As soon as I shared my funfetti cake recipe, I knew this funfetti cupcake recipe was only a few steps behind. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, funfetti is my favorite flavor of all time.

Now, I know that sprinkles don’t actually add any flavor to a cake. But I swear the bright pops of color and the slight change in texture from the extra bits of sugar do make a difference.

It also isn’t just the sprinkles. A good funfetti recipe is all about adding sprinkles to an already great cake or cupcake recipe. The sprinkles are just the finishing touch. The flare.

The cupcakes base in the real star of the show, and I did quite a bit of testing to make this one just right.

The Secret Ingredient (Besides Sprinkles): Sour Cream

In addition to sprinkles, there’s one other ingredient in this funfetti cupcake recipe that totally makes it…sour cream!!

Sour cream might sound weird, but it’s really such a wonderful ingredient to bake with. While working on this recipe, I did some extensive testing with my vanilla cupcake base.

Another benefit of using sour cream is that it brightens the batter, and makes it whiter. White cupcake batter makes the sprinkles really stand out. It helps them to look as colorful as possible.

I found that the cupcakes that used sour cream as the dairy (vs. buttermilk, or whole milk) were the best base to add sprinkles to, for a few different reasons.

As the sugar in the sprinkles bake, they can sometimes stick to the cupcake liner. This makes them harder to peel than a vanilla cupcake. The cupcake liners peel off most easily when the cupcakes are made with sour cream.

The sour cream makes the cupcakes fluffy and moist, and minimizes any color bleeding from the sprinkles. What I’m really saying is sour cream makes the prettiest funfetti cupcakes too!

What Type of Sprinkles Should I Use in This Funfetti Cupcake Recipe?

The best sprinkles for making a funfetti cupcakes are rainbow jimmies. They are the longer sprinkles that you used to (and may still) put on your ice cream.

Not all sprinkles are created equal. When making funfetti cupcakes, you need to use the right type of rainbow sprinkle.

These sprinkles keep their color, and won’t immediately bleed into your batter.

This is important, because it will help your batter stay white while you add it to your cupcake liners. This will allow the color of the sprinkles to really shine through once the layers are baked.

If you really want to be picky about your sprinkles, I also recommend getting a rainbow sprinkle blend that doesn’t have any chocolate/brown sprinkles in it.

Funfetti cake layers look so much better without any brown sprinkles!

The type of sprinkle you should NOT use are the tiny, round, rainbow sprinkles. They’re called nonpareils, and they are the true enemy of funfetti cake layers.

Nonpareils will start to bleed their colors the second they’re stirred into your cupcake batter, resulting in a creepy, pink/grayish batter.

This can also happen if you let the rainbow jimmies sit in your batter for an extended period of time, and then try to stir it.

The key take aways? Only use rainbow jimmies in this funfetti cupcake recipe, gently fold them into your batter, and immediately scoop into your lined cupcake tins.

The Sprinkle Hook-Up

To take these cupcakes to the next level, I topped them with some colorful sprinkles. This sprinkle blend is fittingly called “bright skies,” and is made by Sweetapolita.

While we’re on the topic of sprinkles, have I got a deal for you! If you need to refresh your sprinkle supply, or want to step your sprinkle game up, you can use the code CHELSWEETS15 to get 15% your order from Sweetapolita!

To make this style of cupcake, I added a small dollop of frosting onto the cupcake. I then dunked the cupcake into a bowl of this pretty sprinkle blend. Next, I topped the cupcakes with a swirl of vanilla buttercream.

For the first frosting dollop, I snipped the end of a piping bag to have a 1 1/2 cm opening. I used a Wilton 1M to make the second frosting swirl.

Then I added an extra sprinkle over the top of the cupcakes, because you can never have too many sprinkles!!

Funfetti vs Confetti Cupcakes?

In my mind, sprinkle cupcakes have always been called funfetti. But when I was doing a little keyword research, I learned that about 80% of people call them confetti cupcakes.

Back in the day, a lot of the boxed cake mixes called it confetti cake mix. My theory is that we call it the name we grew up with.

Pillsbury is the only brand that dubs its sprinkle cake mix funfetti. I’m like 90% sure I used Pillsbury mix as a kid!

While I clearly am outnumbered on this one, I definitely think that calling sprinkle cupcakes funfetti is just more…fun! No pun intended.

Tips for Making This Funfetti Cupcake Recipe

• Properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level) or use a kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients.
• Use a cookie scoop to easily fill your cupcake liners.
• Ingredients at room temp mix together better, so be sure you set out any cold ingredients ahead of time.
• Bang your cupcake pan on the counter before putting it in the oven. This brings any air bubbles that are trapped in the batter to the surface.
• Use a high quality almond extract to give your cupcakes an amazing flavor!

Making These Cupcakes In Advance & Storage Tips:

Make your cupcakes in advance! If stored unfrosted in an airtight container, they can last for 2 days at room temp, up to a week in the fridge, or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Make your frosting ahead of time too or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again.

Frosted cupcakes can sit out at room temperature overnight in an airtight container. However, I find frosting them right before serving is best.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this funfetti cupcake recipe, please tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets so I can see your amazing creations!

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