Soft, light, and fluffy, these sweet confetti cupcakes are modified from my popular funfetti cake recipe! These cupcakes are packed full of colorful sprinkles and made with a simple white cake base, then topped off with a sweet vanilla buttercream (and, of course, sprinkles!).
Taking a quick break from all of the Christmas Cookie recipes I’ve been sharing recently to share these fun confetti cupcakes!
Tomorrow is my birthday (I’ll be 28!) and while I’m definitely not making my own birthday cake (Zach’s making me a cake completely from scratch, I can’t wait to see how it turns out and tell you about it), I still thought celebrating a little bit early with some cupcakes and sprinkles wouldn’t be a bad idea.
I really don’t share nearly as many cake/cupcake recipes on this page as I do cookies, because cakes take me so, so much time to get right (but when they’re right, they’re perfect — have you tried my favorite chocolate cake or my pineapple upside-down cake?)
This recipe is a slightly modified, scaled-down version of my very popular funfetti cake, and the recipe makes about 15 cupcakes. Since traditional muffin tins only have room for 12 cupcakes, I like to make 12 regular-sized cupcakes and then use the remaining batter to make adorable mini cupcakes — you’ll be able to get about 8-10 mini cupcakes out of the leftovers, and I included baking instructions in the recipe notes.
This confetti cupcake recipe requires an extra step of whipping your egg whites to stiff peaks before folding them into your cupcake batter. This step is so important, and it is going to give you the lightest and fluffiest cupcakes possible.
Whipping egg whites isn’t hard, just make sure that you have a completely grease-free bowl (don’t use a plastic one) and beaters before you begin whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks. If you’ve made my whipped cream recipe before, you’re already familiar with stiff peaks, but if not, it just means that when you pull the beater out of the egg white mixture, the egg whites hold a stiff “peak” and don’t fold or recede back into themselves.
I’m typically not a huge fan of vanilla buttercream frosting because I find it to be a little too sweet for me, so I just topped off these cupcakes with a short, simple rosette decoration (I used my Wilton 2D tip for these). Usually I prefer to pile the frosting on (ahem, like with these chocolate cupcakes) but for these confetti cupcakes, this seemed to be the perfect amount to complement the cupcake without making it too sweet.
Oh, and don’t forget to top everything off with sprinkles!
I just used a mix of quins and nonpareils that I had on hand, as well as some edible gold stars (affiliate). Since Colt got into my stash of traditional sprinkles and ruined all of them (while managing to eat approximately 3 lbs of them… a story for a different day 😫) I had to improvise, but I actually loved how these decorations looked on top!
Just look at those soft, colorful, centers!!
Enjoy!
Confetti Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ⅓ cup (43 g) avocado oil, canola oil or vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon (172 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (118 ml) buttermilk room temperature preferred
- 3 large egg whites room temperature
- ⅓ cup sprinkles Use jimmies or quins, do not use nonpareils as they will bleed through the batter
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- sprinkles, for decorating optional
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare a 12 count muffin tin* (see recipe note) with paper liners. Set aside.
- Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or you may use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer) and beat until smooth and creamy.3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- Add sugar and oil and beat again until ingredients are very well-combined, smooth, and creamy.⅓ cup (43 g) avocado oil, canola oil or vegetable oil, 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and then stir in your vanilla extract.1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt.1 ⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon (172 g) all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low speed, gradually alternate between adding the flour mixture and your buttermilk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Stir until each one is almost completely combined before adding the next. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so that all ingredients are combined.½ cup (118 ml) buttermilk
- In separate, completely clean and grease-free bowl, combine your egg whites and, with a hand-mixer on high-speed, beat until stiff peaks form.3 large egg whites
- Using a spatula, gently fold your egg whites and sprinkles into your batter. Take care to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so that ingredients are well-combined, and take care not to over-mix.⅓ cup sprinkles
- Divide batter into prepared cupcake tin, filling each liner ¾ of the way full.
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with moist crumbs (not wet batter). For mini cupcakes, bake 14-15 minutes.
- Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Vanilla Buttercream
- Beat butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Sprinkle salt over butter and stir again to combine.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Gradually, about ½ cup at a time, add powdered sugar, waiting until each cup is completely mixed before adding more.3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar
- With mixer on medium-low speed, add the heavy cream one Tablespoon at a time. Once ingredients are well incorporated, gradually increase speed to high and beat for about 30 seconds.3 Tablespoons heavy cream
- Add vanilla extract and stir well.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pipe or spread frosting over cooled cupcakes (I used a Wilton 2D tip for the rosette decorations). Top with sprinkles, if desired. Cupcakes keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for several days, or refrigerated in an airtight container for a week.sprinkles, for decorating
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase anything through these links I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please view the disclosure policy for more information.
