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Funfetti Cupcake for One

funfetti-cupcakes12

Happy 2012!

Did you stay up ‘til midnight this year?

I had a really low-key Sunday to make up for a crazy New Year’s Eve the night before. Since our party wasn’t starting until ten, Emily and I offered to babysit the two sweetest children in the universe so their parents could go out for dinner.

Normally, I don’t like to babysit–and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve done it since high school—but these girls are a joy to watch. It’s like hanging out with friends, and they love to bake and taste-test for me!

The last time I babysat, we made Fairy Dust Ice Cream.

Saturday, sprinkles took center stage again:

funfetti sprinkles

We “pretend” celebrated New Year’s at 8 o’clock. We blew paper horns, drank sparkling apple cider, and the girls ate their cupcakes:

funfetti-cupcake1[1]

Single-Lady Funfetti Cupcake

(makes just one cupcake)

  • 3 tbsp flour (30g) (See directions for flour notes)
  • heaping 1/16th tsp salt
  • 1tbsp applesauce, oil, pre-melted vegan butter, or a combo (Try coconut oil. I also like 13g sbl.)
  • 1tbsp plus 1 tsp liquid (milk of choice, or water)
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp sprinkles (or more or less, as desired)
  • Sweetener (Try 1 tbsp sugar or 1 packet stevia. If you use liquid sweetener, cut back on the other liquid.)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 330 degrees. Mix the ingredients and pour into an oiled (or sprayed) muffin pan. Smooth top of batter. Cook for 12-15ish minutes. (Alternatively, you can cook this in a microwave.)

See the following for Calories and Nutrition Facts.

Notes on flour: I especially like the single-lady cupcakes with spelt flour. But you can use white flour, whole-wheat pastry, or even Arrowhead Mills gluten-free. (Also, if you’ve never done fat-free baking: subbing all the oil in a recipe for applesauce will give you a gummier result. Still yummy, but much denser than your traditional cupcake with oil.)

funfetti-cupcake-for-one1

Questions of the Day:

This New Year’s Eve, did you…

  • Stay up until midnight?
  • Watch the ball drop in Times Square?
  • Eat any lucky foods, such as lentils or greens? Or sprinkles. They’re lucky, right?

For more sprinkles:

funfetti-cookie-dough_thumb

Here’s a link to My Funfetti Recipes.

I did end up making a dessert for the New Year’s Eve party as well. That recipe will be tomorrow’s post… Hope you like cookie dough! 🙂

 

 

Published on January 2, 2012

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Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been 
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ABC's 5 O’Clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

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132 Comments

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  1. Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says

    This is fun! I actually made cupcakes for the first time ever for new year’s eve this year! chocolate covered strawberry ones.
    No “lucky” foods were consumed yesterday, just a delicious mushroom sausage risotto my mom made 🙂 Happy New Year!

  2. Maria @ Beautiful Busy Bee says

    On NYE we stayed uplate watching the Tree of Life, which was actually a very boring movie and we ended up fast forwarding through 30 mins of it, during which there were just natural shots of how life evolved on Earth (like dinosaurs and stuff). We had black bean and peach salsa, and I guess the beans are lucky. 🙂 Happy New Year’s!

  3. Erin says

    I always eat black eyed peas, greens, and corn bread on NYE. This year I made them all animal product free and they were fantastic. I also made your chocolate chip cookie dough dip (but ended up making them into actual cookies based on your recipe).

  4. Alexandra (Veggin' Out in the Kitchen) says

    Funfetti cupcake??? Yes, please 🙂 I’m definitely going to have to try this sometime! I love anything that includes sprinkles (or chocolate – maybe I could add some cocoa powder and/or chocolate chips for a chocolate funfetti cupcake!). I’m so glad that you had a good New Year, Katie! 😀

  5. Megan says

    I love your cupcakes! I have those sprinkles too. I am glad you had an enjoyable New Year and happy 2012! I did stay up until midnight, drank champagne, had lentils the night before (does that count?), and surprisingly, did not have to bake anything for a NYE party. I am excited about tomorrow’s cookie dough!

  6. Amanda says

    I love funfetti cupcakes!!!! They are my absolute favorite-I will definitely be making one of these soon! One question: if you bake it the microwave, how long should it bake for?

