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Funfetti Birthday Cupcakes: Moist, classic white cupcakes speckled with funfetti sprinkles and topped with luscious, fluffy vanilla frosting.
Today is a very, very special day. One might say the day the world just got so much better.
It’s Erik’s birthday.
Erik is my… everything. Now before you roll your eyes, I have to say that I’m almost never cheesy and rarely do I state things in a dramatic way (okay, that’s an outright lie. I’m very dramatic, but only with my pen).
But the thing is, Erik is wonderful.
He’s kind, generous, has the patience of a saint and all the things. As lucky as he obviously is to have me (still fact-checking on that one, guys), I’m so much luckier to have him.
Anyway, before I make him blush like a big ol’ county fair prize-winning tomato, I just wanted to say:
Happy Birthday, Erik. ?
You da man! Haha.
Okay, enough of the feels… time for some cupcakes!
This year, when forced by whisk-point to state exactly what he wanted for his birthday cake, he asked for–wait for it…. vanilla birthday cupcakes. You see, he’s an adventurous type of guy. Heh. Heh. The thing is, I attempted (emphasis on attempted) to make a marble cake for him for YEARS. This was also way back before I knew anything about flour sifting, room temperature ingredients and, let’s face it: needing to cool a cake all the way beforefrosting it (duh?).
Needless to say, we agreed: out with the old, in with the new! So I turned to my favorite food blogger, Sally from Sally’s Baking Addiction, and went all classic on this piece. I took her gorgeous Funfetti Layer Cake recipe and changed it up to a Funfetti Birthday Cupcakes recipe. Woot woot!
Really, what’s more fun that Funfetti Birthday Cupcakes? Come on now! Rollercoasters? Double-fisting puffs of cotton candy? Bouncy houses? Eating a big bowl of homemade cream cheese frosting? Well, surely funfetti birthday cupcakes are at least on the same level as those fahmazing things. Surely.
Meanwhile, Erik had the distinct pleasure of seeing me wrestle with frosting these babies. How’s that for a birthday present? Let’s just say there was much sleeve-rolling, not-quite-breathing and perfectionism-anxiety tendencies all accompanying me during the frosting segment of this show. Oh, the things you do for your man. Alls I’m saying.
Anyway, I could never put into words how special Erik is… but I CAN make him some funfetti birthday cupcakes. Dagnabit! Happy Birthday, my love. ?
Here’s to a birthday weekend full of Chinese food, video games and funfetti birthday cupcakes (ooooooh, yeah). xo
Funfetti Birthday Cupcakes
Ingredients
CUPCAKES
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon pure cane sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 egg white, room temperature
- ¼ cup sprinkles + more for topping
FROSTING
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a cupcake liner into each of the cups of a 12-cup cupcake pan. Set aside.
- Cake Time: In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Start on low speed, then increase to high speed, beating the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. On medium speed, mix in the whole egg and vanilla until well incorporated and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down as necessary.
- Set the mixer on low speed and slowly begin adding the dry ingredients in fourths, alternating each increment with a bit of buttermilk, until both are completely incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and the paddle attachment as necessary. Be careful not to overmix this batter—it will make the cupcakes tough.
- In a small bowl, energetically whisk the egg white until it’s foamy and fluffy. This will take several minutes. Carefully fold the egg white into the cupcake batter. Fold sprinkles into batter.
- Spoon batter evenly into each cupcake liner. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Allow cupcakes to cool on a cooling rack for 2 hours or until completely cool.
- Frosting Time: In the large bowl of a stand mixer set on medium speed with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for a few minutes until smooth. Set the mixer to low speed and slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla. Once all of the ingredients are lightly incorporated, increase the stand mixer to high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat until fluffy—about 5 minutes. If your frosting is too runny, add in more sugar; if it’s too thick, add in small amounts of buttermilk.
- Cupcake Time: Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, it’s time to frost! Add frosting into a piping bag and squeeze or twist the end slightly to compact the frosting towards the tip of the bag. Attach your piping tip of choice. Starting from the center of the cupcake, squeeze the bag with even pressure as you pipe outward, in a circle. Swirl the frosting in a circle until you reach the center/top of the cupcake. Apply gentle pressure downward, stop squeezing the piping bag and pull it up to finish. It takes a couple tries, but you’ll get the hang of it!
- Optional: top with sprinkles. Enjoy!
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Sally's Funfetti Layer Cake.
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You know what else is perfect for a birthday surprise? These Healthier Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. YUM.
Or, these soul-satisfying Double Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies (Vegan, Gluten-Free). Talk about Cookie Love.
Question of the Day
What special recipes do you pull out for a loved one’s birthday?
I can’t wait to hear your responses. ❤️ demeter
Hi Maria. Most of the ingredients should be easy swap to gf/df (like with a gf AP flour blend, vegan butter, How to Make Vegan Buttermilk, and flax eggs). I haven’t tried them here, though, so I can’t guarantee the results. As for the egg whites, aquafaba might be your best best. Hope this helps!
Hi Maria. Most of the ingredients should be easy swap to gf/df (like with a gf AP flour blend, vegan butter, How to Make Vegan Buttermilk, and flax eggs). I haven’t tried them here, though, so I can’t guarantee the results. As for the egg whites, aquafaba might be your best best. Hope this helps!
Hi Demeter,
Love your gluten free recipes but do you these cupcakes gluten free, dairy free and nut free flour.
Thank you,
Hi Maria. Most of the ingredients should be easy swap to gf/df (like with a gf AP flour blend, vegan butter, How to Make Vegan Buttermilk, and flax eggs). I haven’t tried them here, though, so I can’t guarantee the results. As for the egg whites, aquafaba might be your best best. Hope this helps!
Hi Demeter! Any way to make this vegan and/or gluten-free? Thank you!