Homemade Gluten Free Funfetti Cupcakes Recipe
These gluten free Funfetti cupcakes are as festive and beautiful as they are moist, tender, and delicious. Dress up a gf vanilla cupcake for a party the easy way—with fluffy buttercream frosting to finish.
Servings: 8 cupcakes
Equipment
- Stand mixer or handheld mixer
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- ¾ cup all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; please click thru for appropriate blend info)
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
- 1 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup buttermilk at room temperature
- 1 ½ tablespoons gluten-free edible rainbow confetti sprinkles plus more for topping the buttercream
For the vanilla buttercream frosting
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar plus more as needed
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract use clear vanilla extract if you want a perfectly white frosting
- Milk by the teaspoonful at room temperature
Instructions
Make the cupcakes.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line 9 wells of a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners or grease the wells, and set the tin aside.
- Depending upon the size of your muffin wells, you may only make 8 cupcakes.
- In a small bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and whisk to combine well. Set the bowl aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat well.
- Add half of the flour mixture and beat just to combine.
- Add the buttermilk, and beat just to combine.
- Add the remaining flour mixture, and beat until just combined.
- Add the edible confetti, and mix gently until the confetti pieces are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Fill the prepared wells of the muffin tin about 2/3 of the way full of the batter. Shake the tin back and forth to help the batter settle into an even layer in each well.
- Place the muffin tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until lightly golden brown and a tester comes out with no more than a few moist crumbs attached (about 19 minutes).
- Allow the cupcakes to cool for at least 5 minutes in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the buttercream frosting.
- Place the butter in a large bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium speed until creamy (about 30 seconds).
- Add 1 cup (115 g) of confectioners’ sugar, the salt, vanilla, and 1 teaspoonful of milk, and beat on medium speed until well-combined (about 1 minute).
- Beat in more confectioners’ sugar until the consistency is thick but not stiff. Turn up the mixer speed to high and beat for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your favorite piping tip (in the photos here, I used a Wilton brand “2D” piping tip) to pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes, or use two spoons to scoop a generous amount onto each cupcake.
- Top with a few more pieces of edible confetti.
Video
Notes
Originally published on the blog in 2013. In 2020, all photos and video new. Cupcake recipe scaled down; buttercream recipe new.
