These homemade birthday cupcakes beat the store-bought mix every time. They’re soft, fluffy, and extra moist vanilla cupcakes, flecked with rainbow sprinkles and topped with a melt-in-your-mouth vanilla bean Swiss meringue buttercream. Think classic birthday cupcakes: simple, buttery, and made for celebrating!
They’re made with cake flour and sour cream and use the same reverse-creamed batter I rely on for my insanely popular funfetti layer cake, which is why the texture is so tender and stays moist for days.
They’re easy to make, serve a crowd (15 cupcakes!), and work just as well for birthdays as they do for low-key celebrations at home.
Full recipe is below!
Table of Contents
How to Make Birthday Cupcakes
1
Mix the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse sand.
2
Mix in the wet ingredients until combined, followed by the confetti sprinkles.
3
Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full with the batter. You will have enough to make about 15 cupcakes.
4
Bake the cupcakes, then let them cool on a wire rack.
5
Make the vanilla bean Swiss meringue buttercream.
6
Pipe the buttercream on top with a star piping tip, decorate with sprinkles, and enjoy!
Key Ingredients for Bakery Flavor
I get a lot of questions about the exact brands I use, so I wanted to share the specific ingredients that make the biggest difference in this recipe.
Vanilla powder: After months of testing, these are the three vanilla powders I consistently reach for: Cook’s Organic Vanilla Powder, Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder, and Watkins Organic Vanilla Powder.
Rainbow sprinkles: The only sprinkle brand I recommend that doesn’t bleed, discolor the batter, or disappear after baking is Medley Hills Farm Rainbow Sprinkles.
These cupcakes are always my first choice for birthdays. When I’m looking to mix things up, though, my husband always asks for my brownie cookie cake. It’s just as fun and perfect when you want one big birthday dessert to slice and share.
I can’t wait to hear how they made your celebration special!
— Cambrea 🫶🏻
If you tried this or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments; I love hearing from you! Also, please leave a star rating while you’re there! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Birthday Cupcakes
Ingredients
Sprinkle Cupcake Batter
- 1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons unbleached cake flour, *See notes below for measuring*
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
- 1/3 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons imitation vanilla, for a classic box cake flavor, sub real vanilla if desired
- 1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
Vanilla Bean Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature & cut into tablespoon pieces
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- Extra sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
For the Cupcake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 325°F(160°C). Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a stand mixer bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla powder, and salt.1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons (200 g) unbleached cake flour, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons (7 g) baking powder, 2 teaspoons (7 g) vanilla powder, 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- On low speed, mix in the butter until it has a sandy texture.8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, heavy cream, sour cream, oil, and vanilla.2 (110 g) large eggs, 1/3 cup (80 g) whole milk, 1/3 cup (80 g) heavy cream, 1/3 cup (75 g) sour cream, 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (34 g) vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons imitation vanilla
- Mix in half of the wet ingredients until the flour is moistened. Then scrape down the bowl. Mix in the remaining wet ingredients and rainbow sprinkles on low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl once to ensure everything is well combined.1/4 cup (51 g) rainbow sprinkles
- Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. You will have enough batter to make 15 cupcakes.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out covered in a few moist crumbs.
- Let the pan cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes, then carefully remove them from the pan and allow them to finish cooling on the rack.
For the Buttercream
- In a large bowl over a double boiler with simmering water, whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Cook, whisking frequently, until the sugar is dissolved and a thermometer reads 165°F(74°C).5 (155 g) large egg whites, 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- Pour the meringue into a stand mixer bowl with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until the meringue cools to roughly 90-95°F, about 10-15 minutes.
- Turn the speed down to low and mix in the butter 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Once all the butter is combined, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy. Finally, mix in the vanilla bean paste.2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon (15 g) vanilla bean paste
Decorating
- Fit a large piping bag with an open star tip and fill it with the buttercream.
- Pipe the buttercream in swirls on top of each cooled cupcake. Sprinkle with extra sprinkles and enjoy!Extra sprinkles for decorating
