These delicious vanilla sprinkle cupcakes are made with a creamy vanilla cupcake recipe topped with an easy vanilla buttercream recipe and loaded with rainbow sprinkles inside and out! The vanilla cupcakes are soft, tender, and moist and the vanilla buttercream is fluffy and perfectly sweet.
The crunchy rainbow jimmies sprinkles and double vanilla flavor make up one of the most universally loved dessert flavors. Sprinkles absolutely are a flavor and no one can tell me otherwise. A true party cupcake flavor is the treasured sprinkle cupcake!
These vanilla confetti cupcakes are perfect for any gathering or birthday party. Both kids and adults love these vanilla sprinkle cupcakes loaded with sprinkles. There is something so nostalgic about a sprinkle cupcake, also known as confetti cupcakes or Funfetti cupcakes!
Cupcakes are so fun to make. Be sure to check out my other delicious cupcake recipes.
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Ingredients for Vanilla Sprinkle Cupcakes
This confetti cupcake recipe includes common baking ingredients with the addition of the treasured and wildly loved rainbow sprinkles.
Vanilla Sprinkle Cupcakes Ingredients
- all purpose flour
- sugar
- vegetable oil
- unsalted butter
- large eggs
- baking powder
- salt
- vanilla extract
- rainbow sprinkle jimmies
Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients
- unsalted butter
- powdered sugar
- heavy whipping cream
- vanilla extract
- salt
This confetti cupcake recipe uses this easy vanilla buttercream recipe which is perfect for frosting cupcakes and icing cakes due to it's smooth and stable nature! It is my staple frosting recipe, but feel free to use any other frosting recipe you'd like! Be sure to have extra sprinkles for topping!
How to Make Vanilla Sprinkle Cupcakes
Making the sprinkle vanilla cupcakes is simple but it is important to follow these steps in order and ensure thorough mixing.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12 cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
Step 2: Whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and set aside.
Step 3: Cream together room temperature softened butter, vegetable oil, and sugar together for 3 minutes until fully combined. Texture will resemble a wet sand. You can do this with a whisk as long as your butter is soft enough or an electric mixer.
Step 4: Whisk in the eggs until fully emulsified and the mixture turns glossy, around 2 minutes of mixing.
Step 5: In a small measuring cup or bowl, mix together the milk, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Pour into the egg mixture and whisk well until combined.
Step 6: Add in the dry ingredient mixture, mixing until just combined. Lastly, fold in the rainbow sprinkle jimmies. Avoid overmixing at this point.
Step 7: Fill the cupcake liners about ¾ of the way full.
Step 8: Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. After 5 minutes, carefully transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack to fully cool.
Step 9: While the cupcakes are cooling, whip up the vanilla buttercream.
Step 10: Use a silicone spatula to smooth the vanilla buttercream back and forth in the bowl to reduce the air bubbles. You can simply use a butterknife or offset spatula to frost the cupcakes or you can use a piping bag to add a fluffy swirl like in the photos.
Step 11: If you want to create the above cupcake, take the finished buttercream and fill a 16" piping bag fitted with a medium/large size open or closed star piping tip. Frost the cupcakes by taking the tip of the piping tip starting at the outside of the cupcake and swirling into a circle applying even pressure and slowly working upwards into smaller circles on top of each other.
Step 12: Top with extra sprinkles and enjoy your beautiful vanilla sprinkle cupcakes! Store in an airtight container for optimal freshness and to prevent the cupcakes from drying out.
Equipment for Vanilla Sprinkle Cupcakes
These easy vanilla cupcakes require common baking equipment to make.
- 12 cup muffin pan
- cupcake liners
- mixing bowls
- whisk or electric mixer - I also love this cordless hand mixer.
- silicone spatula - These are the best for scaping mixing bowls and getting every last drop of cupcake batter!
- measuring cups and spoons
How to Store Vanilla Sprinkle Cupcakes
Store the completed vanilla sprinkle cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. These cupcakes also freeze amazing and can be made ahead of time. Keep in mind that if your home or environment is warm, buttercream will melt. Store in the refrigerator up until 30 minutes before serving if the environment is warm.
If you are freezing cupcakes, it's important to wrap each individual cupcake in plastic saran wrap, then place into a freezer bag. This method gives me the most success in retaining flavor quality, preventing freezer burn, and ensuring the cupcakes do not dry out. Thaw at room temperature a few hours or the day before serving.
What Kind of Sprinkles Should I Use?
