Looking for the perfect funfetti cupcakes for a birthday celebration or other special occasion? Look no further, as these light and fluffy cupcakes are chock full of sprinkles and will make your special day a very happy one!
Yesterday, my little girl turned 5. Five! Can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday that we were heading into the hospital to await her arrival. And now, here she is, a pre-schooler and getting ready to register for kindergarten. Someone is going to have to hand me a tissue here…
I was planning on bringing these funfetti cupcakes to Addie’s school, but the administration made a recent change to their food policy. They used to allow homemade goods, as long as the parents clearly labeled the ingredients. I followed this rule, since I knew that several kids in her class had allergies. I guess a parent must have brought in something last week without labeling the ingredients because we are no longer allowed to bring in homemade items. Store-brought is OK (as long as the ingredients are listed), but you all know how much of a snob I am about those. Pa-tooey!
We became good friends with some of the parents in Addie’s class, and one of them invited us over for dinner the weekend before her birthday. Since I wasn’t allowed to bring in these homemade cupcakes, I decided to bring them to the dinner party instead.
Addie had been begging for Funfetti cupcakes with blue frosting for her birthday. Blue is now her favorite color because her favorite character Elsa, from Frozen, wears a shimmery blue dress. I tinted the buttercream blue to match Elsa’s dress.
Addie and her friends loved the cupcakes – especially the Elsa blue frosting and the sprinkles. As long as the birthday girl and her friends are happy, I am happy.
Happy 5th birthday to my precious daughter!
Birthday funfetti cupcakes with blue buttercream frosting
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted
- 1 and 1/4 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup sprinkles
Blue buttercream frosting
- 2 sticks unsalted butter softened
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- blue food coloring
- sprinkles for decorating (optional)
Instructions
Make the cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two muffin pans with 15 cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if mixing by hand, mix the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one until well incorporated. Add the vanilla. Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until everything is just combined - do not overmix. Turn the mixer off and fold in the sprinkles by hand.
- Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared cupcake liners, filling each one close to the top. Bake in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before decorating.
Make the frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, whip the butter and salt on medium-high speed for about 30 seconds. Turn the mixer down to low and add the powdered sugar about 1/2 a cup at a time. Add vanilla and mix. Drizzle in the heavy cream. If your frosting seems too stiff, add more cream. If it's too soft, add more powdered sugar. Once the frosting is to your liking, add in the food coloring (I used about 10 drops) and mix until the color is uniform.
- Once the cupcakes are cool, pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes and decorate with extra sprinkles if desired.
Notes