Confetti Cupcakes
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Like a party in cupcake form, these sweet confetti cupcakes are flecked with plenty of fun and colorful sprinkles. My from-scratch version has a nostalgic taste and soft, fluffy texture you’ll love. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Confetti Cupcakes From-Scratch
After several of you ran into issues with my original recipe, I went back to the drawing board to tweak these confetti cupcakes to perfection. My goal was to ensure they turned out beautifully no matter the kitchen, so I took a few notes from my well-loved white cupcake recipe. We kept the recipe similar–it already had a beautiful light color and fluffy, moist texture–but added sprinkles for fun color (of course!).
The result? Perfectly portioned, incredibly tender, colorful, and nostalgic cupcakes ready for parties or the occasional pick-me-up. You’re going to love them!
Why You Should Make Them
- Super light and fluffy texture thanks to a very important ingredient: whipped egg whites!
- Very customizable for any special occasion. Use holiday sprinkles for Easter, Halloween, or Christmas, color the frosting for your favorite sports team, or keep them classic for a celebratory birthday dessert.
- You can use just about any frosting, so pick your favorite! My vanilla frosting, classic buttercream frosting recipe, or strawberry buttercream is my favorite, but I provide several pairing suggestions below.
- Pretty cupcake shape, which you wouldn’t get if you were to make my classic funfetti cake recipe as cupcakes. Many of you have asked about using that recipe for cupcakes–while I’ve had success doing so in the past, some people have experienced the cupcakes sinking in on themselves and so this new version is the one I recommend!
Ingredients
Just a few ingredients today (plus whatever you need for your frosting)! I’ll review them briefly before we get into the recipe itself.
- Cake flour. A key ingredient for the softest, lightest confetti cupcakes. If you don’t keep this on hand, I highly recommend you start as it will be major game changer for your cakes and cupcakes (it’s a good ingredient to keep on hand if you enjoy making my gourmet cookies or my Lofthouse cookies, I use it in those too!).
- Eggs. Specifically the whites of the eggs only. Be very careful to get not even a tiny drop of yolk in with the whites. Also, make sure you are placing your whites in a clean, dry, grease-free bowl that is made from either metal or glass. All of this will ensure your eggs whip up into fluffy perfection!
- Buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, the best substitute is my easy buttermilk substitute (but admittedly the results aren’t quite as tender, flavorful or moist).
- Butter & oil. This combination is a staple in many of my cake and cupcake recipes (like my vanilla cake recipe)! It ensures that our confetti cupcakes will have a rich flavor (thanks to the butter) while also maintaining a moist and tender texture (thanks to oil!).
- Sprinkles. Of course! I like a mix of quins and jimmies as well as some edible gold stars (affiliate). Whatever you do, do NOT use nonpareils, as they will bleed into your batter/frosting. Save them for sprinkle cookies instead!
SAM’S TIP: Add a splash (¼ teaspoon) of almond extract in with the vanilla extract. It mimics that classic boxed Funfetti cake flavor!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Confetti Cupcakes
Cream the fats & sugars
Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until well combined, then stir in the oil and extracts. Mix again until the mixture is smooth and creamy. You’ll still see some grit from the granulated sugar–this is okay!
Add the dry ingredients & buttermilk
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then measure your buttermilk.
Alternate folding the dry ingredients and buttermilk into the butter mixture; I usually like to do this with three rounds of the flour mixture and two rounds of the buttermilk (start and end with the dry ingredients!).
It is very important that you use a spatula for this step–do NOT use a mixer! Over-mixing at this point can create dry, dense cupcakes that taste like cornbread. If that was what we wanted, we would just make corn muffins!
Whip the eggs
I know this extra step can seem intimidating (and no one loves an extra bowl to wash), but I promise it isn’t hard. The most important thing is to use a completely grease-free bowl (don’t use a plastic one) and beaters.
If you’ve made my whipped cream recipe or meringue cookies before, you’re already familiar with the concept of stiff peaks. If not, this just means that when you pull the beater out of the eggs, they hold a stiff “peak” without folding or receding back into themselves.
Place the egg whites in a separate clean, dry, grease free bowl (I know, yet another bowl 😅). Beat with a mixer until the they have greatly increased in volume, then keep beating until they reach stiff peaks.
Fold in the sprinkles
Gently fold in the whipped eggs until halfway combined. Add the sprinkles and keep folding until you have a uniform batter. Be gentle and take care to not overly deflate the eggs, as their fluffy texture is key to the fluffy texture of the cupcakes!
Bake & cool
Portion the batter into your lined muffin pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. The tops of the cupcakes will be pretty pale–that’s totally fine! If you wait until they are golden, you’ll likely over-bake them.
Once cooled, frost with your favorite frosting (suggestions below!), and don’t forget some extra sprinkles on top too!
