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These ube cupcakes with ube whipped cream are super easy to make, have a vibrant purple color, and taste amazing! They use real ube halaya jam and also ube extract.
It’s the Mochi Mommy debut of ube!!
Wait.. no.. actually I used ube in my ube pandan mochi recipe posted several weeks ago. But it was a very small feature of ube and not the main flavor, so I still count this as my ube debut? Let’s go with that.
I have loved ube and ube drinks and baked goods for years but never really ventured into making my own. Part of it was that ube is more a southeast Asian food, so I wanted to take some more time to really learn more about it and how it’s typically used in SE Asian foods. Recently, ube has become super popular in Asian-American cuisine, and I’m seeing more and more ways to incorporate it into foods. Now that I can easily get ube halaya jam and extract at my local Asian supermarket, I figure it’s a great time to try my hand at incorporating ube into my usual recipes.
What is Ube?
Ube is a purple yam most commonly found in the Philippines. If you are already familiar with Asian desserts, ube is similar to taro or Okinawan sweet potato. If you’re not familiar with Asian desserts, you can think of ube as similar to a sweet potato, the way its mild sweetness is used in baked goods like pies. Unlike the sweet potatoes common in America, however, ube has a deep purple hue.
In the Philippines, ube can be made into a jam which is then used in a variety of foods, including the famous halo halo.
In the states, ube can be found in all sorts of Asian American treats including lattes, cakes, cookies, donuts, and more!
Ube Jam vs. Ube Extract in Baking
Almost all the modern ube desserts I see (e.g. Asian American fusion foods like ube cookies and cakes) use a combination of both ube halaya jam and ube extract. I was able to find both the jam and extract at my local Asian market, but you can also find them on Amazon (at a much steeper price!).
So why do we need both?
I find ube to have a pretty mild flavor, especially when mixed with lots of sugar and flour. Without the addition of extract, the ube flavor may be too subtle. I actually think for most cookies and cakes, it’s fine to use just the extract and skip the jam altogether. There’s just too much going on in those desserts for the natural ube flavor to come through. But it’s nice to be able to say there’s actual ube in your baked goods.
If ube halaya jam is too hard to find, you can actually omit it altogether in this recipe, and it will still turn out fine.
How to Make Ube Cakes with Fluffy Asian Cake Texture
This is the SECRET to all my Asian-style cakes and cupcakes: how to get fluffy cake texture without using an actual chiffon cake recipe.
Did you know that those light and fluffy cakes you find at Asian bakeries are usually chiffon cakes? Chiffon cakes are made by separating egg whites and yolks. You mix the yolks with your other cake ingredients and fold in beaten egg whites to get a super light and airy cake.
But I’m too lazy to separate eggs and beat them separately for my everyday bakes. So here’s the hack:
Beat your eggs with sugar first until it’s light, frothy, and pale yellow. Then add in the oil. Lastly, alternate dry and remaining wet ingredients.
It’s super easy, and the texture comes out almost just as fluffy and soft as a chiffon cake!
Ube Whipped Cream Frosting
This recipe is just full of all my best baking hacks. Did you know that you can add instant pudding mix to whipped cream to stabilize it for frostings??
Of course, you can just make whipped cream the normal way and use that. But without a stabilizer, whipped cream will melt really quickly on a warm day and not hold up very well if you’re trying to make your cupcakes ahead of time.
But whip in a couple tablespoons of instant pudding mix, and voila! Instant stabilizer! Other stabilized whipped cream recipes call for blooming and dissolving gelatin, but I find this way to be much easier.
And plus, since ube extract has such a strong purple color, you can even use chocolate pudding mix instead of vanilla if you want.
Tools for Piping Frosting
If you’re new to piping frosting, rest assured that it uses very little tools and isn’t that hard. The designs shown in the photos used a Wilton star piping tip and a piping bag. That’s it! Just put the frosting in there and squeeze it out in a swirl on top of the cupcake.
More Cupcake Recipes
If you liked this recipe, definitely check out my other cake and cupcake recipes!
- Yuzu lemon cupcakes
- Best mini matcha cupcakes
- Polar bear cupcakes
Easy Ube Cupcakes with Ube Whipped Cream
These ube cupcakes are fluffy, moist, and full of ube flavor. The ube whipped cream is stabilized with instant pudding mix.
4.87 from 23 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Cool Time 30 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Asian American
Servings 14 cupcakes
Ingredients
Ube Cupcakes
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/2 cup ube halaya jam
- 1 tsp ube extract
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt see notes for substitutes
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup flour
Ube Whipped Cream
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp instant vanilla pudding powder See Notes
- 1 tsp ube extract
Instructions
For Ube Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a cupcake tin with liners.
Using a stand or electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add oil and beat until hom*ogenous.
In a separate bowl, mix ube jam, ube extract, and yogurt.
In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Alternate adding yogurt mixture and dry ingredients into your cake, mixing slowly and gently until all ingredients are just incorporated.
Scoop your batter into your lined cupcake tin (batter should come about 2/3 the way up the liner) and bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick stuck through the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool before frosting.
For Ube Whipped Cream
Put heavy whipping cream, granulated sugar, pudding mix, and ube extract in a mixing bowl. Beat until stiff peaks form.
Frost or pipe your whipped cream onto the cupcakes after the cupcakes have completely cooled. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
You can substitute an equal amount of plain yogurt, vanilla yogurt, or sour cream for the greek yogurt.
The instant pudding mix helps stabilize the whipped cream so it won’t deflate and melt as quickly, however you can completely omit this ingredient if you want. Chocolate pudding mix can also be substituted for the vanilla, as the purple color in the ube extract will override the small amount of brown from the chocolate.
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