Is it possible to go wrong with sprinkles? I can see why children delight in anything covered in sprinkles. It just looks fun. But this recipe is not so much about sprinkles as it is about the deliciousness that holds them all together. I’ve been tweaking this white cake recipe for a while and I think you’ll find it to be light and tasty, which is total opposite from the dense grittiness you typically find in gluten free baked goods. I dropped one off at my mom’s office and she later called to confirm they were in fact gluten free.
Up until a few months ago I had never made a confetti cupcake, but when I asked my daughter what she wanted for her birthday party she quickly replied “a carnival with confetti cupcakes!”. I like to run with good ideas and had a blast planning and preparing her birthday celebration. Her cupcakes turned out ok but for some reason they started to brown really fast (my oven was having issues that day, or maybe I was!) half way through baking. Unfortunately, I noticed too late and my cupcakes were overdone. Because of time and the number of eggs on hand, I had to go with what I had. They still turned out cute and tasty. I colored the frosting red, blue and yellow (although you only see the blue and yellow as I used the red for another party). Since they didn’t turn out how I wanted I HAD to make another batch. Sweet redemption.
Make sure to have your ingredients at room temperature – butter, eggs, flours. This really makes a difference to the delicate nature of cake. If you don’t have a food scale to measure your flours be extra careful to not over-flour your cupcakes! This WILL result in a dense cupcake. It only takes 1-2 Tbs to throw everything off, so err on the side of less.
Finally, I usually have a little extra batter after making 24 cupcakes. I like to take those extra cupcakes, bake and then freeze them in an airtight container. This works great for birthday parties that pop up where I need to send a GF cupcake for my daughter and saves me from baking an entire batch.
Gluten Free Confetti Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup butter room temperature
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs whole, room temperature
- 5 egg whites room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (375 grams) gluten free flour blend
- 1 ½ teaspoon xanthan or guar gum omit if in blend
- 1 Tbs baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk I used 2%
- ½ cup sprinkles
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2-3 Tbs half n' half
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Additional sprinkles for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare 24 standard muffin tins with paper cups.
- In a stand mixer, combine butter, oil and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
- In a small bowl, sift gluten free flour blend, guar gum, baking powder and salt.
- Beginning with flour mixture, add about ⅓ of mix to egg mixture and combine. Then add about ⅓ of milk and combine. Continue alternating until flour mixture and milk is entirely incorporated.
- Very gently stir in ½ cup of sprinkles. Stir just enough to evenly distribute sprinkles. Too much stirring will cause the sprinkles to bleed their colors.
- Fill each muffin cup ¾ full with batter.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, checking half way through to rotate the pan for even cooking if needed. The cupcake top should be slightly golden. Be careful not to over-bake as the white cake darken very fast. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Frosting
- Place butter, powdered sugar, cream of tartar and salt in a stand mixer and beat until fluffy. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Stir in vanilla. Feel free to use coloring at this point. Place in a piping bag and decorate your cupcakes, finishing with sprinkles.
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