These homemade Funfetti-style cupcakes are all about classic birthday-cake vibes: buttery, soft, loaded with rainbow sprinkles, and topped with a lightly tangy vanilla frosting that tastes straight out of a bakery case.
I originally published this recipe way back in 2012—early in my blogging and baking career—and while I’ve developed many new cupcake recipes since then, I wanted to revisit and refresh this one. Not every Funfetti cupcake is meant to be ultra-light and airy. These are rich, plush, and wonderfully nostalgic thanks to melted butter, whole egg, and a simple whisk-together batter.
You may also notice I have another sprinkle cupcake recipe on my site: these confetti cupcakes. That recipe is modeled after bakery-style vanilla cupcakes: extra fluffy and light, made with cake flour, egg whites, and the classic creaming method.
So which one should you make?
- If you’re craving tall, airy bakery-style cupcakes, head to my confetti cupcakes recipe.
- If you want buttery, soft-crumb birthday cupcakes with an easy mixing method and classic sprinkle flavor, this Funfetti-style version is for you.
I finish these homemade Funfetti-style cupcakes with a vanilla buttercream that includes just a touch of cream cheese. It slightly tones down the sweetness and adds that familiar tangy note that pairs perfectly with the rich cupcake underneath.
We all LOVED this frosting!
Ingredients You Need & Why
Each ingredient in these Funfetti-style cupcakes plays an important role in creating their soft, buttery crumb and classic birthday-cake flavor. Here’s what you need and why:
- All-Purpose Flour: This recipe uses all-purpose flour for a slightly sturdier, richer crumb than cake flour.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: The combination provides enough lift while keeping the cupcakes tender and evenly domed. Please note that the recipe used to call for 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and I have increased that to 1 teaspoon for proper lift.
- Salt: A small amount sharpens all the flavors and keeps the cupcakes from tasting flat or overly sweet. Most dessert recipes need salt!
- Melted Butter: Instead of creaming softened butter, this recipe uses melted butter for a simpler mixing method and a distinctly buttery flavor. It also contributes to the moist, plush texture.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cupcakes and helps create a fine, tender crumb.
- Egg: One whole egg adds structure and richness.
- Sour Cream: Adds moisture and tenderness while giving the cupcakes a slightly denser, velvety crumb—perfect for that classic boxed-cake nostalgia.
- Whole Milk: Thins the batter to the right consistency.
- Vanilla Extract: Provides the warm, bakery-style flavor that makes these cupcakes taste like birthday cake. Feel free to swap in vanilla bean paste.
- Rainbow Sprinkles: The star of the show! Use jimmies or confetti-style sprinkles—not nonpareils, which tend to bleed into the batter.
Today’s batter is super similar to these strawberry shortcake cupcakes and these butterscotch cupcakes.
Easy-as-Box-Mix Batter
You don’t need to pull out the electric mixer for today’s Funfetti batter. Whisk together the dry ingredients, then whisk together the melted butter and sugar. Mixture will be gritty. Refrigerate it for 5 minutes to cool down and thicken the melted butter mixture. Then, whisk in the egg, vanilla, and sour cream, followed by the whole milk.
Combine the dry and wet ingredients, and then fold in the sprinkles:
Line your muffin pan with cupcake liners, and fill each 3/4 of the way to the top. This Funfetti-style cupcakes recipe consistently makes 14 cupcakes, so you’ll need a 2nd pan with 2 more liners, or bake in batches if you only have 1 pan.
Do not try to squeeze this batter into just 12 cupcakes; they’ll spill over the sides and you’ll have a rainbow mess.
Best Sprinkles to Use in Funfetti-Style Cupcakes
I’ve been baking sprinkles into cake & cupcake batters for years and have learned exactly which sprinkles work, and which don’t. Happy to share my best advice:
- My top sprinkle tip: Do not use nonpareils (the little balls) in cake and cupcake batter. They will bleed their color as you fold them in, result in a less-than-appetizing-colored cupcake.