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Tasneem Mohammed
I’ve tried this recipe twice and both times they’ve turned out looking like garbage. Half of them end up looking like deflated balloons. So unhappy with this recipe.
Sam
Hi Tasneem! There are a few reasons the cupcakes might be deflating:
If the liners were over-filled the cupcakes could deflate after coming out of the oven. This recipe makes 15 cupcakes, so if you tried to fit all the batter into a 12-count tin that could do it.
If the cupcakes weren’t baked long enough or if your oven temperature is too cool.
If the egg whites weren’t properly beaten to stiff peaks or if they weren’t stirred well enough into the batter (or if the batter was stirred too much).
I really hope that helps!
Lindsy
Hi! So…I followed these directions best I could and they took much longer to bake than 18 minutes and all of them cracked on top. Any idea what I may have done wrong? ☹️
Really hoping they will still taste good 😬🤞🏻
Sam
Hi Lindsy! Hmm, I’m wondering if your oven temperature might not be accurate. If they took that much longer to bake I think that might be the case here, it’s unusual they would take that long to bake.
Amber
It doesn’t mention the egg yolks anywhere.. do I skip those?! First time attempting cupcakes ☺️
Sam
Hi Amber! No egg yolks are needed in these cupcakes. 🙂
eileen
i want to make these for my sons birthday party at school. i’m thinking of making them mini cupcakes so they won’t be so messy. any idea how long i should bake them for?
Sam
Hi Eileen! The notes at the very very bottom give you instructions for baking as mini cupcakes. 🙂 14-15 minutes. 🙂
Rina
Sam will this recipe work as a sheet cake?! Making a smash extra large cupcake for my baby’s first and wanted to make a sheet cake for the guests. Thanks!
Sam
Hi Rina! You can use my Funfetti cake and bake that as a sheet cake. 🙂
Diana
These were absolutely amazing. Very soft and fluffy. Everyone ate them in just a couple of hours. Will definitely make them again today!
Sam
So happy to hear this! Thank you for commenting, Diana! 🙂
Jeanine
I’ve tried to make this twice and the cupcakes tasted terribly each time. Could the 1 cup of sugar be a typo? They taste like flour.
Sam
Yikes! That’s disappointing to hear. The amount of sugar listed is correct, though, so I’m not sure what might have gone wrong…
Deanna
Does it matter if I use foil cupcake liners instead of paper ones? I already bought rainbow colored foil ones for my daughter’s birthday.
Sam
Hi Deanna! Foil cupcake liners shouldn’t be a problem! 🙂
Amanda
Are there any alterations that need to be made for high altitude?
Sam
Hi Amanda! Unfortunately I am not familiar with high altitude baking so I can’t comment for sure.
Maddy MacDonald
I made these for my mom’s birthday and they turned out sooo yummy!! Will definitely be making these again
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Maddy! 🙂
Joanna
Hi! I just took mine out of the oven, and while they look and smell amazing, the tops didn’t “crest”… in fact, the tops look flat, bordering on sunken. I tasted one of the small ones, and trust me, my kids will still love them. 🙂 But wondering why the tops didn’t puff?
Sam
Hi Joanna! If they sink they were either under mixed/ over mixed or under baked. They don’t puff a whole lot though. I hope everyone still enjoyed them. 🙂
Christina Welch
This recipe was absolutely amazing. The cupcakes melted in my mouth when I tried them. Thanks so much for sharing!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Christina! 🙂
Debbie
Does this recipe double easily?
Sam
Yes it is great for doubling or even tripling.
Allie
Love love love this recipe!! Fantastic!
I only wish the cupcakes came out looking like yours!!
Thank you for sharing your recipes and expertise!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Allie! 🙂
Kate Avila
Can’t wait to try this recipe, it sounds great. You had me sold when I saw the name “Colt” that is my son’s name and he requested these for his 6th birthday!
Sam
I love that name! I hope he loves the cupcakes. 🙂
Carolina Bass
how can I turn this batter into a chocolate or just vanilla cupcakes? Thank you!
Sam
Hi, Caroline. This is actually a white cake, with a slight vanilla flavor, so I don’t recommend using this for vanilla cupcakes. I do have a Vanilla Cupcake and a Chocolate Cupcake recipe you can try. 🙂