• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a regular size muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.

Make The Chocolate Pudding

• In a small bowl, using a spoon, combine the 4 tablespoons of cornstarch and the 3 tablespoons of cold water until smooth. It will be thick and tacky at first. Set aside.
• Boil 2 cups of water (you can do this in a microwave safe bowl or heat safe measuring cup as well).
• Over low heat on the stovetop, place the 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder in a pan and pour in the boiling hot water. Whisk to combine.
• Add the ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and the 1 ounce of chocolate chips, continue whisking to combine. 
• Whisk in the cornstarch water mixture. Add the ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and bring to a boil, whisking the entire time. You should see it thickening. If not, increase your heat slightly but be careful not to burn.

  Let it boil for about a minute, whisking the entire time.
• Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the 2 tablespoons butter and the 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
• Leave the pan on a cutting board on the counter, whisking periodically until the pudding has cooled significantly. Then transfer to a heat safe bowl and refrigerate. 

  You want the pudding thick and cool when you assemble the cupcakes. Make sure the pudding is made ahead of time and is cold from being in the fridge.

For The Funfetti Cupcakes

• In a large bowl whisk together the 2 ¼ cups multipurpose gluten free flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 ¾ cups milk, ½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon white vinegar and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.
• Slowly add the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. It if gets too thick, switch to a spatula but it should be fairly liquidy.
• Using a spatula, stir in 1 cup of rainbow sprinkles until combined.
• Use an ice cream scoop or a large cookie scoop to fill the cupcake tins ¾ way to the top. Smooth the tops with a small knife.
• Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 28 minutes or until tops of the cupcakes are golden brown and spring back at you when carefully touched.
• Let the cupcakes cool almost completely in the pan before trying to remove them.

Make The Chocolate Frosting

• In the large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the ¾ cup unsalted butter or vegan baking stick until smooth and creamy. About 2 minutes.
• With the mixer on very low speed, slowly add in the 3 ½ cups confectioners' sugar, 1 cup of cocoa powder and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
• While the mixer is on, slowly add in the ½ cup water a little at a time until you get the desired consistency. You may not need to use all the water.

Assemble the Cupcakes

• Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, we are going to make the holes for the pudding filling.

  If you have piping bags with tips, you can use that to make the holes.
• If not, using a clean thumb, simply push down in the center of the cupcakes but not all the way to the bottom.
• Fill the hole with the chocolate pudding, all the way to the top.

  Easiest way to do this is to fill a piping bag with a tip with pudding and pipe it in. If you don’t have a piping bag, fill a zip top bag with pudding and snip a small piece of the corner off.
• After they’re filled with pudding, pop the cupcakes uncovered in the fridge for at least 15 min.

  This is to make the pudding a bit more solid. You don’t want it oozing everywhere as you try to frost.
• Take the cupcakes out of the fridge. If you have piping bags, pipe the chocolate frosting on top of each cupcake.

  If you don’t have piping bags, put a thin layer of frosting on top of each cupcake.
• If you frosted the cupcakes by hand, pop the cupcakes in the fridge for 15 minutes to let that thin layer harden. 

  This is your crumb layer so that when you frost the tops of the cupcakes, the pudding doesn’t ooze out and get all over the place.

  If you have a piping bag, you don’t need the crumb layer or this step.
• Immediately after finishing frosting the cupcakes, add the rainbow sprinkles so they stick to the frosting. Enjoy!