Funfetti Cupcakes

A delicious, from scratch, Funfetti Cupcake recipe with a soft, tender crumb and colorful sprinkles. Top it off with your favorite frosting for a sweet treat.

Serve these easy Funfetti Cupcakes at your next birthday celebration. Send your guests home with some Birthday Hot Cocoa Bomb favors and you’ll be everyone’s favorite host! Add a batch of cannoli dip for an easy treat featuring sprinkles.

Funfetti cupcakes topped with chocolate and vanilla frosting swirls.


Why These Cupcakes Are Best

It’s time friends to ditch the boxes of cake mix (or save them for cake mix cookies) and bake up your own cupcakes.

You’ll love how easy they are to make, but also the fresh flavor can’t be beat.

  • Made from scratch! These have all the familiar festive color as the boxed version with a more heightened, fresh flavor you’ll love.
  • Perfect for any holiday or occasion. Use specific colored sprinkles to add flair to any holiday. Red/Green for Christmas, pink/blue for baby showers, etc.
  • Easy to make and serve. We love cupcakes for parties and potlucks because you don’t need to worry about plates or silverware.
  • The best frosting vehicle. No matter what kind of frosting you choose, these cupcakes can handle it.

If you love cupcakes, be sure to try our classic yellow cupcake recipe next. And if you love sprinkles, try our funfetti cheesecake for a creamy birthday treat.

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients needed to make funfetti cupcakes.
  • Cake flour. The lower gluten content gives these cupcakes their fine, tender crumb.
  • Buttermilk. Adds moisture and acidity to the cupcake batter with very little fat for a moist, soft cupcake. Use our buttermilk substitute if you don’t have any on hand!
  • Vanilla. Use a pure vanilla extract for best flavor in this recipe. This homemade vanilla extract is my favorite for baked goods.
  • Butter. Unsalted butter allows you to control the flavor and salt in baking. If you are using salted butter, omit the added kosher salt.
  • Egg Whites. To make the white cupcake base, you’ll only be using the egg whites. Save the yolks to make a batch of delicious lemon curd!
  • Sprinkles. Multi colored jimmies or round “confetti” sprinkles are perfect for making funfetti cupcakes.
Step by step photos showing how to make funfetti cupcakes

Frosting Ideas

There’s no shortage of incredible options for frosting your homemade cupcakes! The vanilla base of funfetti cake makes it ideal for pairing with just about any kind of frosting you can imagine.

Vanilla buttercream is a classic choice, but you can’t go wrong with a sweet lemon frosting either.

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting is full of bright berry flavor with a rosy pink color. It’s one of my favorite frostings for summertime!

If you’re in the mood for chocolate top your funfetti treats with this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting . Or give my Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting a try instead for something a little out of the ordinary. You can also whip up a batch of chocolate cream cheese frosting for a tangy treat.

Can’t decide? This Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Buttercream Frosting Recipe let’s you have two flavors in one!

Funfetti cupcake with vanilla frosting and a bite taken out.

Tips and Tricks

  • Easter dessert idea: Press a marshmallow peep on top of each frosted cupcake. So adorable!
  • Birthday garnishes: For birthday parties, garnish the funfetti cupcakes with more sprinkles and stick a cake candle in the center.
  • Buttermilk substitute: If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, make your own with my easy buttermilk substitute recipe.
  • Make it in a cone! Use our guide on how to make ice cream cone cupcakes for a delicious dessert idea.

Recipe FAQs

What can I use if I don’t have cake flour?

If you don’t have cake flour, make your own with all purpose flour and cornstarch. First, measure 2½ cups of all purpose flour into a bowl. Remove 5 tablespoons of the flour. Replace with 5 tablespoons of cornstarch. Mix well to combine, then add to the recipe in place of the cake flour. Easy and effective!

Can I make this as a funfetti layer cake instead of cupcakes?

You sure can. This batter makes enough to fill two 8 or 9 inch layer pans. You will need to increase the baking time by about 10 minutes.

Do funfetti cupcakes freeze well?

I don’t recommend freezing funfetti desserts. The cupcakes will release moisture as the thaw causing the sprinkles to bleed color into the white cupcakes for a less-than-appealing appearance.
For that reason, homemade Funfetti Cupcakes should enjoyed within 3-5 days of baking.

How do I make funfetti sheet cake?

To make this recipe as a sheet cake, follow the directions for making the batter as directed. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Funfetti cupcakes with chocolate and vanilla frosting and extra sprinkles.

More Easy Dessert Recipes

Funfetti Cupcakes

5 from 3 votes
By: Aimee
A delicious, from scratch, Funfetti Cupcake recipe with a soft, tender crumb and colorful sprinkles. Top it off with your favorite frosting for a sweet treat.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
Total Time: 42 minutes
Servings: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients 

For the Cupcakes:

  • 2 ½ cups cake flour
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 5 large egg whites room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • ½ cup sprinkles
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Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners. Set aside.
  • For the cake, combine cake flour, baking powder, and kosher salt in bowl. Set aside.
  • In mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar for 2 minutes on medium, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract.
  • Alternate additions of dry ingredients with buttermilk, mixing after each addition (about 3 of each). Once the last of the buttermilk is added, beat for one full minute.
  • Fill cupcake liners two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 21-23 minutes. Remove and cool in pan 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
  • For the frosting, use your favorite flavor and pipe it on, or spread with spatula.

Notes

Nutrition

Calories: 186kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 114mg, Sugar: 17g
Course: Cupcake
Cuisine: American
Did you make this recipe?Mention @shugarysweets or tag #shugarysweets!


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About Aimee

Aimee is a dessert lover (specifically rice krispie treats), workout enthusiast, self-taught foodie, and recipe creator.

Learn more about Aimee.

Affiliate Disclosure:**There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting Shugary Sweets! See my disclosure policy for more info**

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Posted on March 26, 2013

Comments & Reviews

  1. Hey Aimee,
    I made the funfetti cupcake and they fell flat, what did I do wrong. baking powder was new and also the cake flour, This is the first time is has ever happened

  2. Every white cake I’ve tried is too crumbly! Yours looks delish and I’m sure the cake flour is the key! Can I use for a layer cake instead of cupcakes? Will it hold up? Thanks for sharing!

    1. Yes absolutely. Here is the link: https://www.shugarysweets.com/lemon-cake-with-creamy-filling-and-lemon-curd

  3. ALL of these cupcakes look amazing, but my husband (even though he is almost 30!) still thinks Fun Fetti rules. I’ll have to whip these up for an Easter treat!

  4. Sorry to those of you who commented and they are now gone! Lost a day’s worth of comments in my migration to a new server! thanks for your patience!

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