Ube Cupcakes Recipe (with video and step-by-step photos)

Ube cupcakes are little ube cakes packed with big ube flavour. Soft, dense and just the right amount of sweet. Top with ube whipped cream frosting and sprinkle with toasted shredded coconut for the ultimate Filipino treat.

(Do you love ube as much as I do? Try this ube cake recipe. It’s your favourite ube cake frosted with the most amazing ube Swiss meringue buttercream. Or bake a batch of these ube crinkles – they’re going to be your new favourite cookie!)

These ube cupcakes with ube whipped cream frosting have been in my to-do list for a very long time.

I receive emails and messages from TUB readers regularly, asking if I have an ube cupcake recipe, or if I can help them convert the measurements of my ube cake so they can make cupcakes out of it.

Happily, the wait is over my friends! And it is totally worth it.

These ube cupcakes are everything we love about ube cakes. But individual-sized (so no sharing!).

They are soft but dense; moist and packed with ube flavour. They are a rich, vibrant purple. No food colouring added. Meant to be the star of any celebration.

What are ube cupcakes?

But first, what is ube?

I know ube sounds foreign and unfamiliar to a lot of you. The simple explanation is it’s Filipino purple yam (my post on ube waffles has more information about it).

Filipinos use it mostly for desserts, the most common of which is ube halaya or jam.

Ube cupcakes are cupcakes that are jam-packed with ube flavour, either through the addition of ube halaya, ube extract or, in the case of this recipe, both.

And you may have already noticed — it’s wonderfully purple. I don’t add any additional food colouring on any of my ube recipes here on TUB; you will get that awesome hue simply by using ube and/or ube extract (sometimes sold as ube flavouring).

How to make ube cupcakes

Now that’s out of the way, let’s bake some cupcakes!

Making this Filipino ube cupcake recipe is not that different from making any other cupcake flavour (watch the video for visual instructions and for the detailed recipe, please scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find a printable recipe card).

First you start by whisking eggs, sugar and oil until combined.

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Then you add ube halaya or jam and whisk until fully incorporated. You don’t want big chunks of jam remaining so whisk it good.

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Add the ube extract and give it a quick stir until combined.

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Using a fine mesh sieve, sift cake flour, baking powder and salt into your ube mixture and gently stir. You don’t want to over-mix at this point; as soon as  you no longer see massive streaks of flour remaining, you’re done.

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Scoop your batter into your cupcake tin. Fill each liner a little over 1/2 full and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out with minimal, dry crumbs.

The tops should also spring back when you press on them lightly.

How to make ube whipped cream frosting

I love making homemade whipped cream. It tastes better than store-bought whipped cream and it’s the easiest thing in the world to make.

For this ube whipped cream frosting, I use stabilized whipped cream, which doesn’t melt as fast and stays pretty on top of cupcakes longer.

What you do is bloom gelatine in cold water. While that’s happening, start whipping your cream with sugar and ube extract until you reach medium peaks.

Go back to your gelatine and microwave for 10 seconds until dissolved. Stir to bring down to room temperature.

Add a dollop of whipped cream to your gelatine to temper it, then add the tempered gelatine to your whipped cream and continue whipping until you reach stiff peaks.

I learned how to stabilize whipped cream from my foodie blog pal Veena. She actually has 5 different ways to stabilize whipped cream in case you don’t want to use gelatine. Check it out here. 

Ube cupcake ingredients

Apart from the ube halaya or jam and the ube extract, which you can buy at an Asian supermarket or Amazon, the rest of the ingredients in this recipe are pantry staples:

• Eggs
• Granulated sugar
• Canola or any flavourless oil (cakes baked with oil stay moist and tender longer than cakes made with butter. Butter lends great flavour but in a flavour-rich recipe like this, the flavour that butter would give is going to be negligible.)
• Cake flour
• Baking powder
• Salt

For the ube whipped cream frosting, you need:

• Heavy cream (at least 35% fat content)
• Granulated sugar
• Ube extract
• Unflavoured gelatine
• Plain old cold water

And shredded coconut, which you can toast and sprinkle on top.

Tools you need to make this Filipino ube cupcake recipe

I use my handheld electric mixer for this recipe, though you can also use your stand mixer if you have it, or whisk by hand.

