Funfetti Cupcakes

Where This Goes Wrong

Fold in the sprinkles by hand.

Cream the butter and sugar for 3 minutes.

Frost only when completely cool.

Making Funfetti Cupcakes

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1. Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

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2. Beat 115 g butter and the caster sugar for 3 minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and 1 tsp vanilla.

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3. Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt alternately with the buttermilk, then fold in 40 g of the sprinkles by hand.

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4. Divide between the cases, filling two thirds full. Bake for 22 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely.

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5. Beat the buttercream butter, icing sugar, cream and 1 tsp vanilla until light. Swirl onto the cupcakes and top with the rest of the sprinkles.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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What's Going On Here

Flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and a jar of sprinkles: five things, and the beginnings of every birthday party. A funfetti cupcake is a vanilla cake with rainbow specks through the crumb, and it works best when the cake underneath is properly tender and moist, not just a vehicle for the colour.

The batter uses the creaming method, with butter and sugar beaten until pale and fluffy. Take 3 full minutes over this. The air beaten in is the main raising force in the cake, and short-changing it gives a dense, heavy cupcake. Buttermilk instead of milk adds a slight tang and a soft crumb, and a teaspoon of vanilla gives the flavour people expect.

Fold the sprinkles in at the end, by hand. An electric mixer will beat the colour out of the sprinkles and turn the whole batter a streaky grey-brown. Use a rubber spatula and a few careful turns, which are enough to distribute them without bleeding.

Fill the paper cases two thirds full and bake until a skewer comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting. The vanilla buttercream is butter, icing sugar, cream and vanilla beaten until light, and a handful of sprinkles scattered on top finishes them.

Storage and Reheating

Keeps in an airtight container for 3 days.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Out of buttermilk? The usual stand-in is a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar stirred into 250 ml of ordinary milk and left five minutes; it is thinner than cultured buttermilk, so a batter may need a little less of it.

Good With

• Cold milk
• Fresh strawberries
• Hot tea
• Coffee

Still Wondering?

Funfetti Cupcakes Nutrition Facts

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

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