I highly recommend using rainbow jimmies for this recipe. I prefer to use dye free rainbow jimmies sprinkles, but you can use any brand. When sprinkles mix with cake batter, the color bleeds into the wet batter and when they are baked, certain sprinkles like sequin sprinkles can actually bake into the cake itself.
By using sprinkle jimmies, you can have the best chance at having your sprinkles look great in the cupcake batter and in on top of the buttercream! Although some may say sprinkles do not really have a flavor, I would argue otherwise! Sprinkles are perhaps the most nostalgic flavor ever. They also add a perfect crunchy texture on top and are so satisfying to eat in a cupcake!
Tips for Baking the Best Cupcakes
- Avoid overfilling cupcake liners! This is one of the easiest mistakes to make when baking cupcakes. Fill the cupcakes according to the individual recipe. Some recipes call for only ½ full, ⅔ full, and some cupcake recipes may even call for ¾ of the way full. Regardless, listen to the recipe and DO NOT fill to the top.
- Use room temperature ingredients. This is especially true for cold ingredients often used for cupcakes such as milk, eggs, and/or butter. Butter can be melted or softened at room temperature.
- Measure the flour properly. Flour is the most commonly incorrectly measured ingredient in baking and using too much or too little can greatly alter the outcome of any recipe. The MOST accurate way to measure flour is to weigh it. Most recipes will account for around 120-130 grams per 1 cup of flour. If you do not have a scale or the recipe does not specify metric measurements, use the spoon and level method! At the very least, you should ALWAYS fluff up the flour before measuring it into the measuring cups. Fluff the flour up with a utensil in the container and/or bag, then use a spoon to spoon the flour into the measuring cup until full, then take the straight edge/handle of the spoon or butter knife to level off the flour from the top of the measuring cup.
- Avoid overmixing! Always whisk the dry ingredients in a separate bowl first and then fold the dry ingredients in gently. This helps to avoid overdeveloping the gluten. If you are using a gluten free flour 1:1 blend, then you do not need to worry about this as much.
- Use cupcake liners! These are a must for cupcakes. No ifs, ands, or buts about it!
- Use a cookie scoop/ice cream scoop to distribute the cupcake batter evenly in the cupcake pan. This is an easy tip to distribute the batter evenly (you could also use a scale to ensure each cupcake weights the exact same) and this method helps avoid making a mess with the batter.
- Do not open the oven while the cupcakes are baking. Use the oven light to help you see the cupcakes while baking. Opening the oven lets out a ton of heat and can sink the middle of the cupcakes.
- When making mini cupcakes, use mini add ins! For example, instead of regularly sized chocolate chips, use mini chocolate chips. For any fruits or nuts, chop them first before folding into the cupcake batter. Remember mini cupcakes also require much less time to bake!
- Let baked cupcakes cool COMPLETELY. It is essential for the cupcakes to be cool before decorating with frosting and/or toppings.
More Vanilla Flavor...
Looking for other vanilla recipes like this? Try these:
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Vanilla Sprinkle Cupcakes
Equipment
- whisk or electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment(s)
- silicone spatula
Ingredients
Vanilla Sprinkle Cupcakes
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (softened, room temp.)
- 2 large eggs (room temp.)
- ⅓ cup sour cream (room temp.)
- ¼ cup whole milk (can sub for buttermilk, room temp.)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup rainbow sprinkle jimmies (*It is important to use sprinkle jimmies for the best result. Other types of sprinkles will bleed into the batter and produce a different end result. )
- 1 batch Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a 12 cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and set aside.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, cream together room temperature softened butter, vegetable oil, and sugar together for 3 minutes until fully combined. Texture will resemble a wet sand. You can do this with a whisk as long as your butter is soft enough or an electric mixer.
- In a measuring cup or bowl, mix together the milk, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Pour into the batter, whisking until combined. Add in the dry ingredient mixture and mix together until just combined. Avoid overmixing. Lastly, fold in the sprinkles.
- Fill the cupcake liners ¾ of the way full. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- After cupcakes are baked, allow them to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely. It's very important the cupcakes are cooled before frosting them.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Make one batch of Vanilla Buttercream Frosting or a frosting of your choice.
- To frost the cupcakes, you can simply use an offset spatula or butter knife to ice the cupcakes or you can pipe a buttercream swirl. Using the finished buttercream, fill a 16" piping bag fitted with a medium/large size open or closed star piping tip. Frost the cupcakes by taking the tip of the piping tip starting at the outside of the cupcake and swirling into a circle applying even pressure and slowly working upwards into smaller circles on top of each other.
- Top with extra sprinkles and enjoy!
- Store finished sprinkle cupcakes in an airtight container to preserve the texture and flavor.
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