SAM’S TIP: Remove the cupcakes from the tin after a few minutes to keep them from getting oily on the bottoms. I like to use a butter knife to gently lift each one from the pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
I don’t recommend it. Liquid egg whites (the kind from a carton) tend to provide inconsistent results, and the last thing I want is for you to waste time and ingredients on confetti cupcakes that bake up flat and gummy.
Instead, separate your own eggs and follow my tips throughout this post for protecting your egg whites so they whip up nicely.
If you don’t want to waste your egg yolks, I have several recipes you can use them in including my lemon crumb bars, fruit tart, key lime cheesecake, german chocolate cookies, or lemon cheesecake. All of them use exactly three egg yolks!
While you can substitute all-purpose flour (instructions below), I really recommend investing in a box of cake flour if you want stellar results. Cake flour has a much lower level of protein compared to all-purpose flour, which means your cupcakes will have a much softer, lighter texture when made with cake flour. To me, it’s well worth it for exceptional confetti cupcakes!
Also, if you’re at all concerned that you won’t have a use for a whole box–don’t be! I have plenty of recipes to help you use it up, whether it’s my blueberry muffin cookies, coffee cake cookies, or my birthday crumb cake.
I recommend my funfetti cake recipe instead–it’s one of my top recipes (and has been for years) and has even been featured on TV 🤩
More frosting suggestions:
- Cream cheese frosting
- Chocolate fudge frosting
- Fruity pebbles frosting
- Raspberry buttercream
- Lemon frosting
- My favorite chocolate frosting
- Swiss meringue buttercream
Enjoy!
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Confetti Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) avocado oil, (may substitute canola or vegetable oil, or other neutral cooking oil)
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract, (optional but recommended)
- 1 ½ cups (175 g) cake flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup (120 g) buttermilk, room temperature preferred
- 3 large egg whites, (room temperature preferred)
- ⅓ cup (60 g) colored sprinkles, (use jimmies/standard sprinkles or quins, do not use nonpareils)
- Vanilla frosting, (or your preferred frosting, see note)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a 12-count cupcake tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar and use an electric mixer to beat until lightened and well-combined.3 Tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- Add oil and extracts and stir until smooth and creamy and completely combined.¼ cup (60 ml) avocado oil, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well-combined.1 ½ cups (175 g) cake flour, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon table salt
- Using a spatula, alternate adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the butter mixture. Start by adding about a third of the dry ingredients, gently fold into the butter mixture with a spatula, then add half the buttermilk and fold this into the batter until just combined. Repeat until all the buttermilk and flour mixture are added.½ cup (120 g) buttermilk
- Pour egg whites until a clean, dry mixing bowl (preferably glass or metal – do not use rubber, silicone, or plastic).3 large egg whites
- Use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks have formed (mixture will be thick and white and if you remove the beater from the mixture, the peaks that form should hold their shape and not fold over on themselves).
- Add the whipped egg whites to the batter and use a spatula to gently fold into the mixture until about halfway combined. Add sprinkles and continue to gently fold until batter is uniform.⅓ cup (60 g) colored sprinkles
- Evenly divide batter into prepared tin and transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) oven. Bake for 17 minutes/until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs (no wet batter).
- Allow cupcakes to cool in the tin for 5-8 minutes before carefully removing to a cooling rack (I use a butter knife to gently pry them up and carefully remove them – be careful, the tin and cupcakes will still be hot!) to cool completely before frosting.
Notes
Cake flour substitute
Cake flour is ideal for this recipe and will give you best results, but if you need to substitute all-purpose flour you will need 1 1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon (or 175 grams, yes, the weight will be the same regardless of which flour you use) of all-purpose flour.Frosting
I like these cupcakes with my vanilla frosting. A full batch will allow you to generously decorate all of the cupcakes and will leave you with a little bit leftover. If you’re not feeling vanilla, see my catalog of frosting recipes and choose your favorite – strawberry frosting would be excellent here too!Storing
Store in an airtight container. Cupcakes will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (though the fridge tends to dry them a bit).Original recipe
I published the original recipe in 2017 but updated it in 2025. I now recommend this version, but if you are looking for the original you can find the original recipe here.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I originally published this recipe in December of 2017, but after several people had issues with the cupcakes sinking on themselves I updated the recipe to ensure it was successful in every kitchen. If you’re looking for the original recipe you can find it linked in the recipe card (above).
This cupcake is delicious – no complaints at all as far as your recipe goes. It’s perfect.
However, the sprinkles bled into the batter when I mixed them and the cupcakes came out rather gray with spots of color instead of that beautiful soft white with spots of color.
Is there something I can do to avoid this for the next batch?
If you use jimmies or quins they shouldn’t bleed. Nonpareils will bleed and give you the problem you had. Hope that helps. 🙂
Nonpareils were the problem.
I went out and bought jimmies and had no trouble. Beautiful cupcakes. 🙂
Thank you so much!
Glad we were able to figure out the problem! I just went and added a clarifying note about the sprinkles so that hopefully no one else runs into the same problem. Thank you, Barbi, I’m glad they ultimately turned out well for you! 🙂
Hi!! Attempting this today! Hoping this one batch is enough for 24 mini cupcakes!
