Confetti Cupcakes

Light and fluffy, these confetti cupcakes are bursting with colorful, sprinkle-filled flavor in every bite. Ditch your boxed cupcake mix because once you try this recipe, you’ll be hooked!

What is a Confetti Cupcake?

Confetti cupcakes start with a soft and moist vanilla cake with a large handful of sprinkles added to it. This is the perfect recipe to make for a birthday party or any occasion. If you’ve tried my Confetti Cake then you’re in for a treat.

Ingredients

• Fats: 1/2 cup of room temperature butter is all you need for the light texture you’re looking for. (See below if you’re looking for a dairy-free option)
• Sugar: White sugar is a given in most baking dishes as it helps sweeten the cake.
• Eggs: Two eggs will help give the cake some height while keeping a light and fluffy texture.
• Flavoring: Vanilla extract is a classic for these cupcakes. However, if you find yourself out of vanilla extract or you’re looking for an extra kick of flavor, almond extract does the trick. Note: Make sure you add half the amount of almond extract that you would vanilla.
• Flour: The right amount of flour will help keep your cupcakes light and fluffy. Any more or any less will cause a different texture. Be sure to use this tip to measure your flour correctly.
• Baking Powder: This will help give the cupcakes a nice height.
• Salt: Salt helps balance out the sweetness of the confetti cupcakes.
• Milk: Whole milk is best. You can also substitute with dairy-free milk like oat or almond.
• Sprinkles: The best part. Use any kind of rainbow sprinkles you would like. These Wilton Sprinkles are the best for baking.

How to Make Confetti Cupcakes?

Cupcakes: Using your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. It should take 3 minutes. Crack one egg into the buttered sugar mixture and mix to combine. Repeat with the second egg. Stop the mixer every so often to scrape down the sides of the bowl. It will help the entire batter become fully incorporated. Add in the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Make sure you don’t overmix. Overmixing will cause the batter to become tough.

Next, using a sifter, add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and sift them into the wet ingredients. The sifter will help remove any lumps so you will have a smooth texture. Mix on low power, and then slowly add in your milk. Remove the bowl from the stand and fold in your sprinkles. Folding them in will prevent you from overworking your batter.

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Line your muffin pan with cupcake liners and grease them with cooking spray. Using two spoons, or an ice cream scoop, fill up the liners about 2/3 of the way. You don’t want to fill them all the way up because they will rise as they bake. Bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when you insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then move them to a wired rack to cool completely.

Frosting: Once the cupcakes are completely cool to the touch, you can begin frosting them. Use the vanilla buttercream recipe to frost the cupcakes. Add one to three drops of purple gel food coloring until you reach the color you’re looking for, or keep them white. Pipe the frosting with little dollops all over the cupcake using Wilton’s 1M tip, and add a sprinkle mix over the top.

Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free:

Gluten-Free: Substitute your all-purpose flour for  1 to 1 gluten-free flour.

Dairy-Free: Replace the butter with margarine or you can use a neutral-flavored oil. You’ll want to use less oil per cup of butter. In this recipe, use 1/8 cup less oil than butter. See notes.

To replace milk, use a dairy-free milk alternative such as oat or almond. You can also use water if you don’t have a dairy-free milk substitute on hand.

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