Confetti Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

I was asked to make these cupcakes, as well as some Margarita Cupcakes, for a friend’s sister’s daughter’s first birthday party. Did you follow that one? The décor for the party was polka dots in bright colors, and they used this paper to make the invitations and party favors:

Not only was I excited to help them with the baking for the party, but I was also excited to have an excuse to look for some new baking and decorating supplies. Now I have huge containers of large and small confetti sprinkles, and rainbow nonpareils to use for future projects.

For these cupcakes, I folded in rainbow nonpareils into a yellow cupcake batter. I think I’ll try using the confetti sprinkles next time, as the nonpareils bled a little, and the final cupcakes turned out a little more marbled than I would have liked. I think the “client” was please with the final result, and I know that Carter and Jim have been pleased with the leftovers.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• 3 cups Cake Flour, not self-rising
  
• 1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
  
• ¾ tsp Baking Soda
  
• 2 ¼ tsp Baking Powder
  
• 1 ½ tsp Kosher Salt
  
• 2 ¼ sticks Unsalted Butter, room temperature
  
• 2 ¼ cups Sugar
  
• 5 large whole Eggs plus 3 Egg Yolks, room temperature
  
• 2 cups Buttermilk, room temperature
  
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  
• ¼ cup Jimmies or Sprinkles (depending on what people call them where you are. )
  

Frosting:

• 2 ½ sticks Unsalted Butter, softened
  
• 4 cups Confectioners’ Sugar
  
• 1/8 Tbsp Salt
  
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
  
• 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
  
• White-White Icing Color, as needed
  

Directions:

Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
   
2. Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
   
3. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low.
   
4. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each. Beat in vanilla.
   
5. Fold in colored sprinkles until just combined. Be sure not to over mix, as color may bleed into batter.
   
6. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarter full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes for full sized cupcakes and 11 minutes for minis.
   
7. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
   

Frosting:

1. In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds.
   
2. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds.
   
3. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds.
   
4. If the mixture isn’t as bright of a white as you would like at this point, due to the yellow of the butter and tint of the vanilla, add a few drops of white-white icing color.
   
5. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.