- Rainbow sprinkles (aka “jimmies”) sold in the U.S. are intensely colored, but sprinkles sold in other countries may lose their color when baked. “Sugar strands” may be the same shape as jimmies, but they dissolve in the wet batter. For best results, try to use American-style rainbow sprinkles. The pictured cake uses Betty Crocker “Parlor Perfect” rainbow sprinkles. I also really like Canadian brand Sweetapolita sprinkles.
- Confetti quins (the little discs) are also great to use in sprinkle birthday cakes & cupcakes. They rarely bleed their color in batter.
- Naturally colored sprinkles are wonderful as decoration, but—depending on the brand—can lose their color in cake batter.
Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream
Today’s colorful cupcakes are topped with a vanilla buttercream made with just a touch of cream cheese. It slightly cuts the sweetness and adds that familiar, nostalgic bakery-style flavor.
Love chocolate buttercream? You can definitely make the switch and use that on these Funfetti cupcakes instead.
Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and cream cheese together until completely smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, a splash of cream, the vanilla, and a pinch of salt, then beat until light, fluffy, and spreadable. I used vanilla bean paste in the pictured frosting.
It’s perfectly pipeable! I used piping tip Ateco #826 here; Wilton 1M is super similar if that is what you have.
Soft, buttery, packed with sprinkles, and topped with that lightly tangy frosting—these cupcakes taste like pure birthday nostalgia!
Homemade Funfetti-Style Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 14 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Buttery, soft Funfetti-style cupcakes loaded with rainbow sprinkles and topped with a lightly tangy vanilla cream cheese buttercream. These easy homemade birthday cupcakes have classic nostalgic flavor and come together with a simple mixing method—perfect for parties, celebrations, or anytime you need sprinkles.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 and 2/3 cups (209g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk, at room temperature
- 6 Tablespoons (60g) rainbow sprinkles (not nonpareils)
Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 ounces (113g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
- optional for garnish: rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. This recipe yields 14 cupcakes, so line a second muffin pan with 2 cupcake liners, or bake in batches.
- Make the cupcakes: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter and sugar together. The mixture will be gritty. Refrigerate for 5 minutes to cool and slightly thicken.
- Whisk in the egg, sour cream, and vanilla extract until combined, then whisk in the milk.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until the batter is completely combined. The batter should be creamy and mostly smooth; a few small lumps are OK. Fold in the sprinkles.
- Pour/spoon the batter into the liners, filling only 3/4 full to avoid spilling over the sides. You should have enough batter for 14 cupcakes.
- Bake for 20–22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not over-bake.
- Remove cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cupcakes must be completely cooled before decorating.
- Make the frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium-high speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream/milk, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for 2 full minutes. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if the frosting is too sweet. I always add 1/8 teaspoon. Add up to 1/2 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin, or more cream/milk—a Tablespoon at a time—if frosting is too thick.
- Frost cooled cupcakes and top with sprinkles, if using. You can swipe the frosting on with an icing knife or use a piping tip such as Ateco 826 or Wilton 1M.
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator up to 5. I recommend a cupcake carrier for storing and transporting decorated cupcakes.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can bake the cupcakes 1 day in advance. Keep cupcakes covered tightly at room temperature and frost the day of serving. Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before frosting and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-cup Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls or Mixing Bowl with Pour Spout | Whisk | Cooling Rack | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Ateco 826 Piping Tip or Wilton 1M Piping Tip | Cupcake Carrier (for storage)
- Sour Cream & Whole Milk: Sour cream and whole milk are strongly recommended for the best taste and texture. A full-fat plain yogurt would work instead of sour cream, though the cupcakes may not be as light. Same goes with a lower-fat milk (I don’t recommend nonfat). Nondairy milk works in a pinch. You can replace both the whole milk and sour cream with buttermilk (1 cup/240ml) if needed.
- Vanilla: You can use either vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste in the batter and frosting. In the pictured cupcakes, I used extract and in the frosting, I used vanilla bean paste.
