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This small batch funfetti cupcake recipe makes 6 fluffy, delicious and colorful cupcakes. They are easy to make, come together quickly, and are perfect for those times that you only need a few cupcakes.
My kids LOVE cupcakes, but I don’t want to make 12 cupcakes every single time they ask to make them, which is often. That’s why I love small batch cupcake recipes. My strawberry small batch cupcakes are a huge hit in my house.
And now my kiddos have been asking for funfetti cupcakes, so I started recipe testing. The result are these from scratch funfetti cupcakes. They are made with simple pantry ingredients, are filled with colorful sprinkles, and have a yummy buttery frosting. They are kid and husband approved and really hit the spot!
What makes this recipe great
- It’s small batch! If you are craving something sweet but don’t need 12 cupcakes, this recipe is just what you need. It makes 6 frosted yummy cupcakes.
- It is easy to make. No mixers needed. You just need a fork to mix everything together.
- You can customize it. You can easily make these gluten-free or dairy-free.
- They are great for so many occasions. These cupcakes are great for a birthday, small celebration, dessert craving, or to bake with kids.
Recipe ingredients
- Flour– unbleached all purpose flour is what I used in this recipe. It works great for making cupcakes like these.
- Baking Powder– this helps the cupcakes rise.
- Butter– use a good quality butter here because it affects flavor. You’ll need butter for both the cupcakes and the frosting.
- Egg– the egg helps bind the batter together.
- Sugar– you’ll need both white granulated sugar ( or cane sugar) AND powdered sugar for this recipe.
- Milk– you can use any milk that works for you.
- Vanilla– any vanilla extract works well here.
- Rainbow sprinkles– you can use any kind that you would like. I personally like watkins rainbow sprinkles and 365 rainbow sprinkles because there are no food dyes in them. I like adding these sprinkles to my cottage cheese sugar cookies as well.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Additions/ Substitutions
- To make this recipe gluten-free, use gluten-free flour instead of regular flour at a 1:1 ratio.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, use dairy-free butter and almond milk instead of regular butter and regular milk.
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl.
Step 2: Mix the egg, sugar, melted butter, sugar, milk and vanilla together in another bowl.
Step 3: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix.
Step 4: Add rainbow sprinkles to the cupcake batter.
Step 5: Pour the batter evenly into cupcake tins.
Step 6: Bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
Step 7: Add the powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk to a food processor. Mix until frosting forms.
Step 8: Frost the cupcakes and top with rainbow sprinkles.
Expert tips
- Butter tips:
- To melt the butter for the cupcake batter, put into the microwave for 30 seconds. Check it and then do it another 30 seconds.
- If your butter isn’t “room temperature”, microwave it for 15 seconds. Check on it at this point. You don’t want it to melt or else the frosting will be melted. Better for it to be too cold than too melted.
- If you use a natural sprinkles without dyes, like watkins rainbow sprinkles and 365 rainbow sprinkles, there won’t be as much color in the cupcakes once baked. If you want more color, use one with food dyes in them.
- Make sure to use baking powder and NOT baking soda.
- Frosting tips:
- To color the frosting, add food dye to the food processor when making the frosting.
- Make sure the cupcakes cool before frosting, or else the frosting will melt on the cupcakes.
- If you are piping the frosting on the cupcakes or like a good amount of frosting on your cupcakes, you will need the full frosting recipe. If you only like to lightly frost your cupcakes with a knife, you can 1/2 the recipe.
- To store: store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for 5 days.
Other cake recipes you’ll love:
Did you try this recipe? Please leave me a ⭐ review below!
Small Batch Funfetti Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
Cupcake ingredients:
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoon rainbow sprinkles
Frosting ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons milk , (or heavy cream)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with 6 paper liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, add 3/4 cup flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix with fork.
- In another bowl, add the 4 Tablespoons melted butter, 6 Tablespoons sugar, 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, and 1 teaspoon. Whisk with a fork.
- Pour the bowl of dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ones. Whisk. Fold in 3 Tablespoons of sprinkles.
- Evenly pour the cupcake batter into the 6 liners. Bake for 19-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes fully before frosting.
- To make the frosting, add the 1/2 cup of room temperature butter, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 cups of powdered sugar, and 2 Tablespoons of milk to a food processor and mix. Add food coloring to color your frosting if you would like.
- Frost cupcakes and top with rainbow sprinkles.
Notes
- To make this recipe gluten-free, use gluten-free flour instead of regular flour at a 1:1 ratio.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, use dairy-free butter and almond milk instead of regular butter and regular milk.
- To melt the butter for the cupcake batter, put into the microwave for 30 seconds. Check it and then do it another 30 seconds.
- If your butter isn’t “room temperature”, microwave it for 15 seconds. Check on it at this point. You don’t want it to melt or else the frosting will be melted. Better for it to be too cold than too melted.
- A note about frosting, if you are piping the frosting on the cupcakes or like a good amount of frosting on your cupcakes, you will need the full frosting recipe. If you only like to lightly frost your cupcakes with a knife, you can 1/2 the recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you are looking for a small batch recipe, try these funfetti cupcakes. They are a huge hit with the kids, and are a great option when you don’t want to make 12 cupcakes. Let me know how you like them!