Gluten-Free Funfetti Cupcakes

Well, who would have thought that adding a few sprinkles to a deliciously light and fluffy vanilla cupcake would be such a resounding hit!

It’s a simple tweak to an already perfect cupcake but goodness do children (and adults!) come flocking. These cupcakes are ideal for birthdays and parties when you need a little extra pizzazz on the dessert table. I will only say that you need the sprinkles to be gorgeously bright so be choosy over which you buy. Often the ones from the supermarket (in the UK) can be a little dull so specialist cake decorating shops or online suppliers will garner you better results. And make sure your sprinkles are gluten-free as well as often they are not, so check your labels.

All that said, these cupcakes are super simple. The vanilla cupcakes are just one-bowl and oil based so you don’t need to be whipping your batter to cream your ingredients for an age. The ingredients are carefully balanced so they make a good thick batter which is perfect for suspending the sprinkles. And the buttercream is my perfectly easy classic buttercream icing which is a cinch to whip up.

I’ll show you the very quick and easy steps, point you in the right direction of the best sprinkles and piping tips but honestly you’ll be thrilled how straightforward these simple yet incredibly successful cupcakes are.

Watch The Video

Sometimes it helps to see a visual of what I'm talking about. So watch the video to see what it looks like to make your Funfetti Cupcakes.

Ingredients Needed

Rainbow Sprinkles. The sprinkles you can buy from your local UK supermarket are often dull in colour but also not gluten-free. Therefore you will need to shop around for your sprinkles and you are best to try Amazon or a specialist cake supplier.

Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell). These are often classified as large eggs in the US. I recommend weighing your eggs to ensure the correct amount.

Gluten-Free Flour – FTL Blend. This recipe uses my Homemade Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour which works really well here as the flour ratio has been carefully tested to ensure the mix between wholegrain flours and starchy flours is balanced. This also means we don’t need to use xanthan gum as the blend is strong enough and produces a well structured and textured bake which can hold together without needing any extra binders.

This flour blend is a mix of 4 different flours: sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour), sorghum flour, oat flour, tapioca flour (tapioca starch).

There are plenty of flour substitution tips ideas if you click on the original post for this homemade flour mix.

Caster sugar. It’s a fine white baking sugar available in the UK. Regular white granulated sugar can be substituted.

Olive oil. This is my preferred oil in cakes rather than vegetable oil or coconut oil. But to avoid a strong flavour use a flavourless mild and light olive oil.

Milk. Use whole milk or a plant-based milk if needed.

Baking powder. A leavening agent which causes the cake to rise and become light and fluffy. Do check your baking powder is gluten-free before use.

Vanilla extract. We’re using vanilla in both the sponge and the buttercream and it’s the main flavour so we need a good quality extract, I like Nielsen Massey.

Unsalted butter. We need unsalted butter for the buttercream so we can control the salt content. You can use a plant-based butter but then you won’t need to add any extra milk as it’s usually softer.

Icing sugar (powdered sugar). We need this for the buttercream. I prefer to use icing sugar rather than caster sugar in buttercreams as it dissolves more easily which means an easy to achieve smooth texture which can whip up like a dream.

Salt. I like to use kosher salt in my baking as it has a round gentle flavour. Using salt in your baked goods lifts and sharpens all the other flavours.

Equipment Needed

All of these items are helpful for a smooth baking process, but you can easily substitute with whatever you have on hand.

• 1 large mixing bowl.
• Electric mixer (or whisk). You can also make this cake using a wooden spoon and a strong mixing arm.
• 1 x regular sized 12-hole muffin tin for baking the cupcakes.
• 5cm cupcake cases
• Silicone spatula for scraping the bowl.
• Large 2 litre jug for pouring out the batter into the cases.
• Wire rack for cooling the cupcakes.
• Sieve for sifting icing sugar.
• Recyclable piping bags
• Open star piping tip 1M

How To Make Gluten-Free Funfetti Cupcakes

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Pour the caster sugar, olive oil, eggs, milk and vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Mix together using a handheld electric whisk or a simple balloon whisk.

Add the gluten-free flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and continue to whisk until smooth.

Finally stir in the rainbow sprinkles until evenly dispersed.

Pour the cupcake batter evenly between 18 cupcake cases until ¾ full. Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes.

Whip softened butter and icing sugar together until very soft, light and creamy. Add salt, vanilla and milk and mix briefly to combine into the buttercream.

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe or spread the buttercream generously over the top of each one. Finish with a few more rainbow sprinkles to decorate. 

More Gluten-Free Cupcakes You’ll Love

Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes are very quick and easy to make. They are perfectly moist, light and fluffy and decorated with my go-to cream cheese buttercream and frosted candied carrots.

Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes are made in a classic buttery bakery style. They are fluffy, moist and rich with vanilla. So easy to make all in one bowl without any need for xanthan gum.

Easy Gluten-Free Fairy Cakes are light, fluffy little cakes which are perfect for baking with kids. Simply made with gluten-free flour, ground almonds (almond flour).