- Can I Make This Into a Cake? I recommend my 1-layer sprinkle cake recipe or my confetti (Funfetti) layer cake.
- Can I Use Regular Buttercream Instead of Cream Cheese? Yes, here is my regular vanilla buttercream recipe. You can also swap for chocolate buttercream instead.
- Mini Cupcakes: For around 30 mini cupcakes, bake 12–13 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakes before you begin.
Reader Comments and Reviews
What would you sub for yogurt? We’re currently out as baby can’t have dairy.
Hi Kristi, You can use sour cream instead of the yogurt.
What would the baking instructions be if I wanted to make this a 9×13 cake?
Hi Georgia! We recommend following our recipe for white cake instead (follow the baking instructions for a 9×13 in the reicpe notes). It makes the perfect amount of batter. You can fold in 1/2 -2/3 cup of sprinkles (jimmies, not nonpareils) to that batter to make a funfetti cake. Enjoy!
These turned out perfect for me. I made the mini versions because I wanted to have the smaller portions. I love the buttery flavor and I have to say, I prefer them to the egg white only version. I got more than 24 and needed 1.5 times the frosting quantity. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks, Sally, you really have the best baking recipes.
Has anyone used this recipe for a regular cake? If so, what size works best??
Hi Mackensey, This recipe is perfect for a 3 layer 6 inch cake. See our 6 inch cake post for directions.
Love these cupcakes! I used “jimmie” style sprinkles (long-ish cylinder type) and had no issues with unwanted color bleeding.
Can I substitute gluten-free flour such as Bob’s Red Mill?
Hi Patti, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you give it a try!
Thanks Lexi,
I tried it today. In fact, I made two batches, one with regular all purpose flour and the second with a 1-for-1 gluten free flour. I tried this recipe, thinking it would be a better match than the one with cake flour. I did everything else exactly the same and used the same ingredients, pretending I was conducting a recipe test at Kitchn 🙂
We had the cake tasting this evening. The all purpose flour batch are delicious! The gluten free batch are also good, but definitely not our first choice. They are a bit grainier in texture and more crumbly; that’s my experience with gluten free in general so I wasn’t really surprised. But the recipe holds up pretty well with the substitution and I hope my gluten-free daughter will like them tomorrow.
Thanks again for a wonderful recipe, Patti
Made these for my daughter’s bday party and they turned out fantastic!! I used both vanilla and almond extract in the batter and it was sooo yummy. Thank you Sally!!
Super easy and delicious! Made it spontaneously with my 4-year-old and loved how I could have her participate.
It doesn’t matter how slowly I do it — the sprinkles immediately bleed the second I fold them in and make the whole mixture grey. Any tips?
The guy at my local bake shop says to toss the sprinkles in a tiny bit of flour before stirring into the batter.
I forgot to put Milk and I used sour cream instead of yogurt, but it still turned out pretty good! The top had this meringue texture on it. The whole fam loved it. Thank yoj for this recipe
Hi Sally,
Can I use buttermilk instead of yogurt + milk combination? I have to make some for my niece and have a lot of buttermilk to finish!
Thanks!
Sure can!
So easy and so good! Love that you don’t even need an electric mixer (even though I have one….it means fewer dishes!)
I halved the recipe to make 24 mini cupcakes (plus 1 normal sized one with the extra batter). Went heavy on the sour cream, subbed 1/2 the sugar for brown sugar, and added a drop of almond extract! SO GOOD! Topped it with Sally’s cream cheese frosting, and they were amazing. Well done Sally!
AMAZING!! I’m new to baking and this recipe was easy and delicious. Thank you!!
Would I ruin the recipe if used Nonpareils? My sons birthday is this weekend. Let me know. Thank you.
Just be careful because their colors will quickly bleed into your batter. I used nonpareil in the pictured cupcakes here, I simply had to be sure to gently mix them into the batter to avoid tie-dye cupcakes.