In addition, you’ll also need:

• A cupcake pan
• Cupcake liners
• Mixing bowls
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons

To frost your cupcakes, some frosting tips and a piping bag will come in handy but they’re not necessary. Sometimes I just spoon a small amount of frosting on my cupcakes, swirl it around and call it a day.

Ube cupcake baking tips

You’ll hear it from bakers everywhere — baking is a science. But it doesn’t mean it’s hard. Here are some tips to make baking ube cupcakes a walk in the park.

The best way to incorporate ube halaya to the cupcake batter

Ube jam can sometimes be a challenging ingredient to work with, especially if you need to incorporate it into batter.

Not all jams are created equal — some are sweeter, some are softer, some are chunkier.

So first things first, taste the jam you’re using and, like wine, you must like the jam you’re going to bake with! If you think it’s already too sweet, you may need to adjust the sugar content in the recipe.

Second, leave it out on the counter about half an hour prior to when you have to use it. Room temperature ube halaya is easier to incorporate into batter than one that’s straight out of the fridge.

In fact, this is true for all your cupcake ingredients. Make sure to bring everything to room temperature before using them.

Can I use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour in this recipe?

I’ve always made these cupcakes using cake flour. Cake flour is finer and more delicate than all purpose flour and results to cupcakes that have a more tender texture, a finer crumb and a good rise.

If you don’t have cake flour, don’t let it stop you though. You can still use all purpose flour, just expect a slight difference in texture.

Also, remember that substitution is not 1:1. Check out this quick guide.  

Why did my cupcakes crack on top?

If you look at the pictures, you’ll see that some of my ube cupcakes cracked on top. This sometimes happens when the cupcakes rise too fast, literally bursting.

Although there are many possible reasons, most often the main culprit is oven temperature — it’s just gotten too hot.

If you notice this happening to you, you can lower the temperature by 25F and continue baking. It would also help if you rotate the cupcake pan as you check so the cakes bake evenly.

I don’t usually stress too much about this when I bake cupcakes though; they will be covered by frosting anyway and the cakes are still delicious. But if you want perfect cupcakes underneath, check at the halfway point and adjust accordingly.

Also, invest in an oven thermometer. It’s inexpensive and will become the most used tool in your kitchen.

How do you get cupcakes to not stick to the cupcake liners?

Another common cupcake baking issue (now this one annoys me) is when cakes stick to the cupcake liners. So I’ve since switched to grease-proof liners.

Here are other tips I found to prevent cupcake liners from sticking.

How do you make cupcakes without using a cupcake pan?

What if you don’t own a cupcake pan but really want cupcakes? You can still bake some!

My favourite way is to use cardboard cupcake cups; they’re sturdier and can stand on their own.

I simply place them on a regular baking or cookie sheet and off I go. I use them when making Brazo de Mercedes cupcakes and Hokkaido Japanese cupcakes and they work like a charm.

If you don’t want to invest in them, no worries. There are other clever ways to bake cupcakes without a pan. Check them out here. 

Other delicious ube recipes

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Ube is such a fantastic ingredient. It’s really one of my favourites, right up there with lemon and chocolate. Hope you give it a try. You won’t regret it.

• This ube cheesecake is phenomenal. Rich, creamy, luxurious. Plus I give lots of tips for baking crack-free, perfect cheesecakes each time.
• Start the day right with ube bread rolls with toasted coconut. Soft bread, delicious ube, goes so well with your morning coffee or tea!
• Feeling the heat? Make homemade ube ice cream. It’s easier than you think (no ice cream maker needed) and way better than the ones you can buy at the store.
• Ube chiffon cake is light, airy and melts-in-your-mouth. With its vibrant purple colour and delicious ube flavour, it’s perfect for special occasions. Easy to make, it’s great as an everyday cake too!

And if you’re raring to try other Filipino food, check this out and explore Filipino cuisine.

This is the best ube cupcake recipe. Easy, delicious, ready in no time. Bursting with ube flavour. Delightfully purple. Share with family and friends. Enjoy!

Happy baking!

Did you make ube cupcakes? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

If you’re craving for muffins, try this ube muffins recipe. So good!

And if you’re looking for more unique, creative and delicious cupcake recipes, check out this cupcake recipes collection.