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Full of classic birthday cake flavor, this funfetti cupcakes recipe has moist, buttery sweet vanilla cake with rainbow sprinkles throughout, and is topped with rich vanilla buttercream. It makes just two cupcakes; if you want to celebrate with a birthday cake recipe that doesn’t feed a crowd, this small batch is perfect!
In my house, it’s tradition: when it’s your birthday, you get to pick your cake (or cupcakes!). But sometimes you want a taste of cake without 1) having to make (or buy) a huge cake, or 2) having a massive amount of cake leftover! Enter this recipe, which makes just two cute little cupcakes.
Did you know that you don’t need a boxed cake mix to make funfetti cake?! This cake is rich and sweet with a deep vanilla flavor and rainbow sprinkles. With just two perfect cupcakes, this recipe is easy to whip up, and a great way to celebrate a birthday.
Bookmark this recipe and make a happy birthday cupcake for someone special in your life!
What Makes This Recipe Special
- It makes just two cupcakes! It’s great for smaller birthday celebrations or times when you want a single dessert for you and one other person.
- You probably already have everything on hand to make it. Take a look through the ingredient list. In a well-stocked kitchen you might already have everything you need to whip up this recipe!
- Instead of ordering cupcakes from a bakery, you’ll save money by making them yourself. The process is very easy, and the end result is definitely bakery-quality. And taking a little bit of extra effort to make homemade birthday cake for a loved one is a beautiful way to show them you care.
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Funfetti Cupcake Ingredients
- Unsalted butter – Butter adds rich flavor and helps us create the perfect buttery vanilla funfetti cake flavor profile; make sure the butter is melted and cooled slightly here. I’ve also successfully used clarified butter (ghee) in this recipe.
- Granulated white sugar – The sweetener in our cupcakes.
- Whole milk – Milk adds moisture and helps create a soft, tender crumb.
- Egg yolk – For this small batch cupcake recipe, we only need an egg yolk. It adds richness and helps create a moist cake. Save the egg white for something else, such as an omelet.
- Vanilla extract – Buttery sweet vanilla flavor is a birthday cake classic! Use a good quality vanilla extract for the best flavor and most intense aroma.
- Almond extract – The combination of buttery sweet flavor with vanilla and almond extracts is what gives funfetti cake batter its unique flavor. If you don’t have almond extract, you can substitute with cake batter flavoring.
- All-purpose flour – Regular all-purpose flour is the base of this cake batter.
- Baking powder – This is the leavening agent that helps the cake rise and creates a fluffy texture.
- Salt – To create balance; a touch of salt makes sure our cake isn’t bland or overly sweet.
- Rainbow sprinkles – In true confetti cake style, we add rainbow sprinkles to the cake batter and also use them to decorate the top of the cupcakes.
Frosting Ingredients
- Unsalted butter – We use a base of butter and powdered sugar to make a quick and easy American buttercream frosting.
- Vanilla extract – For flavor and aroma.
- Salt – Just a pinch of salt makes sure this frosting isn’t too sweet.
- Powdered sugar – In addition to sweetness, powdered sugar adds volume and stability to this quick and easy buttercream.
- Heavy whipping cream – This makes a silky smooth and creamy buttercream frosting. Milk will also work fine, but won’t be as rich.
Other Ingredients
- Rainbow sprinkles – Sprinkles on top are optional, but perfect for birthday celebrations! And feel free to swap out the rainbow sprinkles for whatever seasonal sprinkles you want to fit the occasion or holiday. For example, red and green for Christmas or orange and brown for Halloween.
How to Make This Funfetti Cupcakes Recipe
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 2 wells of a cupcake tray with paper liners. Add the butter, sugar, milk, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract to a medium bowl and stir to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir just to combine, being careful not to over-mix.
- Gently fold in the sprinkles.
- Divide the batter between the 2 lined cupcake wells.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 22 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, and then remove the cupcakes and transfer them to a wire rack to cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes more.
- Once the cupcakes are cool, make the frosting. Add the butter, vanilla, and salt to a medium bowl, and use a handheld electric mixer to beat until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat until well-combined (it will be lumpy). Add the cream and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with whatever tip you want, and pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Decorate the frosting with rainbow sprinkles.