    Thanks for sharing!

  7. Anna @ The Guiltless Life says

    Growing up my absolute FAVOURITE cake mix was funfetti. I would go nuts for the stuff. Of course it was just loaded with sugar. It’s so fun to think if I have kids I can still replicate that experience for them with this recipe (my kids would NOT be eating sugary cake mixes lol!). Thank you for that!

    I went to a Cirque du Soleil themed gala on New Year’s Eve – it was so much fun and throughout the night circus performers would do performances, like incredible balancing acts, contortionists, stilt-walkers and jugglers. It was awesome!

  8. Leigh says

    Beautiful, festive cupcake! I’m thinking a Chinese New Year edition is going to find it’s way into my ovens at home! 😉
    Thanks for posting the recipe!! Happy New Year! May all your dreams come true and your wishes be granted!

  9. Meki says

    We stayed up all night and ate! We had fireworks and watched some countdown after midnight in different sides of the country 🙂

  10. Mira says

    I will have to try this – it looks too fun not to make! Love your bright and colorful photos as always 🙂 Your blog is fun to read!

  11. Vogelstar says

    I actually got home from work early and me and my guy made banana muffins and played the xbox dance game. Wild partiers, I know. Happy new year to everyone.

  12. kate says

    Hi Katie! Love your blog. I am just wondering what type of Vitamix you use? I want to buy the same one you have so I can make ice cream just as perfect as yours looks! Thanks!

  13. Maria Nyholm says

    Looks fun 😀

    My sister and I had so much fun we stayed up all night (went to bed at 6am), then got up again at 8.30am, went home, watched Grey’s anatomy all day and went to bed real early..
    Ate a lot of greens but didn’t have any lentils..

    As for the ball I didn’t watch it drop because I’m Danish and not American 😀

  14. Katie @ Nutrition in a peanut shell says

    Oh my goodness- Funfetti cupcakes! They’re a favorite among my friends and I, but I don’t like to make them often cause of all the weird ingredients. I stayed up til midnight with my friends playing Trivial Pursuit and eating cookies. Yep 😀

  15. Lindsey @ Why Just Eat says

    Such an adorable cupcake! We celebrated NYE at a friend’s house “small child style” – which means we did the countdown along with Rio de Janiero at 7pm our time, were home by 8pm, and in bed sound asleep by 9. Our 6 year old, on the other hand, stayed up watching cartoons until midnight. LOL!

  16. Sarah the offical CCK drooler says

    Stayed up, watched the ball drop, watched a movie afterwards and didn’t eat anything lucky. Unless… Chinese food is totally lucky right? I mean they have the fortune cookies. Also it was one of the best new year celebrations because we got to watch that RIDICULOUS Lady Gaga push the button/pull the lever. Ha! Leave it to Gaga to ring in the last year on earth 🙂 Coincidence? I think not.

  17. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga says

    I had one Jello shot to ring in the new year. Hadn’t had one in about a decade. haha! I would have loved to pair it with a funfetti cupcake.

    Happy new year!

  18. Lexi @ A Spoonful of Sunshine says

    Because round things are lucky, we decided to make pancakes! Any excuse to make pancakes sounds like a good excuse to me 🙂

  19. Amber K says

    Stayed up until four am actually and gave myself a few bruises. It was certainly different going out for NYE instead of staying in! Didn’t eat anything “traditional” unless ice cream is traditional. Well, it’s a tradition for me! 🙂

  20. Kit-Kat says

    Oh, we stayed up at our house! 🙂
    Those cupcakes look like a dream! I used to love funfetti cake as a kid (yes the boxed kind. and then my mom started to make her own!). YUM!!!

  21. laura says

    Great photo! I’ve been thinking about cake/cupcakes for my daughter’s 2 yo party in a few weeks… I think I’m going to make these– thanks!!

  22. Alex@Spoonful of Sugar Free says

    This is so darn adorable, Katie!! Sounds like your babysitting was even more fun than your party!!! Happy New Year 😀

  23. Ashley says

    For New Year’s, my boyfriend and I played games with the family before they went to bed (at 10:30) and then watched the ball drop in NYC on TV while sipping on sparkling white grape juice:)

  24. Kathy says

    Stay up until midnight? Yes :]
    Watch the ball drop in Times Square? There was a ball drop? o.o
    Eat any lucky foods, such as lentils or greens? Sadly, no :\

  25. BroccoliHut says

    Since you are the queen of funfetti, I was just curious–do you have a particular kind of sprinkles you like to use?
    Oh, and I ate black-eyed peas today–better late than never, right?

