Small Batch Funfetti Cupcakes from Scratch

The month of May is packed with so many fun occasions to celebrate, including a very special one for our family. Our big brother’s birthday! Yay! ? He is the only boy surrounded by 3 sisters, so we always like to spoil him each year on his special day. He is a no fuss type of person, so he probably hates the fact that we are blogging about it right now. But just like any sibling relationship, after 30+ years together he probably knows not to bother saying anything because us girls do what we want! ?

Anyways…there was no hesitation when discussing what we would bake for our brother to celebrate another year around the sun. Funfetti cupcakes! The love that he has for Funfetti desserts has no competition. If we asked him to pick a treat out of a line up of delicious options he would hands down choose Funfetti, no questions asked. He loves the buttery vanilla flavor, topped with that delicious sweet vanilla buttercream paired with the hint of crunch from the sprinkles. We don’t blame him. We love Funfetti, too!

We also like to spoil our brother with desserts from time to time because he rarely gets to take part in dessert during the holidays or other special occasions that the family gathers together. This is because he is a vanilla guy compared to all of us chocolate lovers. We almost always have something that he won’t eat at family gatherings including chocolate cake, brownies, chocolate pie or coconut treats. The list goes on. Occasionally he lucks out with sorbet (he loves orange!), sugar cookies, snickerdoodle cookies, or vanilla cake. But, he usually has to sit back and watch all of us enjoy desserts (most likely while daydreaming of Funfetti ?). But that stops today, because we are going to deliver him something that he loves on his special day!

He is a huge fan of and frequently bakes the Pillsbury boxed mix version of Funfetti cake when he wants something sweet. So, instead of allowing him to make his all time favorite treat from a box this time around (I mean it’s his birthday after all, right?), we decided to find a recipe that will deliver his favorite treat but this time from scratch.

Ladies and gentlemen…this recipe delivers just that! It is everything you love about Funfetti, but even better! Get your mixers out, because this is going to be epic! ??

NOTE: The sprinkles you use are key to this cupcake looking like a real party on a plate (or in your mouth)! The ones we always run into at the store unfortunately only have the pink, red, orange and green usually. They leave out the essential “party mix” colors to truly do these cupcakes justice. Worry no more, because we have linked the correct sprinkles for you so you always deliver the correct Funfetti dessert! Praise be to Amazon for always providing what we need in a pinch. Find the rainbow sprinkles that we love to use by clicking here!

Last quick tip we have for you is to use parchment paper liners. They are the bomb because they peel off of your cupcakes easily, leaving little to no mess at all compared to the basic paper liners that usually rip off a lot of your cupcakes and leave a crumbly mess. Find our favorite parchment paper liners by clicking here!

What You Need

Cupcakes

1/2 cup + 6 Tbsp cake flour

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 cup + 6 Tbsp granulated sugar

1-1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk (we used non-fat)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature) – cut into smaller pieces/cubes

1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles

Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

rainbow sprinkles, for topping

Step by Step

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with parchment paper liners and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add your dry ingredients (flours, sugar, baking powder, salt) and stir together until mixed thoroughly.
4. With a handheld or stand mixer add your butter a few cubes at a time to your dry ingredients until all is added. Your batter will still be very dry.
5. Follow by adding in your eggs to your dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
6. Add in your milk and vanilla and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed until batter is fully mixed and smooth.
7. Lastly, fold in your rainbow sprinkles to your batter using a spatula until mixed.
8. Fill your cupcake liners with batter 3/4 full, and bake cupcakes for 15 – 20 minutes depending on the heat of your oven (mine went for closer to 20 minutes). Use the toothpick test to see if batter is fully baked through at 15 minutes, and place back in the oven if batter is still wet. Test again with a toothpick at 20 minutes.
9. Allow your cupcakes to completely cool before frosting them.
10. To create your frosting, place your butter in a medium sized bowl and mix with a handheld or stand mixer until smooth. Slowly add in your powdered sugar a little bit at a time until fully mixed and smooth. Lastly, add in your vanilla and mix until combined.
11. Top each cupcake with your frosting, and finish off by sprinkling each with rainbow sprinkles.

This recipe has been adapted from Brown Eyed Baker’s Homemade Funfetti Cupcake recipe.