Here is a mini funfetti cupcakes recipe (also known as confetti cupcakes) I came up with recently. These funfetti cupcakes are made with the funfetti sprinkles not only on the outside but also on the inside.
I added colorful funfetti sprinkles to the cupcake batter and once baked, the cupcakes turned out with such a lovely mix of rainbow colors!
An important tip in making these funfetti cupcakes is to make sure the cupcake batter is not too runny or else all the sprinkles will sink to the bottom of the cupcakes after baking.
And of course, for the funfetti colors to be clearly visible after baking, it is best to use a light-colored batter. Chocolate batter might not work as the bright colors of the funfetti will not be clearly visible against the chocolate color.

And most importantly, after adding the funfetti to the cupcake batter, do not over mix; over mixing will break and dilute the sprinkles and there will not be any distinct specks of colors in the cupcakes after baking.
Table of contents
How to Make
Ingredients
- Butter (salted)
- Granulated sugar (castor sugar)
- Self-raising flour + baking powder + salt
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Sprinkles (Funfetti - colorful)
- Whole milk
And here is what you need for the decorating:
- Buttercream
- Extra sprinkles
Mixing the batter
- The process starts with the creaming of the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl half way through.
- Next, add the eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
- Sift in the flour mixture (dry ingredients) into the creamed wet ingredients. Alternate it with the milk. Start with one third of the flour mixture. Fold it well and add half of the milk. Fold well, and repeat until all the dry ingredients and milk are used up. Finally, add the vanilla extract.
- And right before the batter is scooped into the cupcake paper liners, the sprinkles are added in. These should be mixed in very briefly as too long of mixing can break the sprinkles and cause the colors to bleed into the batter and get mixed up.
- Fill the cupcake liners to about ⅔ full and bake until done. The cupcakes will be so lovely even at this stage, without any decorating. See?

Decorating the homemade cupcakes
Here is how to decorate the mini cupcakes:

- If the cupcakes are domed, level the tops with a knife.

- Next, using vanilla buttercream, cover the top of each cupcake with a layer of buttercream, not too thick and not too thin – enough to cover the cupcakes so that you don’t get to see any of the cake underneath.

- Next, as a guide, use a large piping tip and placed it in the center of the cupcake. For larger cupcakes, a slightly larger round cookie cutter might be a better option, as piping tips might be too small in proportion to the size of the larger cupcakes.

- Add a generous amount of colored funfetti sprinkles (or rainbow jimmies) around the sides of the cupcakes and press them lightly with the tip of your finger to attach them to the buttercream.
- Tip: place your mini funfetti cupcake on a plate or tray when doing this so that you can reuse the excess that has fallen down.

- Lift the piping tip off the cupcake, gently. See how the funfetti formed a pretty circle border on the top of the cupcake?

- The final step is to pipe buttercream frilly swirl in the center with piping bag fitted with a Wilton tip 2D.
Here’s how the mini funfetti cupcakes looked like after decorating:

Notes
Cream butter and sugar well
- The creaming process helps to produce soft and fluffy cupcakes, so don’t cut short on this step.
- For best results, cream the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes on an electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer) fitted with a paddle attachment) before adding the eggs and other dry ingredients.
Use room temperature ingredients
- Often, when the butter or eggs are cold, your cupcakes (and cakes) batter will tend to curdle. This does not happen if both are of the same temperature. However, since butter is hard to whip when cold, it would typically have turned warmer upon whipping. Adding cold eggs to this, however, can cause curdling.
- To prevent this, make sure both the eggs and butter are at room temperature. And if your batter still curdles, don’t worry. Fold in some flour to the creamed mixture until it is no longer curdled. Continue with the remaining flour and milk after that.
Do not add too much liquid to the batter
- This is important to prevent the sprinkles from sinking to the bottom of the funfetti cupcakes. Keep the liquid amount added to the batter strictly to the quantity mentioned in the recipe.
Add sprinkles just before baking
- This recipe calls for the addition of funfetti sprinkles as the last step before scooping the batter into cupcake casings and baking. Adding them any time earlier than this means they will be subjected to a lot of mixing, which can break them. This, in turn, will cause the colors to get mixed up, and you will not end up with the pretty specks of colors in the cupcakes anymore.
Do not overfill the casings
- These funfetti cupcakes can be baked in both cupcake casings as well as muffin casings like the ones I have used on this page. Either way, make sure you only fill the casings with the funfetti batter no more than ¾ full (⅔ is ideal). Anything more than that could result in the batter overflowing the casings.
Use soft sugar sprinkles
- The funfetti sprinkles I have used in this recipe are soft and crunchy. I have not made these cupcakes with the harder sprinkles (some sprinkles are quite hard to bite), and so am not sure how using such sprinkles in the cupcakes will result in.
Do not overbake
- Overbaking can cause your cupcakes to become dry. Always test with a skewer at least 5 minutes before the baking time is up. If there is no wet batter sticking to the skewer and the top of the cupcakes spring back when pressed lightly, the cupcake are done and can be removed from the oven.
Like this cute and colorful cupcakes idea? Here are my other posts you might want to check out
- Sprinkles Cupcakes Decorating Idea
- How to Color Sprinkles the Easy Way
- Layered Cupcakes with Sprinkles
- Cupcakes for Christmas - An Easy Decorating Idea
- Christmas Sprinkle Cookies - Pretty Festive Cookies
- Pinata Cupcakes - Cupcakes with Sprinkles Inside
- Chocolate Cupcakes from Scratch
- Vanilla Cupcakes from Scratch
- Mini Confetti Cake
Recipe (Printable)
Here is the printable version of my funfetti cupcake recipe card and while you are at it, don’t miss my recipe notes right above for making the best funfetti cupcakes ever.
📖Recipe

Mini Funfetti Cupcakes
For best results, use the metrics measurements. US customary measurements have not been tested and are only meant for guide.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 90 g butter salted
- 90 g granulated sugar
- 180 g self-raising flour
- 2 eggs
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
- A pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoon sprinkles
- 2 tablespoon milk
Frosting & Decoration
- Buttercream
- Colorful sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare your cupcake liners ( I used mini muffin cups here).
- Sift self raising flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
- In a clean bowl, cream butter and sugar until the mixture turns light, creamy and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the bowl and beat well.
- Add the sifted flour alternately with milk, starting and ending with flour.
- Next, add vanilla essence and combine well. And finally, add in the sprinkles. Mix the batter only to the extent the sprinkles are well combined. Over mixing can cause them to break.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared cupcake liners or muffin cups.
- Bake at 175°Celsius for 10 to 15 minutes. To test if the cupcakes are done, insert a small toothpick in the center of one cupcake. If it comes out without any wet batter sticking to it, your cupcakes are done.
- Remove from oven and let the cupcakes cool completely before decorating.
- To decorate the cupcakes, level the tops.
- Spread a layer of buttercream.
- Using the back of a large piping tip as a guide, drop some sprinkles all around the edges of the cupcakes.
- Lift the piping tip and pipe a small buttercream swirl in the center of each cupcake.
Nutrition
And that’s my mini funfetti cupcakes recipe for you.

Happy Baking 🙂
Leave a Reply