Funfetti Cupcakes

I have seen funfetti cupcakes posted on baking blogs for a couple of years now.  I've always wanted to make them but haven't made an effort till now.  They are simply a vanilla cupcake with lots of sprinkles mixed in.  They are pretty and lots of fun!  I just used a large handful of rainbow sprinkles but you can use any color you want.  The sprinkles that are called "jimmies" work the best and bleed the least.  The tiny little balls called non-pareils tend to bleed a lot more.  You just have to be careful to mix very slowly and for not very long after adding your sprinkles to the batter.  You will have minimal bleeding if you are gentle and brief with your mixing. The sprinkles are the very last thing to go into the batter.

My funfetti cupcakes are topped with a simple American buttercream consisting of powdered sugar, vanilla extract, butter, hi-ratio shortening, a touch of corn syrup and heavy whipping cream. And then I whip a looong time till it's nice and fluffy & smooth. I'm not including an icing recipe because I didn't really use one.  I didn't measure ingredients - I just dumped into the mixing bowl and whipped!  BUT, this icing recipe most closely follows the recipe I've linked below.  It's one of my favorites and I use it often.

Juniors Decorator's Buttercream

You can use any white cake recipe to make these, you can even use a white cake mix. This one is completely from scratch and it's pretty darn good. The best part is, it's super easy!  

Funfetti Cupcakes

3 1/3 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sour cream (I used full fat sour cream)

1 1/2 cups milk (I used whole milk)

4 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used clear vanilla to keep my cake white)

About 1/2 cup sprinkles of your choice

Oven 350 degrees

In large bowl sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt.  Add granulated sugar to the dry ingredients & lightly mix. Add softened butter & oil and mix well (I used an electric hand mixer but you can use a stand mixer). At this point the mixture will look thick & clumpy & kind of sandy.  Add eggs & combine. Add sour cream, milk & vanilla extract.  Mix till smooth (but don't over mix). Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the pretty sprinkles!  Divide batter into cupcake liners (about 2/3 full) and bake till tops spring back when lightly touched. Don't over bake or your cupcakes will be dry so watch the oven carefully.  I started checking the cupcakes after 15 minutes passed. Remove from oven after they test done & cool on wire rack for about 5 minutes before removing the cupcakes from the pans to cool completely. Ice & decorate the cupcakes when they are fully cooled.