A birthday party simply wouldn’t be the same without yummy cupcakes to help celebrate. But what about the artificial colors found in most store bought cupcakes? These Dye-Free Confetti Cupcakes are my worry-free party solution. They’re so darn cute, and as you can see from Chloe’s reaction below, absolutely delicious!
My kids’ school has (thankfully) knuckled down this year on snacks, food-dye and artificial coloring and the amount of sugar that parents can bring for birthday celebrations. I’m all for moderation, so on occasion I will let my kids eat just about anything, however I’ve always made it clear to them that artificial food dyes aren’t good for their bodies. While my son has totally embraced this fact and exercises caution, my daughter has a hard time resisting anything featuring color.
When I first saw these cupcakes in Jessica Merchant’s new cookbook, Seriously Delicious, I knew both of my kids would go gaga for them as the cake is dye-free and I could top them with a dye free brand of sprinkles.
I planned to make them as soon as possible so I went to Amazon and typed “dye free sprinkles” into the search bar. A version from India Tree came up and I bought them. I was excited for them to arrive, given that many of India Tree’s products don’t contain dyes, however when I received the sprinkles they looked unusually bright for something that was supposed to be dye-free. Much to my surprise the sprinkles were made with artificial dyes.
At this point Chloe, who had been with me at the mailbox when my Amazon package arrived, was begging me for a cupcake with rainbow sprinkles while Kenya wanted one using the organic Let’s Do Sprinklez brand I also had ordered, which is made from all natural vegetable dyes. Vegetable dye sprinkles are not as vivid as what we’re all conditioned to expect rainbow sprinkles to look like, but they taste delicious, come in a variety of colors (which you can see in the first three images here), and most important, are safe for our bodies.
Trying not to be an overbearing mom I allowed Chloe have her cupcake with the unnaturally bright sprinkles making her oh-so-happy. I then threw away the rest of those sprinkles and sent Amazon a not-so-happy note asking them to remove the India Tree Sprinkles from the “dye-free” section of their site.
As much as I could go on and on about sprinkles, the best part about Jessica’s cupcake recipe is the light and moist vanilla cake — it’s like vanilla air. Her book, Seriously Delish, is filled with 150 glorious recipes as well as some of the funniest anecdotes I’ve ever read in a cookbook. Her thoughts on life and food make me laugh out loud, and as I cruised through the book it reminded me to always have a sense of humor about food and cooking.
No matter what type of sprinkles you use these Dye Free Confetti Cupcakes are a winner for a birthday party, celebration or as demonstrated by Chloe below.. anytime!
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Dye-Free Confetti Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large whole egg
- 1 egg white
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup assorted colored sprinkles
Vanilla Cream Frosting:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon whole milk, or as needed
- 1/4 cup assorted colored sprinkles
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat it until creamy. Add the sugar and beat with the butter in high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and egg white, mixing well on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add the oil and vanilla extract, beating on medium speed for another minute. With the mixer on low speed, add half the dry ingredients and blend. Pour in the milk and blend. Add the other half of the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until the batter is combined. Use a large spatula to gently stir in the sprinkles.
- Fill the cupcake liners two-thirds full. Bake until the tops are set, 10 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
For the Vanilla Cream Frosting:
- Add the butter and cream cheese to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed until creamy and combined. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the powdered sugar. Beat until the sugar is incorporated, and then add the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. Beat the frosting on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until fluffy and creamy. If the frosting seems too thick, beat in the milk for 1 to 2 minutes, until combined. Frost the cupcakes and top them with the sprinkles.
Oops, our fave is brownies!
Saw Seriously Delish in B & N and it looks amazing! Hope I win and thanks for giveaway!
My son loves waffles and cupcakes.My spon