These homemade funfetti cupcakes are made from soft and fluffy vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles throughout and then topped with an easy vanilla frosting which makes them the perfect birthday cupcake and are way better than boxed batter.

Ahhh funfetti cupcakes. I mean who doesn't love them? They just immediately make you think about birthdays! The thing is, most times you're eating them you're eating a boxed mix. Now I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that as they're quite good on their own, but have you ever tried to make your own homemade funfetti cupcakes?

Well Lauren and I decided to tackle it recently. Our nephew, Joshua, just recently turned one. It's crazy how fast time flies. It feels like just yesterday that he was born!

When his mom asked us to make cupcakes for his birthday, we immediately knew we wanted to make funfetti cupcakes. Lauren always is looking for an excuse to bake and especially loves making cupcakes.

So I scoured the internet for a variety of cupcakes and then adapted to our own. I ended up drawing inspiration from the Cupcake Project for the best vanilla cupcake recipe.

You might be saying well that's not funfetti, but really the only difference is adding sprinkles. A colleague of mine had brought in vanilla cupcakes made from that specific recipe one time and they were outstanding so I knew even with tinkering it slightly, it wouldn't disappoint. These are topped by our tried and true vanilla frosting which I also happened to learn about from my colleague - thanks Jenny!

So if you feel like stepping up your game and moving on from boxed mixes, these funfetti cupcakes are a good start. And believe me the extra work is worth it. Hope you enjoy!

Jump to:

Recipe Ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
How Do I Make Sure My Cupcakes are Light and Fluffy?
How Long Do Cupcakes Last?
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
Other Cupcake Recipes
Funfetti Cupcakes

overhead shot of homemade funfetti cupcakes

Recipe Ingredients

Cake flour - gives the light and fluffy texture you want.
Baking powder and baking soda - helps the batter rise.
Salt - enhances the flavor.
Granulated sugar - adds sweetness to the cupcakes.
Unsalted butter and vegetable oil - gives you the necessary fat.
Eggs - helps bind everything together.
Sour cream - adds moisture without thinning out batter.
Milk - gets the batter to the right consistency.
Vanilla extract - enhances the flavor.
Powdered sugar - sweetens the frosting.
Heavy cream - thins out the frosting to pipe.
Rainbow sprinkles - can't have funfetti cupcakes without sprinkles.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two muffin pans with 16 cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
In stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add vegetable oil and sugar and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes until creamed together. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Add sour cream and beat until combined.
With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just combined. With mixer still running on low, slowly pour in milk and beat until just combined. Do not overmix. Fold in sprinkles, but do not overmix as it can bleed the colors.
Fill cupcake liners a little over halfway full. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. When cupcakes are done remove immediately from tins and leave on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, mix butter and sugar. Mix on low speed until blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes.
Add vanilla extract and heavy cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 more minute, adding some more cream if needed for spreading consistency. If using food coloring, add at this point and mix until you reach desired color. Place in fridge until ready to use on cupcakes. Top cupcake frosting with sprinkles.

How Do I Make Sure My Cupcakes are Light and Fluffy?

The key with baking is DO NOT OVERMIX. It's the death of any baking recipe and with cupcakes, it can lead to something that is dense and just not very appetizing. So what does not overmixing mean?

Well you mix all of your ingredients right until you see the flour disappear. Obviously the other issue can be baking too long. To combat this, you just insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake until it comes out clean.

How Long Do Cupcakes Last?

To maximize the shelf life of cupcakes, place them in a covered airtight container or cover with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.

Cupcakes at room temperature will last 1-2 days
Cupcakes in the fridge will last 1 week
Cupcakes in the freezer will last 4 months

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

If you don’t have sour cream, you can replace with Greek yogurt.
All refrigerated items should be at room temperature, which helps the batter mix easily and evenly.
You may not realize this but baking powder and baking soda actually expires pretty quickly. Use baking powder that is less than a year old since it has been opened. If you use older baking powder, it won’t be powerful enough to help leaven the cupcakes. You can test it by stirring half a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup of hot water. It will immediately start to fizz and release carbon dioxide gas if it’s still fresh enough to use. Baking soda should be less than six months old and you can use the same test.
Wait until the cupcake batter is completely mixed before folding in the sprinkles as it can bleed the colors.
When adding the batter to the muffin tin, don’t fill more than ⅔ of the way as they do rise.
Allow the cupcakes to completely cool before adding the frosting, otherwise it will melt.

Other Cupcake Recipes