There’s a sweet little bakery near my apartment that makes the BEST cupcakes! All of their flavors are amazing – almost too amazing (!!!) – but my favorite is definitely their tinted confetti cupcakes. They remind me of the ones my mama baked for us as kids, and I love that they tint them to celebrate the season. So colorful and fun!

I tinted this batch orange to welcome autumn and all of it’s loveliness. I used orange sparkling sugar for the tint; bright red, green, yellow, and brown circle sprinkles inside; and orange, white and yellow ones on top.

All of the sprinkles gave these cupcakes a ton of Fall inspired color! Perfect for the season! Obviously you can tint and sprinkle and sparkle them up with any colors you want! Making them into your dream cupcakes is half the fun 😉

The other half of the fun is eating them! And if you start baking now, you’ll be doing the confetti cupcake dance in less than an hour!

Oh, and if you really need an extra selling point – this recipe is a two bowl deal-io. One bowl for the batter; one bowl for the frosting! Lemme hear an amen!

Happy Thursday, my friends! Xo

Tinted Confetti Cupcakes – Baker by Nature

Makes 1 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, very soft

1/2 tablespoon vanilla

2 large eggs + one egg yolk, at room temperature

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 cup (whatever color you want!) colored sanding sugar

1/2 cup circle sprinkles (choose colors that wont blend into the color of the sanding sugar)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line or grease cupcake tin and set aside.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the softened butter and vanilla, mix until the batter resembles a course meal. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with each new addition.  Add milk, and mix well. Swirl in sanding sugar, then mix in sprinkles.

Spoon prepared batter into cupcake cups (filling about 1/2 way each) and bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely, and then frost.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1 sticks (4 ounces) unsalted butter, very soft

3 cups confectioners sugar

1/8 cup whole milk

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 ounces cream cheese, cut into very tiny pieces

Circle sprinkles for topping the iced cupcakes

Instructions:

In a stand mixer or large bowl beat the butter and confectioners sugar together (adding about 1/2 cup of sugar at a time until it’s to your desired sweetness and texture). Slowly mix in milk and vanilla extract, beating until slightly stiff and well combined (about 3 minutes). Add cream cheese and beat for another 2 minutes. Refrigerate for at 20 minutes, then frost cooled cupcakes.