My 32nd birthday just passed last week! Let’s go ahead and get it out of the way: it’s 9/11. Unfortunate for sure, but there’s not much I can do about it (or should I start lying and say it’s the 10th?). On the contrary, this year was probably my favorite birthday in a long time. I got an Airbnb in Mission Viejo with some of my close friends and my brother, sister in law, and twin nieces came over to hang out with us and swim in the pool. The weekend was full of a ton of pastries, steak frites night, and lots of quality time playing games like cornhole (who named it that?!), ladder ball, and Chameleon. Highly recommend the last one if you like party games!
It was awesome to have my friends come down for the weekend just to hang out and enjoy good food together. My friend Pete helped with grilling a bunch of steaks, Karlee made a delicious panzanella salad full of bread and tomatoes, and Jasmyn made a crunchy, refreshing take on a potato salad. Aly whipped up Dan Pelosi’s strata recipe from NYT Cooking for breakfast one morning, which I’ll definitely be making again. Maximo ordered my ideal birthday cake, a passionfruit funfetti cake from baker Sam Robinson, and we also popped over to Diotima Bakehouse on Friday morning and waited in line for some really awesome pastries. I really mean it when I say nothing could have been better—I’m so grateful.
Earlier in the week, my friend Cymone came over to make a recipe video together. Her birthday was the 10th and she turned 25, so she’s really my direct connection to Gen Z and she keeps me young. We worked together on set a few times over the last 2 years and when we’re around each other, we have the energy of two kids who absolutely would’ve been separated in class by their teacher. You can find our video here if you wanna check it out! It was also my first video edited in Adobe Premiere Pro, so that was a big baby step for me. I’m dedicating some time to learning more video editing skills over the next year! Shit is hard.
A few years ago, I got a mini cupcake pan when I was picking up some baking supplies. Then I got another one, so now I can bake 48 mini cupcakes in one go. Can we all agree that making mini versions of something instantly ups the cute factor to at least 300%? I really don’t even like cupcakes to begin with, but mini cupcakes? Sign me up! One of the first creations I did with the mini pan was chocolate cupcakes with espresso buttercream, for my Friendsgiving potluck 2 years ago. I still think about those little chocolate coffee bombs, so maybe I’ll get around to writing up that recipe later this year. Holiday baking is just around the corner, are you ready? I’m not, but I’ll try to slap something together for you all. One thing I can’t wait to bake again this fall is this delicata galette, which was one of my early Substack posts.
This recipe is very straightforward: a basic white cake with sprinkles mixed in, topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting… and more sprinkles. If you don’t have a mini cupcake pan, what are you waiting for? You can definitely bake these in a standard muffin pan, though—just expect a longer bake time (and you might need a little more frosting, depending on your personal preferences).
Mini Funfetti Cupcakes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 12-14 minutes
Yield: 36 mini cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
4 tbsp (57g) butter, softened
1/4 cup (57g) oil (canola, grape seed etc)
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg whites (~105g)
1 1/2 cups (190g) all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup sprinkles (or more)
For the frosting:
4 tbsp (57g) butter, softened
4 oz (112g) cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 to 3 cups (300g to 360g) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp milk (optional / as needed)
Cream the butter, oil, sugar, a pinch of salt, and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Add the egg whites one by one, mixing until fully combined.
Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda with the buttermilk and mix just until combined. Stir in the sprinkles.
Scoop the batter into a lined mini cupcake pan, filling each about 3/4 of the way. Bake at 350°F for 12-14 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean (Note: if you make these in a regular sized pan, they will take longer to bake!).
Meanwhile, make the frosting: cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar in a few additions, mixing to incorporate fully. Add the vanilla extract and mix until smooth and thick enough to pipe. If the icing gets too thick, you can add the milk to thin it out a bit.
Let the cupcakes cool, then top with cream cheese frosting (I use a piping bag) and more sprinkles. Enjoy!
Psst! If you don’t already follow me on Instagram, I’d love to see ya over there!
gimme one of these lil guys
cute doggie