Soft, fluffy homemade funfetti cupcakes that are worlds better than anything you will find in a box! They’re quite easy, too.
I recently developed a homemade funfetti cupcake recipe that may just be easier than your store-bought mix. So fluffy, so soft, spiked with vanilla, and bursting through the seams with colorful speckles.
I made a batch of yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting (with sprinkles!) for my birthday earlier this year and they were an instant hit. While my original homemade yellow funfetti cupcakes are outstanding, I wanted a fluffier, whiter, and cakier cupcake that is still as simple as my original recipe. And, well, as simple as a boxed mix. I found a winner. Using easy everyday ingredients, this homemade recipe only takes about 25 minutes AND tastes 1,000% better than anything on the store shelves.
All-purpose flour, leavening agents (baking powder & soda), salt, white sugar, 1 stick of melted butter, vanilla extract, yogurt (or sour cream), and milk. Doesn’t that sound easy? The dry ingredients are tossed together by hand. Grab a wooden spoon or rubber spatula and mix together the melted butter and sugar.
The back of your funfetti box mix probably calls for oil and not butter. I love using oil in cake and cupcake recipes because it brings the finished baked good SO much moisture and a delicate texture. However, I decided to use butter in my recipe because the addition of plain yogurt (or sour cream) does a great job keeping things moist and soft. Plus, you still get a buttery taste.
To the sugar/butter mixture, you will add the egg, yogurt, vanilla, and milk. Whisk it all up by hand. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients. Use a bit of elbow grease and stir out all the lumps. The batter will be thick.
Be careful adding in your sprinkles. If you are using nonpareil sprinkles (the little balls), their colors will quickly bleed into your batter. I used nonpareil because they are my favorite. I had to be sure to gently mix them into the batter to avoid tie-dye cupcakes.
Which wouldn’t be so bad though, right?
Divide your batter evenly between 12 muffin liners and bake at 350F. You’ll know they are finished when a toothpick comes out clean.
I used a Wilton 12 frosting tip (a round tip) to frost the cupcakes. Frost the cooled cupcakes however you prefer – slathering on with a knife or piping on with a tip.
The cupcakes are so soft, moist, and fluffy with a buttery smooth taste. The frosting is fluffy, thick, and so easy to throw together. If you’d prefer a chocolate frosting, I suggest my chocolate buttercream. It’s smooth, rich, and extra creamy. I used a Wilton 1M swirl tip for the chocolate version:
Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 12 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft, fluffy homemade funfetti cupcakes that are worlds better than anything you will find in a box! They’re quite easy, too.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup yogurt*
- 3/4 cup milk*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles (not nonpareils)
Vanilla Buttercream
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream or half-and-half*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Make the cupcakes: In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Whisk in sugar – mixture will be gritty. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 minute. Stir in egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick. Slowly stir in sprinkles, but do not overmix because the sprinkles will bleed their color.
- Divide batter among 12 cupcake liners and bake for up to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.
- Make the frosting: in a medium bowl, beat the softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Turn mixer off and add confectioners’ sugar, cream, and vanilla extract. Mix on low for 1 minute then increase to high speed and beat for 3-4 full minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if frosting is too thick. Add salt if frosting is too sweet (I usually add 1/4 teaspoon). Frost cooled cupcakes and top with sprinkles.
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator up to 5.
Notes
- Yogurt: You can use plain or vanilla regular/Greek yogurt or sour cream.
- Milk: You can use regular milk, soy milk, or almond milk.
- Frosting: Feel free to top with chocolate buttercream instead.
- Mini Cupcakes: For 24 mini cupcakes, bake 11-13 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!
Keywords: homemade funfetti cupcakes
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.
Can you double this recipe?
Hi Olivia, For the absolute best texture we recommend making two separate batches.
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
★★★★★
Hello, how can I tweak the recipe if I use cake flour instead of all-purpose? I only have cake flour in my pantry. Thank you in advance!
You can use and equal amount of cake flour with no other changes. The updated Confetti Sprinkle Cupcakes uses cake flour for a lighter texture 🙂
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.
Would jimmies sprinkles work well in this recipe? What about different shaped sprinkles?
Hi Erica, jimmies would work well in this recipe. Most other shapes should work well, too, but you just want to avoid using non-pariels as they bleed easily (or, use a very gentle hand to stir them in as Sally mentions).
Do you think these would freeze well for a few days? I’m going to make them for my son’s birthday party this weekend and I’d love to do them early so it’s not so crazy this weekend.
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)! 🙂
Hi Sally 🙂 thanks for posting this I’m making them today for my niece’s “cake in a can” I just wondered if I can use oil instead of butter. I’m not sure If i have enough butter on hand, unless I have some frozen, and I can’t go to the store right now cuz my babies are sleeping. Thanks 🙂
Do not use oil – you want the cupcakes to taste buttery.
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!