Funfetti Cupcakes

Today, I’m so excited to share my moist, Vanilla Funfetti Cupcakes today! They’re so fun and the perfect celebratory dessert! But I’ll get to it later! Because…

Surprise! We’re pregnant!

I’m so excited to share my moist, Vanilla Funfetti Cupcakes today! They’re so fun and the perfect celebratory dessert! But I’ll get to it later!

First of all, thank you to everyone who wished us well and for your messages of congratulations on social media. I announced our pregnancy on Facebook and Instagram on July 19^th 2021. We’re due in November 2021, and it goes without saying that we’re both so thrilled to become parents.

UPDATE 9th June 2024): Toddlerhood is not for the faint of heart, but we love being parents!

A little about how it all started!

Most gay men my age have a shared realisation in their 20’s about what their life is going to look like. I’m the eldest of 6 kids in my immediate family. I’m an uncle to 7 nephews under the age of 4, and so kids have been a part of my life growing up and more recently. In some way, I’ve always been around kids. But even still, I never wanted kids.

As a gay man, you kind of accept the limitations that society puts on your life.

It wasn’t until recently that gay marriage was even an option for us. Something as simple as wanting to get married to the person you love was not granted as a right to us as it is to others. So you kind of accept that there are other things you won’t have access to either.

In my teen years when my brother began dating girls, I kept to myself. I didn’t experience any of that. Number one, I wasn’t interested in girls, number 2, I wasn’t really in the kind of environment that nurtured, accepted, and encouraged exploration of one’s sexuality. I grew up in a very religious and conservative family. Nobody said to me, “gay people are just like everyone else, and so they should be able to explore themselves the way everyone else does to grow up to be healthy and balanced adults. I thought there was something severely wrong with me.

My 30’s

In my 30’s when my siblings began getting married, and gay marriage was made legal, marriage became something I opened my mind up to for myself. But having kids was not something I saw for myself. I’m someone who likes to keep busy. I’m selfish with my time and I settled into a mindset and routine that didn’t include being a parent.

Finding a husband that would want kids was something I never thought was in reach for me either. I was content being a ‘childless gay’. And I thought to myself that even if I ever wanted kids, I would never do it on my own.

But here we are.

Married to an amazing man, who is a wonderful high school teacher, who has always wanted kids. Who together with him, I started not only opening my mind to having children of my own, but I found myself actually pursuing it, finding someone generous enough to help us do it and now being pregnant.

If someone had told 20-year-old Nick that he would become a dad at 35, I would have looked at them like they needed serious and urgent medical treatment.

Onto the cupcakes!

Why you should make these Funfetti Cupcakes right now!

My favourite thing about these cupcakes is just how incredibly cute and simple they are. And they’re so easy to make too! Who ever thought that vanilla cupcakes with one simple ingredient in them could make them like 50% hotter?

These Funfetti Cupcakes are so delicious!

These cupcakes are moist, delicious, and flavourful. That’s because the key thing to keep in mind when making a simple cupcake flavour is using good ingredients! Good vanilla, butter, and fresh eggs. Trust me, it makes all the difference!

And that frosting! I recently tried a frosting recipe that called for sour cream in it. I was like, ok whatever. At the very least it’ll make it creamier? It does, but it also adds flavour and makes it so much more delicious. I love it and I highly recommend you try it!

If you’re looking for more frosting recipes, give these a go!

• American Buttercream Frosting 
• Cream Cheese Frosting (my favourite!)
• Swiss Meringue Frosting (so smooth!)
• Vegan Buttercream Frosting
• White Chocolate Ganache Frosting 
• Chocolate Ganache Frosting 

What type of sprinkles should I use to make these Funfetti Cupcakes?

So there are really good sprinkles and bad sprinkles. Well, they’re not bad sprinkles, but the coloured coating bleeds when it comes into contact and they can cause your batter to turn grey. And nobody wants grey cupcakes! So the ones I would recommend are on the Fancy Sprinkles website. They have the classic rainbow crunchy jimmies. Those are good to use in the cupcakes themselves. Another type of sprinkle is their pastel rainbow confetti sprinkles. Those ones are really great for in the recipe too.

If you’re based in Australia. Spotlight sometimes stock the Wilton Rainbow sprinkles. They’re good to use. The sprinkles I used on top are the 100’s and 1000’s sold in coles and safeway.

Ingredients for Funfetti Cupcakes

Cupcakes

All-purpose flour – also known as plain flour. Make sure you use white flour.

Baking powder – this will help your cupcakes rise and become fluffy and light.

Salt – Don’t skip this! It helps add flavour. I used fine salt which is best for this recipe.

Unsalted butter – Make sure your butter is softened. And if you use salted butter, just skip adding the salt. And if we’re talking good quality ingredients, use good quality butter. The best one to use is anything from New Zealand with a high fat content. And this stuff is gold in your

Caster sugar – Also known as superfine sugar. Using this sugar will help you get a finer cake crumb.

Eggs – Make sure your eggs are at room temperature.

Yogurt – Adding Greek yogurt to the batter helps you get a more moist cupcake.

Vanilla extract – Always use good quality vanilla extract.

Milk – Make sure your milk is at room temperature.

Funfetti rainbow jimmies (sprinkles) – I used the really good funfetti sprinkles. Australians, unfortunately, we don’t have good sprinkles here. I bought mine online. Some Spotlight stores, store the Wilton brand sprinkles and those are the best ones to use. 

Frosting

For this recipe, you’ll need to make one batch of my American Buttercream Frosting. We’re going to be adding sour cream and vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract to the frosting.

Sour Cream – I used full fat sour cream. Please note: the sour cream is optional but a really delicious addition. If you want your frosting to last longer or are making it ahead of time and don’t plan to chill it, don’t add it.

Vanilla bean paste – This stuff is gold! Packed full of vanilla beans that you can see and a little goes a long way. It’s so strong in flavour.

100’s & 1000’s sprinkles – These are also known as caviar sprinkles if you’re being fancy.

How To Make Funfetti Cupcakes.

Cupcakes

1. Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a medium sized bowl use a whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. Add the softened butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and use an electric hand mixer to beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

3. Next, add the eggs, one at a time, beating each time.
4. Add half of the dry ingredients along with half of the milk to the butter egg mixture. Fold through until almost combined before adding the remaining milk and dry ingredients. Mix until well combined. Stop the mixer, scrape down the bowl and mix on medium high speed for 20 seconds.

5. Add the sprinkles and fold through.
6. Use an ice cream scoop or two spoons to fill each cupcake liner just above 3/4 of the way. Bake for 45 minutes. If making baby cakes, bake for 20 minutes. Once baked, allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Let’s Decorate!

1. Once you’ve made the frosting, add to a piping bag and pipe on top of each cupcake.
2. Finish with a sprinkling of 100’s and 1000’s!

My Top Tips!

• Make sure you don’t overmix your batter. The best way to prevent this is to only mix up until you can’t see any dry ingredients showing. Don’t mix beyond that.

Gave this a go? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok for more great recipes!

Other Recipes You Might Like!

• Strawberry Birthday Cake Cupcakes 
• Freakfetti Freakshake Cupcakes
• Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes 
• Vanilla Cupcakes

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @thescranline on Facebook and Instagram!