These Filipino inspired ube cupcakes are soft, fluffy, and packed with sweet nutty flavor from purple yam. They are easy to make using ube extract, and stay moist for days!
These ube cupcakes are the best when you are in the mood for an Asian inspired treat. They are not too sweet, easy to make, and rich in aromatic ube flavor. All it takes is mixing the ingredients in one bowl and bake. The fluffy ube frosting is super simple yet brings your cupcakes to the next level!
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What does ube taste like?
Ube is a type of yam native to Southeast Asia and has a mild nutty, sweet, vanilla-like flavor. It adds a vibrant purple color to baked goods, and is also used in other Asian inspired desserts such as bubble tea, mochi, and ice cream.
Ingredients for this recipe
For ube cupcakes:
- Almond milk - Or any dairy free milk
- Lemon juice - Fresh or bottled.
- Refined coconut oil - Melted. Melted vegan butter works as well.
- Organic cane sugar - Or granulated sugar.
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Ube extract - I use McCormick brand.
- Gluten-free all purpose flour - I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 flour. Make sure your flour contains xanthan gum.
- Baking powder
- Salt
For ube frosting:
- Vegan butter - Softened.
- Almond milk - Or any dairy free milk.
- Powdered sugar
- Ube extract
How to make ube cupcakes
For ube cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 176°C. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. Combine the almond milk and lemon juice together to make vegan buttermilk. Let sit for a few minutes until it starts to curdle slightly.
3. In a large bowl, combine the melted coconut oil and sugar together and whisk well. Add in the eggs and whisk again.
4. Add in the vanilla extract and ube extract. Mix well.
5. Add in the all purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
6. Fill each cupcake liner ⅔ way full with the batter.
7. Bake for 20-22 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.
For ube frosting:
8. In a large bowl, place the softened butter, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and milk. Using a hand mixer, cream them together until smooth. Add another cup of powdered sugar and taro extract, and whisk until smooth.
9. If the frosting is stiff, add more milk by 1 teaspoon at a time. If it is too soft, add more powdered sugar.
10. Pipe or spread the ube frosting over the cupcakes. Optional: top with coconut flakes.
Tip
If you are spreading the frosting instead of piping, you will need less frosting than what this recipe makes. Save the leftover frosting for next time, or you can also halve the frosting ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
You may refrigerate leftover ube cupcakes for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months. When you are ready to use, thaw at room temperature. If necessary, you may beat the softened frosting with a whipper or a paddle to fluff up.
Frosted ube cupcakes can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days, covered tightly. They can also be refrigerated and let them reach room temperature before serving. Unfrosted cupcakes can be individually wrapped and kept frozen for up to 3 months.
Ube and taro are often confused for each other, but there are significant differences. Ube has a bright purple flesh with a very sweet flavor with a hint of vanilla, whereas taro is much less sweet with an earthy, nutty flavor.
Recipe
Easy Ube Cupcakes (GF, DF)
Equipment
- 1 x muffin tin with 12 cups
Ingredients
For cupcakes
- ⅔ cup unsweetened almond milk or any non dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup refined coconut oil melted
- ¾ cup organic cane sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoon ube extract I use McCormick ube extract
- 1⅓ cup gluten-free all purpose flour I use Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For ube frosting
- ½ cup vegan butter softened
- 1 tablespoon almond milk or more
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon ube extract
For topping (optional):
- coconut flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 176°C. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Combine the almond milk and lemon juice together to make vegan buttermilk. Let sit for a few minutes until it starts to curdle slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the melted coconut oil and sugar together and whisk well. Add in the eggs and whisk again.
- Add in the vanilla extract and ube extract. Mix well.
- Add in the all purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
- Fill each cupcake liner ⅔ way full with the batter.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.
For the ube frosting
- In a large bowl, place the softened butter, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and milk. Using a hand mixer, cream them together until smooth. Add another cup of powdered sugar and taro extract, and whisk until smooth.
- If the frosting is stiff add more milk by 1 teaspoon at a time. If it is too soft, add more powdered sugar.
- Pipe or spread the ube frosting over the cupcakes. Optional: top with coconut flakes.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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