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      I guess it depends on the recipe… sometimes I like the little rainbow dots, and other times I like the longer sprinkles. The ones I have at home are just the cheap grocery store kind… I know they make organic ones, but for the 1/4 tsp or so that I’m actually going to consume once in a blue moon, I really don’t think the partially hydrogenated oils are a problem. (I know others will disagree with that, and there ARE organic sprinkles available at Whole Foods under a company called “Let’s Do Organic.”)

  26. Nancy says

    Yum! I love funfetti and will definitely have to try this. I just made some funfetti dip that I brought to an MSU bowl game gathering earlier today and it was a hit. Sprinkles make everything taste better 🙂

  27. Anna@ActiveFingers says

    This was one of the first New Year Eve’s that I didn’t stay up till at least midnight! I was in bed, fast asleep by 9pm! Oh well, I made up for it the next night by staying up too late 🙂

    Sprinkles are always lucky…and fun!

  28. jinny says

    hi katie, i love your cupcake recipes!! 🙂 in fact, i just made the chocolate cake for one! i was wondering if you have any recipes with coconut flour. i am a coconut lover/addict too! 😉 thanks!

  29. Emily @ Glitz Glam Granola says

    Omigosh, Funfetti cupcakes/cake are my absolute favorite and making a one-serving one is perfect!! (Probably the only way to stop me from overeating the funfetti!) This New Years Eve I did stay up past midnight and went to a party with some of my girlfriends! It was great!

  30. Audrey says

    Wow, this was so good and satisfying. I also just used some canned frosting, but I think tomorrow I’ll make my own and make this again. This is the best vegan cake/cupcake I’ve yet to have.

    Any chance you have a good vegan vanilla frosting recipe? Or better yet a single serving version?

  31. Faith says

    A friend just linked me to your site, and I’m in love!! I have a raging sweet tooth, so I’m glad to find a site devoted to recipes that will actually nourish me. 🙂 One question about this cupcake recipe: where are the instructions for the frosting?

  32. Debra says

    This is a fabulous recipe! Thanks for posting it. I am on a low carb diet so I tweaked it a little to suit my specific diet, and got a fairly good result. Here are the substitutions I made:

    1/4 c. soy flour (substituted for the regular flour for more protein and less carbs)
    Torani sugar free vanilla syrup (2 tbsp) instead of the vanilla extract
    safflower oil for the oil
    1 tsp of sprinkles
    (the rest of the recipe I followed exactly like you said to do).
    The first one turned out harder like a cookie, so the next one I added in 1 tbsp extra water and it came out soft. I then melted some organic butter on top.

  33. Heather@Kids in the Sink says

    I’m in heaven! I am a fiend for funfetti! So much so that I chose them as my celebratory dessert for Melissa, my blog partner, to bring me at the hospital after my daughter was born. Because I am a fiend, I consume far too many. We won’t talk numbers. Lets just say, a recipe for one is perfect for me! As long as I don’t double it…

  34. Mindy says

    This was delicious! I used Valentines sprinkles (pink, brown, and white jimmies and pink and white hearts) and it came out so cute! I used agave nectar instead of sugar and it came out perfectly in my toaster oven. I’m glad I have a six cupcake pan for just such an occasion 🙂

  35. Susan L says

    I just tried this! It’s delicious but I should have added the sprinkles last. They dyed the dough, making it look purple, haha. But they tasted great. I used vegetable oil because I couldn’t find my coconut oil. Perfect sweet treat for a Saturday night in. =)

  36. Victoria says

    KATIE!
    this hit the ‘spot’ so perfectly for me tonight! now i gotta try all the other single-lady cupcakes :]
    i used ‘gluten-free pantry’ brand gluten-free flour with the oil and almond milk as my liquid. it turned out AWESOME. i had to stop myself from making another one!
    i didn’t have any frosting materials so i just took some whole milk yogurt and sweetened it with agave. kinda made the entire thing taste like cake-batter ice cream! yummmm

  37. Steph says

    This is DELICIOUS with mashed banana (plus some extra water) instead of oil/applesauce. I made it in the microwave so it’d be even better cooked in the oven!