These cupcakes are amazing. I made them last December for my friends birthday, we ate half the batch in one sitting lol. I just made them again for Mother’s Day, by far the best white vanilla cake I have ever had and they are incredibly easy! I would totally do these for Christmas with Green, Red and White sprinkles or holiday sprinkles. Thank you for this amazing recipe. My daughter got a huge kick out of the mini cupcakes I made and I think these will be her birthday party cake this year.
Loved this! Easy recipe and came out even better than I thought possible, thanks for sharing! I want to make a bunch and then deliver to friends/loved ones. Is there harm in doubling the recipe or should I just make two separate batches of batter?
Hi Greg, I’m so glad you enjoyed these. For the best possible texture I do recommend making two separate batches instead of doubling.
Delicious and easy!
I have made this recipe on several occasions and it is always a hit! I was asked to make chocolate chip cup cakes and wanted to know if I could use this yellow cake recipe and replace the sprinkles with mini chocolate chips or would you recommend I use a different cupcake recipe?
Hi Steph, If you love this recipe and want to stick with it then yes, you can swap the sprinkles for mini chocolate chips. Enjoy 🙂
We loved the Fun Fetti cup cakes! I made them for Valentine’s Day but I could find any nutritional info on your page, could you please let me know how much carbs it would be for 18 cup cakes, I used a silicone heart shaped cup cake maker to cook them in and they came out so cute
I know this recipe was posted a loooong time ago, but I made both the cupcakes and frosting yesterday and it was great, albeit a little surprising. I made them as minis and I doubled the recipe expecting about 48 or so. I was very precise with measuring and mixing, made zero ingredient substitutions. Filled the mini pans about 2/3 full and ended up with……….. 96 mini cupcakes!! Quite the surprise. I now have 40 or so extra unfrosted cupcakes in the freezer. I took them to 2 different events that evening and received rave reviews. It was a pretty simple recipe to make. I definitely recommend it if you’re looking for something easy, tasty, and with a lot of wow factor.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe!! I made the most incredible minis for my son’s second birthday yesterday and everyone loved them!
I just made these yesterday to bring to a friend for his birthday and they are seriously the best Funfetti cupcakes I’ve ever had! They were a HUGE hit and I will definitely be saving the recipe as my go to recipe. I used sour cream, cow’s milk, and cake flour in the cupcake batter and heavy cream in the icing. Can’t wait to make them again.
From one baking “perfectionist” to another…..THANK YOU!
Hi! I am planning on making these for my little one’s birthday. I was wondering if I am making jumbo cupcakes should I double the cupcake recipe or use the cake recipe to make them?
The cake recipe would only make 12 standard size cupcakes. So if you would like more than 12 jumbo cupcakes, you should double the recipe. I am unsure of the bake time.
Ummm, amazing! Made these at 9am this morning with my almost there year old, will definitely making the cake for her birthday in two weeks!
This is the best buttercream frosting I have ever made! It’s perfectly creamy and fluffy, with just the right amount of sweetness. Thank you so much!!
I just had to write and say THANK YOU for this recipe! I’ve made them 3 times now and will never have to look again for that perfect yellow cake recipe. Previous ones I tried were too dry, no crumb and not very flavorful. These are absolute perfection. Delicious! Thank you so much!
Thanks for this recipe. These are some of the best cupcakes I’ve had (and hands down the best I’ve made)! 🙂
I made these for my son’s first birthday, and they were a hit! And very delicious. Brought the leftovers to work, and they didn’t last long!
Practiced this cake because my daughter wants me to make her birthday cake and my family really likes it. I hope the same goes for the 5 and 6 year olds that will be enjoying it next weekend!! Thank you for the GREAT cake recipe!!
I made this for Easter and oh my gosh they are soooo good! My whole family loves them. They are not spot-on funfetti (denser cupcake, buttercream frosting rather than the cream cheese frosting that usually accompanies traditional funfetti) but they are definitely the best cupcakes I’ve ever had! Thanks, Sally!