Confetti Cupcakes
“Celebrate good times” with homemade confetti cupcakes! These cupcakes are soft, moist, packed with colorful sprinkles, and swirled with a silky vanilla buttercream frosting. Because they are so easy to make, every day can be your birthday!
Homemade confetti cupcakes are the ultimate celebration snack—like, totally tubular and ready to party like it’s 1985. Bursting with rainbow sprinkles and topped with creamy vanilla buttercream, these cupcakes are basically a sugar-fueled dance party for your mouth. They’ve got more flair than leg warmers and more pop than a boombox on full blast.
This recipe is based off my vanilla cupcake recipe with the addition of colorful rainbow sprinkles to add a whole lotta color and fun! Rainbow sprinkles make everything better, so if you are a sprinkle lover, my homemade Funfetti cupcakes will also be right up your alley! So crank up the synth, grab your spatula, and get ready to bake like a totally bodacious baking queen (or king).
Ingredients for Confetti Cupcakes
Confetti Cupcakes
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Milk
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Sour cream
- Vanilla extract
- Rainbow sprinkles
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Heavy cream
- Gel food coloring (optional)
How to Make Confetti Cupcakes
- Prep and preheat: Preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- Make the cupcake batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt). Add in the wet ingredients (milk, vegetable oil, egg, sour cream, and vanilla extract) and whisk until combined and smooth. Fold in the rainbow sprinkles.
- Bake the cupcakes: Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners using a large cookie scoop about 2/3 full. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes.
- Make the buttercream: Whip the butter for 5 minutes until light and creamy. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and mix until combined. Drizzle in the heavy cream while mixing on low speed. Add gel food coloring, if desired. Turn the mixer to medium and whip the frosting for 2 to 3 minutes until smooth and creamy.
- Assemble the cupcakes: Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip with the vanilla buttercream. Pipe a generous swirl of buttercream onto the cupcakes and decorate with additional rainbow sprinkles.
Courtney’s Expert Baking Tips
- Use rainbow “jimmie” sprinkles in the cupcake batter for the best results. These sprinkles easily melt into the cupcakes while baking and do not bleed color into the cupcake batter as easily as other sprinkle varieties.
- Don’t overmix the cupcake batter. Overmixing can create dense and chewy cupcakes Whisk the batter just until all the ingredients are combined and smooth and then gently fold in the rainbow sprinkles.
- Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) to portion the cupcake batter to create even and uniform cupcakes.
- Bake the cupcakes in the center of the oven for even heat distribution and to prevent the cupcakes from browning too much.
- Check out my tips for baking perfect cupcakes, favorite cupcake baking supplies, and tutorial for how to frost cupcakes to learn more tips and tricks to become an expert cupcake baker.
Frequently Asked Questions
For the cupcakes, I recommend using “jimmie” style sprinkles for the best result. They are small enough where they melt into the cupcake batter when baking but large enough that they don’t quickly bleed color into the batter. For the decorative sprinkles, you can use whatever type of sprinkle you would like!
Yes! Use whatever color sprinkle blend you would like to coordinate with a season, holiday, or occasion. Just stick with the “jimmie” style sprinkles for the cupcake batter.
I don’t recommend using this cupcake recipe as a cake. My homemade Funfetti cake recipe is specifically formulated for a layer cake and would be a much better option. You can replace the rainbow chip frosting with vanilla buttercream frosting to more closely replicate this recipe.
If you try out these confetti cupcakes, please take a moment to leave a comment with a star rating below to let me know how you enjoyed this recipe!
I love seeing your sweet creations, so make sure to tag @cakemehometonight on Instagram and follow me on Pinterest for more sweet inspiration!
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Confetti Cupcakes
Ingredients
Confetti Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cup (156 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp (1.5 tsp) baking powder
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- ½ cup (120 ml) milk room temperature
- ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp (24 g) sour cream room temperature
- 1 (1) large egg room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (40 g) rainbow sprinkles
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 ½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) heavy cream
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) gel food coloring (optional)
Additional Ingredients
- 2 tbsp (20 g) rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
Confetti Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add in the milk, vegetable oil, sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk until the cupcake batter is combined and smooth. Fold in the rainbow sprinkles.
- Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners using a large cookie scoop, about ⅔ full. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back slightly when touched. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, whip the room temperature unsalted butter for 5 minutes until light, pale, and creamy.
