Last week, I wrote about how I love making large decadent cakes, but that I don’t often get to make them because they’re normally too big for me and my family to quickly finish (unless we’re celebrating a birthday or inviting guests for dinner).
Well, a simple solution to this horrendous predicament is to make decadent cupcakes. Cupcakes can be just as luxurious, tasty, and beautiful as their larger counterparts, the only real difference is that they are manageable. They’re smaller and can be quickly eaten. You can freeze half a batch or just make half a batch. They don’t need to be eaten with a fork and can easily be shared with a friend or a coworker (not that you would actually want to share).
These cupcakes, specifically, are absolutely amazing. They start with a delicious, vanilla-based cake that’s perfectly soft and sweet. They’re topped with an extra creamy cream cheese frosting (that’s made so creamy thanks to a little bit of heavy cream) and decorated with some sprinkles.
I used generic rainbow non-pareil sprinkles, but I think the best kind of sprinkles for funfetti cupakes are the quins sprinkles (I guess the “quins” are supposed to be short for sequins, since that’s the shape the sprinkles resemble). I can never find this type of sprinkles at my local grocery and craft stores though, so I had to stick with the non-pareils this time. Even though sprinkles are essential to funfetti cupcakes, it’s the recipe that really makes these cakes delicious, so try it out and use whatever type(s) of sprinkles you like to top!
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 4 egg whites
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp whole milk
- 3/8 cup (3 tbsp.) rainbow jimmies sprinkles
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 8-oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp. heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp. unflavored gelatin
- Extra rainbow sprinkles, to top
- Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare your cupcake tins with paper liners.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add extracts.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternately add this and the milk into the butter mixture. Finally, fold in the sprinkles.
- Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 of the way with batter. Bake for 17-20 minutes.
- Make the frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese together until creamy. Add powdered sugar. Add vanilla and heavy cream. Once this mixture is smooth, add the gelatin and whip for at least another minute. Ice each cupcake and cover with sprinkles.
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