My easy and fluffy vanilla cupcakes are full of vanilla flavor and packed with lots of sprinkles for that funfetti flair. Ditch the box mix because this version of funfetti cupcakes taste even better! The creamy cake batter frosting is such a fun addition opposed to regular vanilla frosting. These Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Cake Batter Frosting are absolutely perfect for birthdays or celebrations of any kind!
These moist vanilla cupcakes are my all time favorite go-to homemade vanilla cupcake recipe. This funfetti version is just my basic vanilla cupcake with a ton of sprinkles thrown in to make them "funfetti". I've tested what seems like hundreds of vanilla cupcake recipes and they all never really come out the way I'm looking for. They're either too crumbly, too dry, too dense or gummy and thats not what we want. We want light, fluffy, moist (sorry) and tender cupcakes with bold vanilla flavor and that's what I'm sharing here today! These are the best vanilla cupcakes that truly bake up perfectly and are just amazing all around.
To add a little something different, instead of topping these funfetti cupcakes with a basic vanilla frosting, I went the extra mile and made it a cake batter frosting! The cake mix rounds out the sweetness of the powdered sugar and gives it a really delicious cake batter flavor. It will need to be heat treated for safety, but it's just a small, very easy step that I explain in further detail below.
Why you'll love this recipe
- This homemade cupcake recipe makes the most delicious, moist and fluffy vanilla cupcakes.
- The cake batter frosting is the perfect finishing touch making these funfetti cupcakes irresistible!
Ingredients
Funfetti Cupcakes
- Cake flour: To make your own: For every cup of all-purpose flour, remove 2 tablespoons. Add in 2 tablespoons of corn starch in it's place. Whisk very well to combine and aerate flour or sift to incorporate very well.
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Egg whites: lightly beaten
- Sour cream
- Whole milk
- Vanilla extract
- Sprinkles
Cake Batter Frosting
- Unsalted butter
- Yellow cake mix
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Heavy cream
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions.
Substitutions & Variations
- Substitute the cake batter frosting with a different flavor. You can use a classic vanilla frosting or even chocolate for chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.
How to heat treat cake mix or flour
Cake mix and flour should be heat treated if consuming raw to kill any potential bacteria in raw flour that could potentially contain salmonella or E. coli.
To heat treat in an oven: Sprinkle the cake mix onto a baking sheet and heat it at 300°F for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Internal temperature should reach 165ºF (74ºC). Let it cool completely before using.
To heat treat in a microwave: Add cake mix to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high in 30 second increments, stirring after each one to evenly reach an internal temperature of 165ºF (74ºC). Use a food thermometer to see what the temperature is after each interval. Allow to cool completely before using in recipes. It's now ready to use in any recipe that calls for using raw cake mix or flour!
How to make your own cake flour
Most people don't keep cake flour on hand unless you use it all the time. Making your own cake flour couldn't be easier!
For every cup of all-purpose flour, remove 2 tablespoons. Add in 2 tablespoons of corn starch in it's place. Whisk very well to combine and aerate flour or sift to incorporate very well.
Recipe FAQ
For every cup of all-purpose flour, remove 2 tablespoons. Add in 2 tablespoons of corn starch in it's place. Whisk very well to combine and aerate flour or sift to incorporate very well.
Storage
To Make Ahead: These moist vanilla cupcakes and the frosting can both be made a few days ahead of time. Place cooled cupcakes in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. For the frosting, prepare and refrigerate for up to 3 days as well. Allow cupcakes and frosting to come to room temperature. Beat frosting into a fluffy texture and pipe onto cupcakes.
Storage instructions: Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freezing instructions: Wrap completely cooled cupcakes tight in a layer of plastic wrap and then place in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature. Make frosting fresh.
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📋 Recipe
Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Cake Batter Frosting
Ingredients
Funfetti Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cups cake flour* see notes to make your own
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 tbs unsalted butter softened
- 2 egg whites lightly beaten
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 tbs vanilla extract
- 2-3 tbs sprinkles
Cake Batter Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup yellow cake mix
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tbs heavy cream
Instructions
- Heat treating the cake mix before you use it in the frosting is necessary for safety reasons. Sprinkle the cake mix onto a cookie sheet and heat it at 300°F for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Let it cool before you use it in your frosting.
For cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350° degrees and line a cupcake tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add beaten egg whites, sour cream, milk and vanilla and beat until completely incorporated. Slowly add dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Fold in sprinkles by hand with a rubber spatula.
- Fill cupcake liners no higher than ⅔ full or they may overflow. Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely before frosting.
For frosting
- In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth with no lumps. Add heat treated cake mix, powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until combined. Beat in heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until the texture you desire is achieved, about 3 minutes until the frosting is nice and fluffy. Once cupcakes are completely cool, go ahead and frost them.
Notes
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jill says
Cupcakes were very heavy and dense like other comments said. Should have listened to the other reviews. Now I have 24 cupcakes to remake and 24 to throw away. Bummer. I hate to leave a negative comment and feel bad but I don’t want others to waste their time.
Corinne says
I tried to make this twice and edited it to try and make more sense and both times they just didn’t turn out great. Wouldn’t recommend
Jessica says
Hi Corinne, the instructions and ingredients are very straight-forward, I am not sure what you are confused about.
Jamie says
Hi Jessica! Could this recipe be made into cake?
Jessica says
Hi Jamie, I have never tried - but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! If you try it out let me know. 🙂
Sarah says
Actually for the cake the butter is supposed to be melted not softened. It’s usually the way we make cookies and cakes is oil or melted
Jessica says
Sarah, for this recipe the butter is NOT melted. It is to be softened. Every recipe is different.
Sarah says
Needs editing. This cake was alright.. it’s still heavy with the milk. Maybe less sour cream and more milk? I mixed the sugar with butter not the flour mixture. The frosting is not so bad
Stephanie says
This cupcake recipe doesn’t make a lot of sense as written and needs the edits suggested by others.
Katelyn says
I tried this recipe out and aside from the fact that the cake was a little heavy the cupcakes turned great. I wanted you to know that you listed milk as an ingredient and no where in the direction does it say when to incorporate it, so I ended up not using it. That's probably why the cake ended up a little heavy. Also, the directions call for the use of the sugar twice and it doesn't say how to divide the amount sugar between the two steps. Just that you should know! Thanks for the awesome recipe!