Confetti Sprinkle Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Confetti sprinkle cupcakes are made from scratch with a simple vanilla cupcake base, cream cheese frosting and sprinkles!

Confetti Sprinkle Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for my daughter’s class on her birthday. They were a total hit!

These confetti sprinkle cupcakes use a simple from-scratch recipe and are topped with homemade cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. In this post I’ll what you through the specific confetti sprinkles I used, equipment needed and step-by-step instructions for anyone who is intimidated by the baking process (just scroll all the way down to the bottom to see those).

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Ingredients Shopping List

Here’s what you’ll need to make the confetti sprinkle cupcakes. I have more instructions and list of ingredients for cream cheese frosting at the bottom of this blog post.

• 1½ cups All Purpose Flour – I used organic all purpose flour. You can also use pastry flour, or regular all purpose flour. > Buy Organic All Purpose Flour Here.
• ⅓ cup Sprinkles – I tested two kinds of rainbow sprinkles – jimmies and nonpareils. I’ve shared images using both so you can see how each of sprinkles changes the batter color, but both will work just fine! > Buy Jimmies Sprinkles Here or you can Buy Nonpareils Sprinkles Here.
• ½ cup Unsalted Butter – The butter should be softened and at room temperature. I usually leave mine out on the counter the night before.
• ¾ cup Granulated Sugar – I’ve tried a variety of sugars in the past, and regular white sugar tends to work best for cupcakes so I stick with that when I’m making birthday treats. > Buy Granulated Sugar Here.
• 1 cup Milk – You can use regular milk or a dairy-free milk like almond milk or coconut milk.
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract > Buy Vanilla Extract Here.
• 1 tsp Baking Powder > Buy Baking Powder Here.
• ¼ tsp Salt

GET MY KITCHEN FAVORITES LIST – Get my full kitchen shopping list here including how I stock my pantry, fill my fridge, and what equipment I prefer to use in the kitchen.

I made two separate batches of cupcakes for my daughter’s full class. In one batch I used jimmies sprinkles and in the other, I used nonpareils sprinkles. I wanted to test and see how they would affect the cupcake appearance. You can see both results in the picture above.

Kitchen Equipment I Used

Here’s the equipment I used to make this recipe, including where you can purchase:

• Hand Mixer: Used to mix the batter and make cream cheese frosting. > Buy Hand Mixer Here
• Muffin Pan: To bake cupcakes in. > Buy Muffin Pan Here.
• Paper Cupcake Liners: I used white paper cupcake liners. Sprinkle cupcakes have the cutest flecks of color and white liners help to show it off because you can see through them. > Buy Cupcake Liners Here.
• Piping Bag: The easiest way to decorate the cupcakes. > Buy Piping Bag Here.
• Cookie Scoop: One of the easiest ways to add batter to the cupcake liners. > Buy Cookie Scoop Here
• Cooling Rack: Perfect for cooling the cupcakes after baking (cupcakes should be completely cool before adding frosting). > Buy Cooling Rack Here

Recipe Cost = $6

Cream cheese and sprinkles were the most expensive part of this recipe. But all in all it was very cheap and affordable to make these – about $0.50 per cupcake! (prices will vary slightly depending on where you live). 

Grocery Shopping Tip: If you like to save money at the store, here are my 7 ways to save money on your grocery bill and still eat healthily.

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How To Make Confetti Sprinkle Cupcakes

Here’s an overview of how to make it with the full recipe instructions at the bottom of this blog post.

1. Dry Ingredients – In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. Wet Ingredients – Beat the butter and sugar with electric mixer. Add in eggs one by one. Then add the milk and vanilla extract.
3. Mix Together – Add half of the dry flour to wet ingredients and mix. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix again.
4. Sprinkles – Gently fold in the sprinkles. Stir only 2-3 times until just mixed together – don’t overmix!
5. Bake – Scoop into a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350°F. Let cool on a baking rack afterward.

How To Store Rainbow Sprinkle Cupcakes

• You can make the cupcakes 2-3 days in advance and store in the fridge until ready to add frosting.
• The full leftover cupcakes (with icing) can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Different Confetti Sprinkle Types

I made two batches of cupcakes and decided to try two different styles of rainbow sprinkles. As you can see, they produced totally different results:

• Nonpareils Sprinkles – These are the small round confetti sprinkles. I find that these ones “bleed” a bit in the batter which can be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. Personally, I like the look. > Buy Nonpareils Sprinkles Here.
• Rainbow Jimmies Sprinkles – These are the long sprinkles. These ones don’t change the color of the batter, but I think you need to add more to create a good confetti effect in the cupcakes. > Buy Jimmies Here.

Personally, I liked both for different reasons. I think either style is a good choice for making these confetti cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make the cream cheese frosting:

• 8 oz Cream Cheese – Personally, I like the Philedalphia cream cheese brand when I make cream cheese frosting. The cream cheese should be room temperature.
• ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter – Butter should be room temperature and softened.
• 1 ¼ Cups Confectioners Powdered Sugar – Also known as powdered icing sugar. > Buy Confectioner’s Sugar Here.
• ½ tsp Vanilla Extract > Buy Vanilla Extract Here.

How To Make The Cream Cheese Frosting

Here’s a quick overview of how to make the cream cheese frosting. Full instructions are at the bottom of this blog post.

1. Mix Butter, Cream Cheese and Vanilla Extract – Add the butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract to a large bowl with electric mixer. Mix until everything is just combined.
2. Add Confectioner’s Sugar – Add half of the confectioners sugar to the bowl and mix. Repeat with the other half.
3. Chill – Add the frosting to the fridge for 30 minutes before piping onto cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting Tips and Tricks

• Don’t Overmix – The electric mixer can warm up the frosting. This will make it runnier and harder to decorate cupcakes with. For that reason, you only want to mix until ingredients are just combined.
• Chill Frosting 30 Minutes – Once you make the frosting, add it to the fridge for 30 minutes to let it chill and firm up a bit. This will make it easier to decorate with.
• Use a Sandwich Bag For Icing – If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a sandwich bag! Add the icing to the bag and seal it tightly. Then snip off a bottom corner of the bag. Squeeze the icing through to decorate cupcakes with.
• Store Cupcakes In Fridge – Keep the cupcakes in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. This will keep the frosting nice and firm (because cream cheese likes to soften).

More Recipes

Here are some more celebration recipes:

• Birthday Sprinkle Pancakes – An easy birthday tradition we love to do in our house.
• Chocolate Baked Donuts with Sprinkles – These donuts are addicting and will be gobbled up the same day you make them.
• Pink Confetti Birthday Cake – A cake without refined sugar that I made for my daughter’s 3rd birthday.
• Ladybug Cupcakes Without Refined Sugar – These cupcakes are adorable and incredibly delicious.

Did you love these confetti sprinkle cupcakes? Be sure to leave a rating below!