sour cream or heavy cream. This is one of my favorite secrets to super moist cupcakes! You can also replace this with whole milk.
- Sprinkles – I use these sprinkles and love them for baking. Sprinkles typically bleed a bit into cake batters, but these don’t.
Can I freeze funfetti cupcakes?
The cupcakes themselves can stay fresh in the freezer for up to the 2 months, just make sure to wrap them up well or place them in a freezer safe container. However, I do recommend making the frosting fresh when you’re ready to use it.
More cupcake recipes
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes: Full of flavor and topped with satiny-smooth cream chese frosting.
- Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes: For true chocoholics only.
- Red Velvet Cupcakes: They taste just as gorgeous as they look.
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes: Like a Reese’s cup in cupcake form.
- Lemon Cupcakes: Bursting with fresh lemon flavor, these are perfect when you want a taste of spring!
Funfetti Cupcakes
These moist, tender, fluffy cupcakes are baked with colorful sprinkles and topped with creamy frosting for the perfect celebratory cupcakes!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick/115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 ml) whole milk
- ½ cup (120 ml) sour cream or heavy cream (or whole milk for a total of 1 cup)
- ⅓ cup sprinkles (or up to ½ cup), plus more for decoration
- Buttercream Frosting
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
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In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. On medium speed, beat in egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Add milk and sour cream/heavy cream and beat until combined. Add the other half of the dry ingredients and beat slowly just until combined. Stir in sprinkles. Do not over mix – the less you mix, the lighter the cupcakes will be.
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Divide batter evenly between the cups, filling them about ¾ full. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Frost cupcakes with frosting and top with sprinkles.
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Unfrosted cupcakes can be kept tightly covered in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw, still covered, on the counter or overnight in the fridge (same for the frosting but bring it to room temperature and stir well before using to frost the cupcakes). Frosted cupcakes can be kept at room temperature for 24 hours or in the fridge for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving (at least 1 hour).
Adriana says
WOW ! Just WOW I’m currently obsessed with your 3-Layer Funfetti Cake I’ve done that recipe about 4 times everyone always loves it super moist and delicious cake, Recently about 2 days ago I did your Funfetti Cookies uhh That was another amazing Recipe & Now you come out with this one, I’m forsures going to try it out ASAP All you need is maybe a white funfetti brownie
Avanti says
Is it alright to replace the milk and cream with buttermilk just like your vanilla chocolate chip cake recepi?
Shiran says
Hi Avanti 🙂 Yes you can, just just keep in mind the it will affect the flavor. I personally love this recipe with milk and sour milk but it depends on personal preference.
Jessica says
Just looking for clarification: is it 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1/2 cup of heavy cream OR 1 cup of milk? Or am I just using one of the three options?
Shiran says
The recipe calls for 1 full cup total. You can use 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup sour cream or heavy cream OR 1 full cup of milk.
Riya says
I was wondering would I be able to add a little bit of lemon zest and lemon juice to this recipe?
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Riya, yes you can! If you want to incorporate lemon flavor into the cake, I recommend adding the zest of 1 lemon into the final batter before baking, as well as a bit into the frosting. I would only add lemon juice to the buttercream, not to the batter, because it won’t add significant flavor and may hinder the baking process. You can play with the amounts a bit and see what you prefer!
Lauren says
Perfect cupcake!!! Thank you for this recipe!
Colleen says
This looks like a great recipe! I want to make it for my daughter’s birthday. Could I substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hey Colleen, yes you can substitute Greek yogurt. Just use a full fat variety as opposed to a low fat/fat free for optimal results
Patti says
How did you come up with 210g of flour? I know different brands of flour have different weights. I can’t seem to find your calculation for flour online.
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Patti, 1 cup of flour weighs approximately 140g, so 1.5 cups would come to 210g. When you look online, you’ll see that the weight may vary between 125 and 140g per cup typically depending on how you weigh your flour. Also, even though 1 cup is considered standard size, every measuring cup is manufactured with minor differences, so the amount they hold with vary slightly. I have always gone with 140g as my weight measurement for a cup of flour 🙂
Reshma says
Looks so yummy ! Any substitute for eggs! Thx
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hey Reshma, this recipe won’t work without eggs unfortunately 🙂
sophie rudkin says
Hi do you have the nutritional information for one cupcake?
thankyou! xx
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Sophie, I don’t provide nutritional information but there are Google calculators you can use to determine this:)
Rita Pantalone says
These turned out great and delicious!
