You are going to love these light and fluffy gluten free funfetti cupcakes. Use this funfetti cake batter to make cupcakes, or a cake, or bake it in gluten free ice cream cones to make festive birthday cupcakes!
My daughter is all about colorful rainbow sprinkles, aka funfetti. I have used funfetti in a few desserts like these gluten free funfetti cookies, but I needed a good cupcake to bring to a birthday.
You are going to love how easy this recipe is to make. I used my popular gluten free vanilla cupcakes recipe and added a bunch of colorful sprinkles. Note with sprinkles, some are made on shared equipment, so check my list to know which sprinkles are gluten free.
Why these colorful cupcakes are great:
These rainbow cupcakes are great because you have so much flexibility, depending on the occasion! You can make cupcakes like I did in cupcake papers or ice cream cones, or you can make a big cake.
Use any color combination of sprinkles for any holiday!
You can bake any of my flavored cupcake batter recipes in ice cream cones. Ice cream cone cupcakes are all the rage for birthday parties and dessert buffets! Check out all of my delicious gluten free cupcake recipes!
This is one of my favorite gluten-free flour blends for cookies, cakes, pie crust, biscuits, and muffins! (Do not use this flour blend for yeast recipes.)
Ingredient notes:
- Gluten free flour blend – I tested this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend and King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work. I just have not tested other flours.
- Xanthan gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Gluten free sprinkles – Make sure you use sprinkles that are gluten free. Some brands use shared equipment!
- Butter – To make this dairy-free, use vegan butter.
- Milk – If you are dairy-free, use non-dairy milk.
Recipe step-by-step directions:
Step 1: Add your dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to blend. Don’t forget to add 1 tsp of xanthan gum if your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain it. This helps hold your cupcakes together.
Step 2: Add your wet ingredients to a smaller bowl and whisk to blend.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix. Do not over-mix the batter; mix it until barely mixed. This will keep your cupcakes light and fluffy!
Step 4: Now you have two options. Add cupcake papers to a muffin tin. Pour your batter into the muffin tin cups. Fill until they are about ¾ full.
Step 5: You can also bake the cupcake batter in gluten free ice cream cones. The batter rises pretty high when baking, so fill your cones about the same as I did.
Step 6: Bake the cupcakes at 350º F for 20-25 minutes. Whether you use a muffin tin or bake the cupcakes in cones, baking time will vary.
Step 7: In a standing mixer or with an electric mixer. Mix up your frosting. I made a buttercream frosting using powdered sugar, softened butter, pure vanilla extract, and water.
Step 8: Add the frosting to a piping bag. Use any tip you like and add frosting to each cupcake. If you want to make flowers. I have a great video tutorial on how to pipe frosting flowers.
Step 9: Sprinkle with funfetti sprinkles and top with a maraschino cherry!
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
You can make this recipe dairy-free using vegan butter and non-dairy milk.
These cupcakes will last up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer. To freeze, I recommend freezing without frosting.
To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the cupcakes need to bake longer.
Joy and Goldbaums both make great gluten free ice cream cones to use for these cupcakes. I recommend using this ice cream cone baking stand if you are using sugar cones. This ice cream cone stand is better for flat bottom cones.
The best way to keep your cupcakes fluffy is not to overmix the batter. Also, many gluten free flour blends are starchy. If you notice your batter is thick, add more liquid to look like my photo above.
You can flavor and color frosting easily, too! Check out all of my easy Gluten Free Frosting Tips.
More gluten free cupcakes:
- Gluten Free Churros Cupcakes
- Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Gluten Free Funfetti Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter melted
- 2 eggs large
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk or non-dairy milk
- ½ cup sprinkles
Frosting:
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup butter softened
- ¼ cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- In a small bowl, add the wet ingredients and whisk to blend.
- In a larger bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, sprinkles, and mix them gently. You want the batter to be smooth, but not too runny.
- Add parchment paper cupcake/muffin liners to a muffin tin. Fill each ¾ with the cupcake batter.
- Bake the cupcakes for 20-22 minutes until done.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the cupcakes needs to bake longer.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and put each cupcake onto a cooling rack to cool for 30 minutes.
Frosting:
- In a mixer, add frosting ingredients and whip until thick and creamy.
- Put the filling into a frosting pastry bag. Make sure to put the frosting tip in!
- Sprinkle with more funfetti sprinkles!
To Bake In Ice Cream Cones:
- Use an ice cream cone bakin stand to hold up your ice cream cones.
- Fill each ⅔ with the funfetti batter. Don't overfill or the cake batter will explode over the top.
- Bake 20 minutes until done.
- Allow to cool and frost.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the cupcakes need to bake longer.
- I used almond milk but milk and other dairy-free kinds of milk will work but I do not recommend canned coconut milk.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
When you made these cupcakes, what type of pan did you use? A metal tin or a silicone baking mold? I have not made this recipe but I worry about burning them. That seems to happen when I use my metal cupcake pan.
Hi Jessica, I use a metal muffin pan. It is by Wilton. If your cupcakes are burning, I am happy to troubleshoot because that should not happen. Where you have the oven racks set up? Have you tested your oven temperature for accuracy? Are you using regular or convection?
The taste was very sweet but good! Only thing I didn’t like was how greasy the bottoms/liners came out to be. I didn’t pre grease anything. Same for silicone liners. Ah well! 4 and 5 year olds won’t mind haha!
Hi Ashley, I didn’t notice that happen. What flour blend did you use? If you used a starchy flour blend, it is possible you needed a little more flour.
I used this recipe but made it as a smaller 4 layer cake, with buttercream frosting. It was so good!! Just starting to venture out with “homemade” GF baking, instead of using mixes! I will definitely make this again! Everyone loved it!
I am so glad you loved this cake recipe!!! Thank you so much for letting me know everyone loved it.
YUM! I love how you’ve made gluten free taste SO good. These cupcakes were perfect for our son’s birthday. He’s gluten free – but we were all able to enjoy. Thanks.
I am glad he loved them. Happy Birthday! 🙂
The flavor and texture of these cuppies was spot on! Delicious!
I am so glad you loved them Wilhelmina 🙂