  38. Pooja says

    Hi there…. i recently discovered your awesome blog. Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful recipes with us. 🙂
    I was planning to make these today but was wondering what does combo mean?
    “1T applesauce, oil, pre-melted vegan butter, or a combo (Try coconut oil. I also like 13g sbl.)”

  39. Pooja says

    I made this today….n lemme tell you – It was the yummiest cupcake I have ever had.
    Thank a ton Katie 🙂 🙂
    Thing I would do differently next time – Remember to melt the oil before using. My coconut oil was frozen,due to the weather, and I did not melt it. So, the cupcake tasted too coconutty in some bites. Lol!
    Question – The cupcake cracked on the top. What usually causes the cracks?

  40. Lisa K @ NutriNosh says

    Katie…do you have any whole cake recipes? I’m lookin’ around for something diabetic-friendly to make for my grandfather’s birthday, and of course I thought of your blog. I may have to take this and multiply it by 12 and give it a try lol.

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      Hmmm… I have a chocolate cake recipe, but it does have sugar. What about the Chocolate Bar Pie recipe if you use sugar-free chocolate chips or a melted chocolate bar? (I’ve seen xylitol sweetened ones at the store.) Another commenter just said she made the muffins into twelve, but once again she used sugar: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/08/28/single-serving-blueberry-muffin/comment-page-1/#comment-357510

      My pumpkin cream cheese bars or ultimate fudge brownies can be made with xylitol. Oh, and the chocolate-strawberry truffle pie has no added sugar. (I don’t know much about diabetic-friendly, so I’m not sure how much fruit sugar would be ok. But all of the recipes I mentioned are free of the white stuff, at least.)

  41. Laura says

    Is there any way to make this into a cake? My little boy’s birthday is coming up and this would be perfect for his “Art” themed birthday if I could get it to work as a cake. Help, Please!

  42. QWERTY says

    What does the T stand for? And I am NOT referring to the movie rating, FYI. And, I was trying your mint chocolate chip ice cream, and it had turned into a hard, green, ice stone. Any advice?

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      T is tablespoon.
      I’m not sure what you mean about the ice stone… Vita-Mix ice cream tastes best right after you make it, but if for some reason you want to make it and then not eat right away, you can always thaw it from the freezer.

  43. Olivia says

    Katie, I have to thank you so much for this recipe! My mom’s birthday was 2 weeks ago and I decided to whip up one of your single-serve cakes for her. I iced it with Nutella (since she loves Nutella and isn’t vegan) and made a cake topper out of clay for it, and she loved it! I can’t say enough good things about your blog. Here are a couple pictures:

    http://picasaweb.google.com/107115571779598948190/MiscellaneousPhotos61112#5752825341198758482

    http://picasaweb.google.com/107115571779598948190/MiscellaneousPhotos61112#5752825392906483490

    Thanks again!
    Olivia

  44. Kelly says

    Katie, you save me again. This cupcake sure hit the spot tonight! And I didn’t end up with 30 of them to solve a craving. 🙂

    Being non-vegan, I used applesauce and half-and-half (I wanted a bit of richness, but I hate the taste of oil in cake!). I also used CHOCOLATE sprinkles! Mixed it and microwaved it in a silicone bowl for about 1:15. I topped it with a bit of raspberry preserves. Mmmm delicious!

  45. Diane says

    In the last few years, on baking blogs especially, I’ve noticed a trend in the way people are using the word “substitute,” and it has really confused me at times. I would normally say “substitute A for B,” meaning don’t use B; use A instead. But people now say “substitute A with B,” meaning (I infer from the context) that A is going away, and they’re using B instead. I think it’s more grammatical in those cases to say “replace A with B.” Using “with” instead of “for” with the word “substitute” creates a logical tangle–in my mind, at least.

