Funfetti Cupcakes

Funfetti Cupcakes are a moist, delicious, and colorful way to relive a childhood favorite.  Whip up a batch of these to celebrate a birthday, or anytime you want a fun and festive dessert!  

Last weekend, my husband's grandfather celebrated his 90th birthday.  The entire family came together for a fun-filled party in honor of "Pop," as he's known.  Pop is an amazing man: energetic, outgoing, and sharp as a tack.  To this day, he keeps himself busier than anyone else I know.  If you call him at home at 9:00 on a Friday night, he probably won't answer the phone.  Chances are, he's out and about visiting a family member.   

For such a special occasion, I knew a special dessert was in order.  What could be more appropriate for a birthday celebration than classic funfetti cupcakes?  These cupcakes are quick and easy to make -- just a classic vanilla cupcake with a generous scoop of rainbow jimmies stirred into the batter.  If your goal is to mimic the flavor of boxed funfetti mix, it's best to use clear imitation vanilla extract (this is a trick I learned from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook).  I topped each cupcake with a swirl of simple buttercream.  I would recommend using high-quality European butter when making the frosting.  European butter has a higher fat content that results in a noticeably richer flavor and creamier texture.  And about those sprinkles: as you'll see in the pictures, I used two different kinds of sprinkles in this recipe.  Rainbow jimmies are stirred into the batter; they tend to retain their color better and won't bleed into the batter as nonpareils would.  But for decorating the finished cupcakes, nonpareils are my favorite.  

click here for printable recipe

Funfetti Cupcakes

(Cupcakes adapted from Rose Beranbaum's The Cake Bible.)

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 2/3 cup milk or buttermilk, room temperature
• 3 egg whites, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour*
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup rainbow jimmies

For the frosting:

• 2 sticks butter, softened (European-style butter is recommended)
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 Tablespoon half-and-half or whipping cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract** 
• Optional: maraschino cherries and rainbow nonpareils, for decoration

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Spray a paper towel with cooking spray, and wipe around the edges of each cavity on the muffin tin.  
2. In a small bowl, add egg whites, and vanilla extract; mix lightly with a fork and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking power, and salt.  Whisk together lightly to aerate.  Add milk, butter, and Greek yogurt.  With a hand mixer, beat on medium speed for approximately 2 minutes until fully incorporated.  Add egg mixture, in three additions, beating for approximately 20-30 seconds after each addition.  Gently fold in rainbow jimmies. Batter will be quite thick. 
4. Using a measuring cup, fill tins with a scant 1/4 cup batter for each cupcake.  Do not overfill.  Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until cake tester comes out mostly clean (it's fine if there are small crumbs attached to the cake tester, as the cupcakes will continue to bake once they've been removed from the oven). 
5. Cool for 3-5 minutes in the tin.  Then, remove to wire cooling racks and cool completely before frosting. 

For the frosting:

1. In a large bowl, beat softened butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for approximately 2 minutes, until it is light and creamy.  Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing after each addition.  Add half-and-half and vanilla extract, and continue beating until light and fluffy.  If desired, an additional tablespoon of half-and-half may be added.  If the frosting becomes too soft during step one, you can place the bowl in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to allow frosting to reach the desired consistency before decorating the cupcakes.  
2. Once cupcakes have cooled, frost as desired.  Sprinkle with nonpareils and top with a maraschino cherry. 

Yield: 16-18 cupcakes

Notes: 
*It's fine to use either cake flour or all-purpose flour in this recipe.  I prefer to use 1 cup cake flour and 1 cup all-purpose. 
**To replicate the flavor of boxed funfetti cake, use a clear imitation vanilla extract.  I like the flavor of McCormick's clear vanilla extract.  Otherwise, use pure vanilla extract. 

click here for printable recipe

Thanks for reading, friends!  If you are a mother, I hope you had a relaxing and joyous Mother's Day weekend!