Confetti cupcakes are light and fluffy white cupcakes filled with festive rainbow sprinkles and topped with whipped buttercream frosting. They're the perfect cupcakes for any celebration!
Recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Fluffy white cupcakes are filled with rainbow sprinkles and topped with sweet whipped buttercream frosting.
Easy to customize: Add your favorite frosting and custom color sprinkles to match any occasion!
Yield: 13 cupcakes
Similar to: Homemade Vanilla Cupcakes, Lemon Cupcakes, Strawberry Filled Cupcakes
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Dry ingredients - Cake flour, baking powder, and salt balance with the wet ingredients and help your cupcakes rise in the oven. Cake flour creates a tender, small crumb when compared to all-purpose flour. AP flour will work in this recipe, but your cupcakes will turn out slightly less tender.
- Wet ingredients - Unsalted butter, granulated sugar, egg whites, vanilla, and whole milk add moisture and flavor to your cupcakes. If any of these ingredients are reduced or omitted your cupcakes will turn out dry.
- Sprinkles - Rainbow jimmies sprinkles (the long, thin, classic sprinkles) work best in cake batter. Nonpareils add a crunchy texture and transfer color (leaving streaks throughout the batter) so I don't recommend them. Any color combination of jimmies can be used to customize your cupcakes for events or themed parties.
How to make confetti cupcakes
- Cream butter and granulated sugar together in a large bowl.
- Add vanilla and beat until incorporated, then add egg whites and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk, just until each ingredient is incorporated and batter is smooth. Do not overmix. Add sprinkles and gently stir to incorporate.
- Bake in lined cupcake pan until the center pops back when gently pressed.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland baked goods.
Tips and tricks
Leavening - Make sure you're using baking powder and not baking soda. The type of leavening used in a recipe depends on the other ingredients involved. Baking powder is a must in this recipe. Make sure your leavening is not expired, otherwise your cupcakes may not rise as intended.
Measuring flour properly - I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients, especially the flour. If you don't have a scale, use a spoon to scoop flour into your measuring cup, then level off the top with a knife. Scooping directly from a bin using the measuring cup compacts flour into the cup, adding extra flour to the recipe. This can make your cupcakes dry.
Allow cupcakes to cool - Do not unwrap your cupcakes while they're still warm. Your cupcakes will stick to the liners until they are fully cooled throughout. Once cooled, your cupcakes will easily unwrap.
Do not frost warm cupcakes - Buttercream is sensitive to heat and will melt between 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Instead, allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Frequently asked questions
I like to use the pop-back method. Gently press into the top of a cupcake. If it pops right back, your cupcakes are done. If an indent is left, your cupcakes need more time.
To ensure your cupcakes turn out moist, ensure you're following these directions:
- Don't make ingredient substitutions. Baking is an exact science. I developed this recipe with the exact ingredients listed. Making substitutions can cause a change in texture, moisture, and flavor.
- The moisture-adding ingredients in this recipe include: butter, sugar, egg whites, and whole milk. Do not reduce or omit any of these ingredients for moist cupcakes.
- Measure your flour using a kitchen scale. Scooping flour with a measuring cup can add up to 25% extra flour to a recipe by packing it into the cup.
- Don't overbake your cupcakes. Baking for too long will dry them out. Keep a close eye on your cupcakes and as soon as the top springs back, your cupcakes are done.
Buttercream frosting is made with two main ingredients: confectioner's sugar and butter. It's popular because it's easy to prepare with minimal ingredients. However, because it's mainly made of sugar, it's very sweet. Unfortunately, making it with less sugar means it will begin to taste like butter, the other main ingredient. Instead, I highly recommend making a frosting that's already written to include less sugar, like ermine frosting. You could also add a dollop of whipped cream instead.
Butter-based cupcakes, like this recipe, will harden in the refrigerator (just like butter). Bring your cupcakes back to room temperature to return them to their soft, tender texture before serving.
Troubleshooting
All cakes, even white cake, will brown on the outside edges due to a chemical reaction that happens when sugar is heated up. This is called a Maillard reaction and is completely normal. The insides will remain white and fluffy and the tops will be covered by frosting.
Cupcake can turn out dense from expired leavening, overmixing the wet and dry ingredients (this overworks the gluten), not whipping the butter and sugar long enough, or adding extra wet ingredients (like adding sour cream or applesauce to make cupcakes "extra moist"). If the balance of wet and dry ingredients is off, this can cause a change in texture, preventing your cupcakes from rising properly in the oven.
Sinking can happen for many reasons. Overmixing the batter (which adds extra air that's released during baking), underbaking, using expired leavening, using the wrong leavening, or accidentally doubling the leavening can all cause your cupcakes to sink in the middle.
This can be caused by humidity in your home or storing cupcakes in a sealed container while they're still warm. This can't really be fixed, but can easily be covered with frosting.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Confetti Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups (168 g) cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (198 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 (105 g) large egg whites, room temperature
- ½ cup (114 g) whole milk, room temperature
- ½ cup rainbow sprinkles, plus extra for decorating
Whipped buttercream frosting
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups (454 g) confectioner's sugar
- ⅓ cup (76 g) heavy cream, cold
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (with the oven rack set in the middle of the oven) and line cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk (or sift) together the dry ingredients: cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Add butter and granulated sugar to a large bowl. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together until light and fluffy, about one minute. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated. Then, add egg whites and beat until light and fluffy, about one minute.
- Add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk, just until each ingredient is incorporated and batter is smooth. Do not overmix. Add sprinkles and gently stir to incorporate.
- Divide batter between 13 cupcake liners, filling each about ⅔ full (if you only have a 12-cupcake pan, you will have a small amount of batter left over). Bake in preheated oven for about 15-18 minutes, or until the center of a cupcake pops back when gently pressed down, or a toothpick comes out with crumbs (or clean). If an indent is left, or toothpick comes out with batter, cupcakes need more time.
- Remove pan from oven and transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Whipped buttercream frosting
- In a large bowl, add room temperature butter and beat until creamy, about one minute.
- Add confectioner's sugar and slowly mix until ingredients are fully combined. Then, whip at high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Add heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt, and whip for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add additional heavy cream as needed to reach desired consistency.
- Pipe or spread frosting with a knife onto cupcakes, top with additional sprinkles, and serve.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Frosting: Recipe makes enough frosting to frost 12-15 cupcakes with high, dramatic piped frosting (as shown in the photos), 24 cupcakes spread with a knife, a 9x13 sheet cake, or an 8-9 inch two layer cake. For a thin coating of frosting, cut recipe in half.
- Storage: Cupcakes will keep for 3-4 days in a sealed container at room temperature, or up to 3 months in the freezer. To thaw frozen cupcakes, place on the countertop, uncovered, for 1-2 hours.
- Buttercream will melt: Buttercream frosting will begin to melt between 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. If your location is nearing this temperature, refrigerate your baked goods until an hour before you're ready to serve them.
- Eggs: Do not substitute egg whites with whole eggs. To make cupcakes with whole eggs, try my vanilla cupcakes recipe instead (sprinkles can be added to this recipe).
- More tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cake, based on reader comments and questions!
I had so much fun creating this recipe! I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. If you have a question, check out the post above, which is packed with information about the recipe. Tried the recipe? I'd love to hear your thoughts — leave a comment and a star rating to share your feedback!