Baker’s Tips
- Make sure you don’t over-mix the batter. For fluffy, moist cupcakes (instead of dense, gummy cupcakes), it’s important to mix the batter for these just until combined.
- Wait until the cupcakes are cool before frosting them. I know it can be hard to wait, but if you frost warm cupcakes, you’ll end up with a drippy mess instead of fluffy buttercream. The good news is that because we’re making cupcakes instead of a larger cake, these cool fast (it generally takes about 20 minutes for cupcakes to cool).
- You don’t need baking experience to get professional-looking cupcakes! Just make sure to use a large tip to pipe on the buttercream. For the frosting on these cupcakes, I used a Kayasco 9FT piping tip, which is 1.2 inches in diameter and 1.9 inches tall.
- If you want to cut out quite a bit of the calories and fat, you can easily get away with reducing the frosting recipe by half. The full amount makes enough frosting for the generous swirl on top of each cupcake, but if you just spread the frosting on with a butter knife, you can use much less.
Storage
For best flavor and texture, make these cupcakes and frost them right before you want to eat them. However, you can make them and store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Variations
- If you aren’t making this to celebrate a birthday, swap out the rainbow sprinkles to fit any holiday or occasion.
- For a more decadent frosting, make chocolate buttercream instead of vanilla! To do so, reduce the powdered sugar from 1 1/4 cups to 1 cup + 2 tablespoons and add 2 tablespoons of unsweetened natural cocoa powder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Looking at the cake, you might wonder is funfetti different than vanilla? Yes, it is! Funfetti is its own thing, and isn’t just vanilla cake with sprinkles added.
Funfetti cake, which is also called sprinkle cake or confetti cake, features sweet, buttery vanilla cake with rainbow sprinkles mixed in. The cake is richer than regular vanilla cake, and is often made with butter and eggs. And for classic birthday cake flavor, almond extract (in addition to vanilla extract) is frequently added.
Traditionally, rainbow sprinkles or “jimmies” are used in funfetti or confetti cake. This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule though! Feel free to experiment and use whatever kind of fun or festive sprinkles you like.
More Special Birthday Cake Ideas
- Nutella Cake – This is a rich, decadent chocolate cake with Nutella in the cake batter, buttercream, and ganache. It’s topped with Ferraro Rocher candy to really make it special.
- Cannoli Cake – If you love the Italian pastry, you’ll love this cake.
- Karpatka – This Polish cake is meant to look like the snow-capped Carpathian Mountains. It’s made of two large choux pastries sandwiched together with a decadent vanilla cream, and it essentially tastes like a giant cream puff – swoon!
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Funfetti Cupcakes Recipe
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Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or clarified butter (ghee), melted and cooled slightly
- 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons rainbow sprinkles
Frosting:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/16 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
Other:
- Rainbow sprinkles for topping
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 2 wells of a cupcake tray with paper liners.
- Add the butter, sugar, milk, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract to a medium bowl and stir to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir just to combine, being careful not to over-mix. Gently fold in the sprinkles.
- Divide the batter between the 2 lined cupcake wells. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 22 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, and then remove the cupcakes and transfer them to a wire rack to cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes more.
For the Frosting:
- Once the cupcakes are cool, make the frosting.
- Add the butter, vanilla, and salt to a medium bowl, and use a handheld electric mixer to beat until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat until well-combined (it will be lumpy). Add the cream and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.
To Finish:
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with whatever tip you want, and pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Decorate the frosting with rainbow sprinkles.
Video
Notes
- Piping Tip: For the frosting on these cupcakes, I used a Kayasco 9FT piping tip, which is 1.2 inches in diameter and 1.9 inches tall.
- Storage: For best flavor and texture, make these cupcakes and frost them right before you want to eat them. However, you can make them and store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Frosting Tip: If you want to cut out quite a bit of the calories and fat, you can easily get away with reducing the frosting recipe by half. The full amount makes enough frosting for the generous swirl on top of each cupcake (as shown in the photos), but if you just spread the frosting on with a butter knife, you can use much less.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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