Dani says
Can I use cake flour instead of all purpose flour? Will it change the cake too significantly? I have it in the pantry and would really like to use it up. Thank you!
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Dani, you can use cake flour if you prefer! It shouldn’t affect the recipe.
Angie says
How did the cake flour work?
chloe says
this recipe is wonderful i have used it lots in the past but for some reason this time they just didn’t rise. i did everything the same but idk.
Aaliyah says
Honestly, the best cupcakes I’ve ever made. The egg white only receipe gave them a lovely light colour and with the additional milk (I didn’t add cream to mine) the cupcakes were so moist and dense – a texture everyone enjoyed ! Thank you so much for this receipe xx
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
So glad you enjoyed Aaliyah!
Sue says
I am not a huge funfetti fan but this was a request for a birthday, and I cannot tell you how amazing it tastes. Iam a fan now! Followed the recipe line by line and the cupcakes were light and fluffy and delicious. Was a hit!
Carolyn says
Help, made these tonight and the cupcak was thick almost like rubbery, not sure what I did wrong. Would like to make foe Easter but need help in fixing what I did. Any suggestions..
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Carolyn! I have three suggestions: 1) While creaming butter and sugar together, beat together until light and fluffy. This will take at least 3 minutes or possibly more. Make sure your butter is nice and soft for this step. If you use cold butter it could seize up when you add in the egg. 2) Make sure your eggs are room temperature when you make the cake. 3) When mixing the wet and dry ingredients, do this until just combined. The less you mix, the lighter and fluffier the cakes will be. These are an awesome, colorful choice for Easter! Best of luck on your try #2!
Willow Greif says
Hi there I’m wondering if I can do half the amount of sugar?
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Willow, I have not tried this recipe with half the sugar, but it will make the cake much less sweet if you try it.
Willow says
I’m okay with less sweetness, I don’t add sugar to most of my baking but wasn’t sure if it would mess with texture. Thanks for the reply!
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
It might change the texture a bit. Let me know how it goes if you try it out!
Cindy says
Just wondering if I used funfetti cake mix from store Could I add sour cream or cream in the mix? Just wondering I have uscake recipes from scratch before and they just weren’t fluffy and lig I’m happy to put the work into this one but I worry about the texture Thanks for your help! Cindy
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Cindy, unfortunately I don’t have much experience with store-bought cake mixes. You could certainly try adding sour cream and see if you like the results. If your stratch-made cakes aren’t fluffy and light, you’re likely missing two things: beat the sugar/butter until light and fluffy – this takes minutes, not seconds. Depending on the speed of your mixer, 3-5 minutes. And two, you may be overmixing once the flour has been added to the batter. Hopefully that helps!
Em says
Cake flour
Andrea says
I’m planning on making these for my daughter’s birthday but will need more cupcakes than what the recipe yields. Have you ever tried to double the recipe? I know sometimes with baking it doesn’t always work, so I can just make 2 batches, but curious if you’ve tried doubling it in one batch and how it went? Thank you! 🙂 I can’t wait to make these!
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Andrea, since the yield on these is 15, I think you can easily double it. My KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer would still be able to handle that amount of batter. If this yielded 24 cupcakes, I would tell you to do two separate batches.
Joanne says
Love your recipe very frustrated with all the adds as it keeps my iPad from opening buttercream icing link and also moving up and down the screen. Maybe consider posting with fewer less invasive ads
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Joanne, I’m sorry to hear that the ads weren’t working correctly on your iPad. You can always hit the ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of the page and then hit ‘print recipe’ to get to a clean version of all our recipes.
Amanda says
The cupcakes and the recommended buttercream icing were both very yummy! My cupcakes were very dense, but moist. I’m not sure what I messed up, as they’re described as fluffy. Still delicious though!
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Amanda, you may have overmixed the batter. That is the most common reason for dense cupcakes. So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Re says
Can you use buttermilk instead of whole milk?
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
If using buttermilk, I’d substitute one whole cup for the milk and sour cream.
Noelle says
Hello,
I was wanting to make these a few days before a birthday party, the cupcake part that is and frost them the night before. How long do they last in the fridge? Should they be in an air tight container? Thank you:)
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Noelle! If you’re making these a few days in advance, I recommend just popping them in the freezer in an airtight container. Remove from the freezer when you’re ready to frost them. The cake will have an even better flavor from the chilling process. Refrigerate after frosting.