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed until the sugar is combined with the butter. Add the remaining half of the powdered sugar and continue to mix on low speed until fully combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and salt. While mixing on low speed, drizzle in the heavy cream. If desired, add in gel food coloring. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium and whip the buttercream for about 2 to 3 minutes until it is smooth and creamy.
- Optional: To smooth out the buttercream and remove any air bubbles, heat ½ cup of the frosting in the microwave for 15 seconds. Pour the melted frosting back into the mixing bowl and mix the frosting on low speed until the buttercream is super smooth and creamy.
Assembling the Cupcakes
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip with the vanilla buttercream frosting. Pipe a generous swirl of frosting onto the cooled confetti cupcakes and decorate with additional rainbow sprinkles, if desired.
Notes
- Room temperature: Store the cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Serve at room temperature for the best taste and texture.
Nutrition
Made This Recipe?
Please leave a comment with a star rating to let me know how you enjoyed the recipe!
Categories:
Birthday, Cupcakes, Easter, Fourth of July, Popular Recipes, Spring, Sprinkles, Summer, Valentine's Day, Vanilla,
About Courtney
Baker | 80s Lover | Cookbook Author
Courtney is a self-taught home baker and cookbook author of “Girls Just Wanna Bake Cupcakes”. She loves to create new and unique recipes while simultaneously listening to 80s music.
I was wondering if I could make these ahead of time and freeze them? Didn’t know if freezing them would make the sprinkles bleed.
Thank you
Have you ever used gluten free flour instead? I have a niece who will be turning 4 and us gluten free and I have not found a recipe yet that is great!
Hi Rachel! I actually have tried GF flour. What I recommend is to mix the cupcake batter for an extra minute or two and letting the batter sit for 5 minutes before scooping it into the cupcake liners! It worked out very well when I tried it.
Thank you so much, my cupcakes looked and tasted Amazing!
Hi Krystal! So glad that loved this recipe!
Hi!! can I use egg whites insted of one egg? thanks!!
Hi Martha! You can! Substitute two egg whites for one whole egg.
Made these for Halloween orange frosting and chocolate sprinkles.
Love that! It’s so fun to match colors to holidays or events!
These are great!!!!! Could you use mini chocolate chips in these instead of sprinkles?
Hi there, Sue! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Mini chocolate chips sound like a fun idea! I haven’t personally tried that so I can’t say how that would turn out. My only concern would be that they would sink to the bottom. If you test it out, please let me know how it goes!
Sometimes a light coating in flour helps things like berries and chocolate chips stay put rather than sink in muffins recipes. I’d be curious to use this technique for these cupcakes. I use your recipe every year now for my kids birthdays and it’s a classic hit now.
Thanks for sharing your recipes 🙂
I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt! Thank you so much for trying out my recipes! I truly appreciate it!
I’ve made these two days in a row, and both times the sprinkles at the top cause them to volcano. What would cause this?
Hi Allison! Hmm…I’m not too sure. Perhaps it is the brand of sprinkles you are using? I haven’t had that experience with this recipe so it is hard for me to say exactly what is going on.
I made the batter but I am Not sure if my cookie scoop is too big because I didnt have enough for 12 cupcakes 😓. Help
Hi there! It might be too big. The large cookie scoop I use contains 3 tablespoons. It should be exactly enough to make the 12 cupcakes.
Perfect! Used greek yogurt in place of sour cream, vanilla oil in place of vegetable oil, and vanilla paste instead of extract. So good!!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! I love the substitutions! Thanks so much for the positive review! 🙂
Can I use light sour cream in this recipe?
Sure you can! Greek yogurt can also be a great substitute!
Loved these cupcakes! Have you ever tried to use this same recipe and make a cake instead? I saw your recipe with the cake mix but I want to use this same recipe and maybe double but then pour into cake pans.
Aww yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! I personally don’t think they translate well into a cake, but you certainly can do it! I plan on sharing my scratch-made recipe for confetti cake in the near future!
I absolutely loved this “elevated” cupcake recipe. Still simple but sooo much better than using just a store bought mix. Would highly recommend.
Love it when recipes are just as easy (or easier) than a box mix! Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try!
I made these for my daughter’s birthday and they were amazing. Recipe is super easy to follow and they are a crowd pleaser. Would definitely recommend to anyone who is a beginner at baking like me.
That’s great to hear! Hard to go wrong with Confetti Cupcakes!