1-Bowl Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes

I have one of those super cool moms who brought in cupcakes for my class on my birthday. She always baked them in ice cream cones and she always topped them with tons of sprinkles.

Moms, birthdays, and sprinkles are the best (in that order).

I’m so excited I finally got around to vegan-izing funfetti cupcakes.

Up until this point my favorite flavor of vegan cupcakes has been chocolate, so it was due time to try my hand at good old fashioned vanilla. Turns out, vanilla has my heart, especially when sprinkles are involved.

This recipe may look a little complicated, but I assure you it only requires 1 bowl and less than 1 hour!

The ingredients are basic as well. If you’re like me, you always have vegan butter and sprinkles on hand anyway. If not, you’ll probably start doing so after trying these babes.

Quintessential funfetti cupcakes have sprinkles inside the cupcake as well as on top of the frosting. If I could’ve figured out another way to infuse sprinkles into these babes, I surely would’ve. I’ll report back on any such discoveries.

These cupcakes are seriously dreamy. They’re

Fluffy
Moist
Perfectly sweet
Vanilla infused
Loaded with sprinkles
Topped with MEGA fluffy buttercream
Super shareable
& Slightly addictive

I may or may not have sampled one pre frosting…then another post frosting…then another just to ensure I hadn’t in fact gotten a wrong assessment. Turns out, I was right all along. These cakes are amazing!

Make these for book club and birthdays and anniversaries and casual Fridays and everything in between.

You and whomever you bestow them upon will not only experience a slight sugar high, but also the pure bliss that ONLY comes from eating a cupcake loaded with icing and sprinkles. Enjoy!

NOTE: Recipe updated 3/20/19 to address crumbly texture and flat tops. We swapped the vegan butter for oil and it worked much better. 

One Bowl Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes

1-bowl vegan funfetti cupcakes that taste JUST like the real thing! Fluffy, sweet, and loaded with vegan buttercream and sprinkles.

Author Minimalist Baker

Print SAVE SAVED

4.55 from 385 votes

Prep Time 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 12 (cupcakes)

Course Dessert

Cuisine Vegan

Freezer Friendly No

Does it keep? 3 Days

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

CUPCAKES:

• 1 scant cup non-dairy milk (we used unsweetened plain almond milk)
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup neutral oil (such as avocado)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 scant cup organic cane sugar
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles* (plus more for topping)

FROSTING:

• 1/2 cup vegan butter (SOFTENED // 1 stick yields 1/2 cup – we like Earth Balance and Miyoko's brands)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups powdered sugar (SIFTED)
• 1 splash non-dairy milk (optional // almond and coconut are best!)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line a standard muffin holder with 12 paper liners (as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size).
• Add non-dairy milk and vinegar or lemon juice to a large mixing bowl and let set a few minutes to curdle/activate. Then add oil and vanilla and whisk or use a hand mixer to beat vigorously to combine. Then add sugar and whisk or use a hand mixer to beat to combine/dissolve. It may splash so be careful!
• Add dry ingredients (omitting sprinkles) to a sifter in this order: two-thirds of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and then the remaining third of the flour.
• Sift over wet ingredients and use a whisk or hand mixer to blend until well incorporated and no large lumps remain. The texture should be somewhere between thick and thin. Not liquidy, but not scoopable (rather, pourable). Somewhere near a buttermilk pancake batter consistency. We had to add another 1-2 Tbsp flour to thicken slightly.
• Add sprinkles and gently fold/stir with a rubber spatula or mixing spoon. Then divide batter evenly among cupcake holders making sure NOT to overfill. These do best at 3/4 of the way up.
• Bake on a center rack for 20-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. They will only have a very, very slight golden brown color.
• Let cool completely on a cooling rack. In the meantime, prepare frosting (optional). Wipe clean your mixing bowl and add softened butter. Beat until light and fluffy. Then add vanilla and mix once more.
• Add SIFTED powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and continue mixing until thick and creamy. Scrape down sides as needed. If it gets too thick or crumbly, add a splash non-dairy milk to thin (optional). You want this frosting to be very thick so it will hold its shape once on the cupcakes. If it gets too thin, thicken with more powdered sugar.
• Once cooled, frost cupcakes and top with sprinkles. Serve immediately. Store leftovers covered at room temperature or refrigerated up to 3 days.

Video

Notes

*Some brands of sprinkles aren’t vegan friendly, so be sure to check!
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with frosting.

Nutrition (1 of 12 servings)

Serving: 1 cupcake Calories: 380 Carbohydrates: 56 g Protein: 1.7 g Fat: 17.4 g Saturated Fat: 6.4 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 276 mg Fiber: 0.5 g Sugar: 42.1 g