1-Bowl Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes

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Stirring a bowl of batter for 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).

Stirring sprinkles into Vegan Funfetti Cupcake batter

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.

Plates of partially frosted Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes
Adding sprinkles to frosted Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes

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.

Plate of Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes with frosting and rainbow sprinkles

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!

Holding up a Vegan Funfetti Cupcake from a plate

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!

Batch of our Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes recipe
Partially eaten Vegan Funfetti Cupcake

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
Holding a Vegan Funfetti Cupcake topped with frosting and rainbow sprinkles
4.55 from 385 votes
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 12 (cupcakes)
Course Dessert
Cuisine Vegan
Freezer Friendly No
Does it keep? 3 Days

Ingredients

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

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  1. Judy Louise says

    These are hands down the MOST delicious cupcake I have ever made. They are so full of vanilla flavor, crispy-almost cookie like tops- and bouncy, fluffy center. I will be making these regularly!!

  2. Paige Oliveto says

    This is my go-to cupcake recipe for years. I have made them for coworkers and they always get requested to be made again and raved about. People are always shocked that they are vegan. Excellent recipe. It is also simple as well. I hate baking and these are extremely simple to make. Thanks for a great recipe :)

  3. Lynne says

    These cupcakes are divine! My 5 year old and I made them and they came out amazingly delicious (we didn’t make the frosting and it’s still impossible to have just one!). Thank you for another delicious recipe, perfect as written and enjoyed by everyone.

  4. Michelle says

    This was a total baking fail 😞. I don’t blame the recipe! (although I did follow the instructions). I definitely filled the cones too much, one place said almost full another said 3/4 full….the batter overflowed. Then my frosting melted. I should have waited until the cupcakes were done cooking before beginning to prepare the frosting. It was sitting out waiting while cupcakes cooled. Thankfully my daughter whose 7th birthday they were for was full of laughs watching my cones topple over as the frosting melted over the sides 😂. Wish I could post a picture. We tried to save them in the end… Melting Ice Cream funfetti cupcakes is what we named them 🤣🤣

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Oh no! We’re so sorry it didn’t work out, Michelle. We haven’t tried this one in ice cream cones, but have an ice cream cone cupcake recipe here. Better luck next time!

  5. Diane says

    Can this recipe be made with cows milk? My severe allergy is anything fous. We laugh at “Fowl is foul” . I live in a remote area and avocado oil might not be on the grocers shelves!! Good replacement??? Thanks for your answer.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Diane, cow’s milk would work. Alternatives to avocado oil would be another neutral oil such as sunflower, grapeseed, or canola. Hope that helps!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Nats, they don’t work as well gluten-free, but some other readers have enjoyed them. If you try it, we’d recommend a 1:1 GF Flour Blend. Some aren’t as absorbent as all-purpose flour, so you may need to add more flour. We do also have a gluten-free vanilla cupcake recipe you could check out. Hope that helps!

  6. rain says

    not sure if i made this wrong but i would definitely cut down on the amount of oil included, cupcakes were very oily – leaked through the liners, and tasted of oil as well, flavour was reminiscent of something deep fried…

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Oh no! We’re so sorry that was your experience! It does sound like something went wrong. Did you make any modifications?

  7. Tamara says

    Hello! Any tips for or changes to make this recipe work as a cake? I have double layer 9inch and 6inch pans. Thanks!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Tamara, we haven’t tried it but it should work. If you want to make two 6 inch cakes, you can make the recipe as written and divide it between pans. For two 9 inch cakes you would probably want to double the recipe. The only big change is that the bake time will need to be longer, probably ~30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let us know how it goes!

  8. Lisa says

    Hi!
    I want to make this recipe but with mini cupcakes for little ones. Can you please tell me how to modify the recipe and cooking time?

    Thank you,

    Lisa

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Lisa! We haven’t tried these as mini cupcakes, but we’re guessing they will take about 15 minutes to bake!

  9. k says

    Hello,

    I want to make these cupcakes the night before I need to serve them and I plan on frosting right before serving. Do you recommend storing the cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature? Can I make the frosting the night before? If so, should this be stored in the fridge?

    Also, if I am using canola oil instead of avocado oil, can I substitute the canola oil for the same amount of avocado oil (1/2 cup)?

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi K, depending on your climate we recommend storing the cupcakes at room temperature, perhaps on a cooling rack tightly covered with a clean towel or foil. If you live in a very dry place, an airtight container should be good, but they might get overly moist. The frosting should be stored in the refrigerator, and yes, the same amount of canola oil will work! Let us know how it goes!