Hi, Crystal! I haven’t tried it in mini cupcake form, but it makes 15 full sized cupcakes so it should make more than 24 minis. I hope you loved them! 🙂
Amazing cupcakes very tasty. I was very happy with the result, ate them all in a day!
So glad you enjoyed them, Alexa! 🙂
Hi Sam!
I’m going to be using this recipe tomorrow to make a small cake for a birthday dinner! What would be your recommended baking time for two 6” pans?
Thanks in advance!
I’m really sorry I haven’t made these in 6″ pans before so I don’t know. 😔
Hi can we do the egg whites first and put them aside if we have a kitchen aid but no hand mixer
I would worry about the egg whites starting to deflate while they sit. What I would recommend is making the batter, setting that aside, cleaning and drying your bowl VERY well and then beating the eggs whites. Then you can proceed to fold the egg whites in by hand as instructed. ☺️
Heyy !! I’ve made these cupcakes and they came out AMAZINGGGG!! However, I was wondering if I could make this recipe into a cake. It’s my friend’s birthday and would love to make him a cake with this same recipe
Hi Areliza! This recipe would work as a cake. Enjoy! 😃
Is milk an option to butter milk? Thanks!
It will work in this recipe. You can also try out my Buttermilk Substitute if you’d like!
Hello Sam,
Would you happen to know if coconut oil would be a decent substitute for the vegetable/canola oil asked for in this recipe?
Hi! I have never used coconut oil but I think that would be completely fine, it would just need to be liquid so I would recommend melting the coconut oil but allowing it to cool a bit before using. I hope you love the cupcakes!
Hi Sam,
I’m excited to use your Confetti Cupcake recipe for my daughters first birthday. Her birthday party is Saturday and I’d like to make these cupcakes on Friday night. Do you think they’d do well in the fridge overnight and if so, what temp would you suggest I set the fridge at? I do not have much experience with buttercream, is it okay to sit out on display during her party without hurting the consistency? Sorry for the plethora of questions, first time mom here and hoping my cupcakes look half as delicious as yours.
Sincerely,
Sarah
Hi Sarah!
Unless you live in a particularly humid climate I would probably just leave these at room temperature (store them in an airtight container like a Tupperware), I’d suggest doing that if “room temperature” for you is below 72 degrees or so.
I find that the fridge tends to dry out cakes/cupcakes a bit, but if you want to/need to refrigerate you can instead keep them in an airtight container in the fridge (whatever temp your fridge is normally set to should be fine) and they will be fine. The buttercream will be fine out out on display (again, so long as it’s not too warm — if it’s too hot the frosting could melt).
I hope that helps and I really hope that you love the cupcakes!! <3
I am excited to try your recipes but need to decide which type of cake (and icing) to make for my daughter’s birthday this weekend. I am curious about the slight difference in the vanilla cake and confetti cake recipes. They use the same ingredients except for the eggs (and sprinkles of course). The confetti cake uses the beaten egg whites which you say is to make the cake really fluffy. I guess what I am asking is why don’t they both use that method if it makes the cake fluffier? Thanks!
Hi Jessica! The confetti cake is a white cake, which doesn’t use yolks so the egg whites are beaten to give the cake the desired texture while keeping the right color. They are just different cakes with different techniques, I really think you can’t go wrong with either 🙂
Hi if I wanted to make 30 should I double up the recipe and cook them in two batches or make one recipe cook them and make the batter again. I guess I just want to know if the cupcakes would rise if you left the batter sitting between batches lol
You can double the recipe I’ve done it without problem 🙂
hi, you say double recipe but in two batches or one?
You can double it in one batch so you don’t have to do everything twice. ☺️
Belated happy birthday sam god bless u thank u for all u r recipes
Thank you so much!! I appreciate it, and thank you for following along with my blog!! <3
Happy Birthday, Sam! And Happy Birthday to a fellow Sagittarian, because my birthday is on December 12. These cupcakes look so festive and pretty and would be great to make for any kind of a party, but especially for someone’s birthday, so I’m very anxious to try them. Please let us know what kind of a cake Zach made you for your birthday.
Thank you so much, Valerie! And Happy (almost) Birthday to you, too!! 🙂
I hope you love the cupcakes when you try them, and here is the cake that Zach made me: https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/2017/04/05/berry-mascarpone-layer-cake/
It’s literally one of the best cakes I ever tasted, I just finished off the last slice and am so sad that it’s gone!
Happy Birthday, Sam!! I hope you have great day tomorrow!! These funfetti cupcakes look so light and delicious! Thanks for all the recipes you share with us!
Thank you so much, Deb!! I’m glad you enjoy the recipes 🙂
Do you have a brand of sprinkles you like?
I buy mine in bulk from Country Kitchen USA’s website and mix together my own blends of colors. I hope that helps! 🙂
Yes!!! Thank you!