    So, when I read your sentence: “Also, if you’ve never done fat-free baking: subbing all the oil in a recipe for applesauce will give you a gummier result,” I was left scratching my head, because you essentially said “substituting oil for applesauce will give you a gummier result,” yet you began the sentence with a reference to fat-free baking, and I’m pretty sure that it’s applesauce, not oil, that makes baked goods “gummier.” =)

    Perhaps I’m the only person in the world who is confused by this change in usage, but in the quest for excellent writing (as yours normally is), I hope you’ll consider my suggestion to stick to the (apparently) old-fashioned ways of using “substitute” and “replace.” As I said, I know it’s a trend, but I don’t think it’s a helpful one!

  46. Leah says

    Made this today. It was great! I was wary about using applesauce but I didn’t have Any oil so i kinda had to. It was delicious and you could barely taste the Apple! I did mine in the microwave. Took about 1 minute and 20 seconds. Perfect! Definitely satisfied my sweet tooth! Thanks for this great recipe!

  47. Mackenzie says

    I didn’t know where to send you an email so I just decided to send one here.. I just wanted to say I LOVE your site sooo much! I am very much into health and I want to be a nutritionist and build my own health empire ( I am 16 still so I am starting now..) In my free time I just go on this site and get so excited to try your recipes out! Thank you!

  48. Rachel says

    This is amazing 🙂 I made it today, but I don’t know what to put on for frosting… I don’t have any tofu or else I would have made one of the frostings I saw that you posted. Any ideas?

  49. Christina D says

    These were SO good! It’s my husband’s 30th birthday today so I made 3 of these – one for him, one for me, and a little one for our 2 year old. I topped them with your Reese’s Pieces Frosting. Everyone loved them!

    My husband has been a big fan of the Pillsbury Funfetti boxed cake for years and I was worried he would be too picky about these, but nope, he said they were BETTER than the funfetti boxed cake!

    Great recipe! Will definitely make again!

  50. Lindsey says

    Hi Katie! I was linked to your blog through Pinterest and I just thought what a small world! I haven’t talked to you in a long time (I’m Tally’s friend). Your blog is amazing! I have been craving a cupcake (just one!) so this is perfect. I’m definitely going to try it out. Also, one of my co-workers mentioned your blog randomly one day and I was like I know her! Just wanted to say hi!! 🙂

  51. Ashley says

    If I wanted to make a whole batch of these for my birthday what would the portions be? Could you help??? Thanks!

  52. Jenna says

    Just made this–I think I used the wrong type of sprinkles, because they turned the batter grey xD either way, it’s delicious! I was a little skeptical at first because the batter wasn’t quite like “normal” cake batter, but it totally worked! Thank you! 🙂 (I used 2 T brown rice flour and 1 T ww flour)

  53. Barbara Gabbe-Harris says

    Hi Katie – just wondering about the colorful sprinkles .. are they all natural ? I thought colors usually have dyes in them. Thanks for info. barbara

  54. Kimberly says

    This literally came out PERFECT <3 i used white whole wheat flour, applesauce, and stevia. I expected it to be gummy and have that typical bitter flavor that tends to lurk in healthy baked goods, but damn I was so so wrong. It tasted just like a moist, fluffy, calorie ridden bakery cupcake. Absolutely delicious I am actually amazed with how good it was. I LOVE YOU ok I need to calm down hahaha.

    • Unofficial CCK Helper says

      She said it is storebought, but you can use her Coconut Cool Whip frosting or Reeses Fudge Frosting recipes if you want a healthy homemade frosting.

  55. Kim says

    Hi Katie, I’m looking at using this recipe for an upcoming company function; how did you make the icing you used on top?

  56. Stephanie says

    Hi! I just found your website and I’m in love with it. I can’t wait to try out a ton of your recipes — I got a bit carried away, I have to admit.

    I wanted to ask, where is the recipe that you use for the “buttercream” frosting on your single-lady Funfetti cupcake. I didn’t see a link anywhere and it looks delicious. Could you send it to me when you have the time.

    Thanks so much!

    Stephanie

  57. Harris says

    This looks delicious! Just wondering, what did you use to make the icing? I can’t find any good healthy icing recipes anywhere! 🙁

  58. Priscilla says

    Hi this was a great recipe, let me just give a bit of advice,if your using non-pareils instead of sprinkles they should be added last because their color will fade off and change the color of your batter.Good Luck;-)

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