Colorful Funfetti Cupcakes

In my last post I mentioned we were on Hilton Head Island. What a wonderful time! We are back home now and attempting to unpack and do laundry and get back to normal life.  

Before vacation I was thinking about what type of cupcakes to bake and bring with us. I came across a post on a food blog I LOVE LOVE LOVE called How Sweet It Is. The fabulous lady behind this blog is named Jessica. I love everything she makes and her posts are absolutely hilarious. If you are a food blog lover and you haven't come across her site yet - check it out! Anywhooo, the post was about funfetti cupcakes. I had an aha! moment and realized these were the cupcakes I needed to make. The aha! moment went something like this: it's summer and the sun is shining (therefore we need light and fluffy vanilla cupcakes) AND we are celebrating my nephew's birthday (therefore we need colorful sprinkles in our cupcakes). I decided to add color to the cupcakes to make them extra special for my nephew. I'm glad I did - he had fun choosing which color he wanted. Actually, I did too!

Colorful Funfetti Cupcakes

Source: inspired and adapted from How Sweet It is

Yield: 12 cupcakes 

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 whole eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup assorted brightly colored sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar in mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients. 

Fold in assorted sprinkles.

Divide batter into 6 small bowls. Fold in desired food coloring or gel. I had a lot of fun with the colors - felt like I was back in art class! Helpful Hint: don't stir too much - you will end up with a bread-like cupcake texture.

Pour batter into cupcake tins and fill 2/3 of the way full. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

2 sticks butter, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 seven ounce container marshmallow creme

1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)

1/2 cup assorted brightly colored sprinkles

1 tablespoon of milk, if needed

Cream butter in mixer until completely smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low, slowly add powdered sugar. Gradually increase mixer speed and add marshmallow creme. Add vanilla, then beat for 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides and bottom of the bowl. 

Fold in assorted sprinkles.

If frosting is too thick, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. If it’s too thin, add sugar gradually until it thickens. 

Frost cupcakes and enjoy......