These Ube Cupcakes have delicate, moist crumbs infused with ube flavor. The ube swiss meringue buttercream is a perfect icing to match the softness of the light ube cake. This is a simple, straight up recipe that uses ube flavoring.
It is about three years ago when I first made these ube cupcakes for the blog. And oh man, they were. so. good. Perfectly moist with very delicate crumbs, they are my ultimate ube cupcake dream came to life.
There was one downside though, the recipe makes only ten cupcakes. Ten cupcakes? Who does a recipe for only ten cupcakes, given the fact that the cupcakes were delicious, heavenly and perfect in every sense? Ten?
So, we are changing that today. I revised the recipe so you can get..wait..not 12, but 17 ube cupcakes. All frosted with a delightful ube swiss meringue buttercream.
My goal was to have an ube cupcake recipe that uses only the real ube to get its ube flavor. I tried. I tested. But to my dismay, I find that I can only add so much of the ube before the cake becomes so dense for my liking. In the end, the cupcakes are not only lacking in color but also in flavor.
So, I made peace with this recipe because while it does not have the real ube, it is very addictive with its super delicate and moist crumbs (I know I sound like a broken record). And the ube flavor is definitely satisfying!
How To Make Ube Cupcakes?
Cream butter, baking powder, salt, sugar and ube flavor in the bowl of a stand mixer for about 5 minutes until the ingredients are fluffy and incorporated.
With the mixer on low speed, add the egg whites one at a time and mix for a few seconds until incorporated fully into the batter.
Add the flour 1/3 cup at a time, alternated by 1/2 cup of milk in between, mixing after each addition. You should have added the flour 3 times and the milk two times, beginning and ending with the flour.
Mix batter for a few more minutes just until smooth. Do not overmix. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and line a second one with 5 liners. Remember, 17 cupcakes? Pour the batter into each liner until they are 2/3 full.
Bake in a 350 F oven for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool cakes completely in a wire rack before frosting.
How to Make Ube Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Add the egg whites and sugar and start whisking continuously using a wire whisk. Once the mixture turns from clear and yellowish to opaque and white and reaches a temperature of 160 F, turn off the heat. That should take about ten minutes or so.
Pour the egg whites mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, and start whisking on high speed until the mixture forms shiny and firm peaks.
This should take around 5-8 minutes and remember that you should only stop when the bowl is cool to the touch.
Add in the softened butter to the mixer and continue whisking. By softened, I don’t mean warm and melted. I also don’t mean, room temperature. The butter should be easily pliable when you press it with your fingers.
The buttercream might turn lumpy or might curdle for a moment. Keep whisking until a thick, fluffy icing takes form.
Add in the ube flavoring and continue whisking until combined. Store in a tightly closed container at room temperature or use icing right away. Frost cupcakes as desired. I use an open star tip and pipe them flat.
So there! You will be amazed at how tasty and moist they are (said it again)! If you have always wanted ube cupcakes and can’t quite achieve the flavor using real ube, it is time you consider using ube flavorings.
You will be glad you did!
Pointers and Tips:
- I use Ferna Flavocol ube flavoring or Mc Cormick ube flavoring.
- Finally, store the ube cupcakes inside a sealed container at room temperature. Try to consume them within 2-3 days. Longer than that, they should be refrigerated and consumed as soon as possible.
Want more ube? Check these out:
- Ube Chiffon Cakes with Whipped Cream Icing
- Ube Bread Rolls
- Ube Taisan
- Ube Pie
- Ube Ensaymada
- Ube Cheesecake
- Ube Morning Buns
- Ube Cake with White Chocolate Coconut Cream
- Ube Loaf Bread
- Ube Pianono
Ube Cupcakes with Ube Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 1 and 1/4 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 and 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 tbsp baking powder
- 1 and 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 teaspoons ube flavoring Flavacol or Mc Cormick
- 3 egg whites room temperature
- 3/4 cup milk room temperature
For the Ube Swiss meringue buttercream
- 3 egg whites
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 and 1/2 stick unsalted butter softened
- 1 tbsp ube flavoring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners, and line a second one with 5 liners. This recipe makes 17. Cream butter, baking powder, salt, sugar and ube flavor in the bowl of a stand mixer for about 5 minutes until the ingredients are fluffy and incorporated.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the egg whites one at a time and mix for a few seconds until incorporated fully into the batter.
- Add ⅓ of the flour and continue mixing. Add in half of the milk, mix then add another third of the flour. Add the remaining half of milk, mix until incorporated and finally add the remaining third of the flour. Mix batter for a few more minutes just until smooth. Spoon into the cups until they are 2/3 full. Bake in a 350 F oven for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center of a cupcake come out clean. Cool cakes completely in a wire rack before frosting.
For the Swiss Meringue buttercream:
- Fill a cooking pot with about 2-3 inches of water. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer. Place a heat-proof glass bowl on top of the pot of simmering water. It should be a bowl that fits perfectly over the pot. The simmering water should not be touching the bottom of the bowl. If it does, you need to lessen the amount of water carefully.
- Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl and start whisking continuously using a wire whisk. Once the mixture turns frothy and white and reaches a temperature of 160 F, turn off the heat. That should take about ten minutes or so. Pour the egg whites mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk. Start whisking on high speed until the mixture forms shiny and firm peaks. This should take around 5-8 minutes. The bowl should be cold to the touch.
- Add in the softened butter to the mixer and continue whisking. The buttercream might turn lumpy or might curdle for a moment. Keep whisking until a thick, fluffy icing takes form. Add in the ube flavoring and continue whisking until combined. Store in a tightly closed container at room temperature or use icing right away.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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The two photography books that helped me greatly in improving the food photos here in the blog:
I use these books to get composition tips and ideas. The Tasty food photography ebook is written in a straight forward, easy to understand style. The Plate to Pixel contains a vast knowledge about camera settings and technicalities, composition tips and styling. Both books are very helpful to step up and improve your food photography.
Regee says
I plan to make this recipe soon. The recipe for the Use Swiss Meringue Buttercream does not indicate a yield–how many cups of frosting does it make? I know you can say “enough for 17 cupcakes” but I also plan to use this buttercream to frost a 2-layer 8-inch round cake, so I would appreciate a yield in cups so I can approximate if I need to double the recipe. Thank you very much for your attention.
sanna says
Hi Regee! The Buttercream recipe yields 2 cups. Good luck and happy baking!
Valerie says
Do you still have the recipe for the smaller batch of ten cupcakes? I don’t have a need for seventeen. Thank you in advance! I really want to try this recipe—I bought Butterfly brand ube flavouring.
sanna says
Hi Valerie! Thank you! I am really sorry but I cannot find my recipe notes on the previous recipe 🙁
I am really sorry!
Dee says
Great recipe and my son gave it 10/10. It did take longer then 18 mins to finish baking.
sanna says
I am so happy your son loved it, Dee!
Sher says
Is it ok to use salted butter?
sanna says
Hi Sher! I recommend unsalted butter for the meringue buttercream as the salted butter can be overpowering in the meringue.
Zel says
Can I still add the yolks for the cupcake batter? Thanks..
sanna says
Hi there, Zel! Adding the yolks will throw off the ratio of the recipe so I recommend saving the yolks for another recipe ( leche flan is a good one.)
Red says
Can I use this recipe to make an 8 inch round cake? And how long should I bake it though? Thank you!
sanna says
You can make it a round cake and bake it for a little bit longer than baking cupcakes. It may take somewhere between 25-50 minutes.
Mia says
Thank you for the recipe my sons loved it. My frosting didn’t turn out as fluffy. My son loved it so much he asked if I can make it for his birthday. Any modifications if I make this into a cake instead?
sanna says
I am glad your son loved it! You can bake this in a round cake pan and fill it until 3/4 full. Bake for somewhere between 25-50 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean 🙂
Jan says
Can I use ube jam instead?
sanna says
You can use ube jam for frosting, Jan.
Natalie Nguyen says
Hi I recently bought ube flavouring from the Asian market and the brand is “Butterflty” do you think it would change the flavor of the cupcakes? Also, is using almond milk instead of regular milk okay?
sanna says
Hi Natalie! If the ube flavoring is liquid, it should work fine. Use same amount stated in the recipe. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee substituting with almond milk because I have not tested it. Please let me know how it goes.
Joy says
Hi. It says 1 and 1/4 stick of butter. Does it mean 1 cup and 1/4= 2 sticks and 1/4 of the stick. Help. Thank you.
sanna says
Hi Joy! Its 1 stick plus 1/4 stick of butter Happy baking!
Sarah says
I have tried to make two batches and so far the middle has collapsed. I followed the recipe exactly the same twice and got the same results. I thought I over filled it and that’s what caused it to rise so much but on the second batch I filled it up about half way and still the same. It tastes amazing but what am I doing wrong?
sanna says
Hi Sarah! Sorry, you had trouble. These cupcakes are not the domed type. It is more of a flat type. However, Its hard to tell what went wrong if it collapses in the middle though. It could be uneven oven temp or over beating of whites etc
Sarah says
Thank you for replying Sanna! I’ll try do some troubleshooting, maybe it’s my oven? We were able to salvage the cupcakes anyway and made them into truffles and cakesicles. It’s so yummy!
sanna says
Thanks, Sarah!
Maria says
Hey Sarah, I did some research because I’ve been making cupcakes perfectly for a while now and this is the first one that they all sank in the middle. It’s too much baking powder, I normally only use 2 teaspoons of baking powder, this asked for 3/4 Tablespoons of baking powder. I will try making this again with only 2 teaspoons. There’s too much baking powder in the mix, try less baking powder.
Shallymar says
Just tested your recipe! It was so yummy, very fluffy and moist! Will definitely be using this recipe again.
sanna says
I am so happy you loved it!
Dee says
I love Ube anything and these cupcakes hit the spot. The cupcake is light and fluffy. I think I whipped the frosting too long because it was runny but I also used 1.5 stick of butter.
sanna says
Hi Dee! I am so glad you liked the cupcakes!