You don’t need hours in the kitchen or professional training to create something truly special. These easy ube cupcakes use a smart shortcut to produce bakery-worthy desserts that’ll have everyone asking for the recipe!
These ultra-easy Ube Cupcakes are about to become your new secret weapon for any celebration. Soft, fluffy, and naturally gluten-free, these purple beauties come together in just 30 minutes using a store-bought ingredient that’ll make you wonder why you ever complicated baking.
My not-so-secret hack? Birch Benders Ube Mochi Pancake & Waffle Mix. This rice flour-based mix transforms into the most tender, flavorful cupcakes with just a few simple additions—no complicated steps, no specialty flours, and absolutely no gluten. Top them with silky ube cream cheese frosting, and you’ve got a stunning dessert that tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen.
Ingredient Notes
Ube Mochi Mix: Using Birch Benders Ube Mochi Pancake & Waffle Mix as your base means you’re starting with perfectly balanced flavors and rice flour that creates an incredibly tender crumb. Just add coconut milk, oil, eggs, and sugar—that’s it. It’s the same mix I used to make this easy ube bibingka.
This store-bought mixture contains rice flour, sweet rice flour, potato starch, cane sugar, oat flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, and ube powder.
Note: I purchased my giant 2.5 pound bag of mix from my local Costco. Birch Benders is widely available-I’ve seen it at Target, Sprouts, Ralphs, Vons, and other major supermarkets.
Coconut Milk: Be sure to get canned, full-fat coconut milk that lists coconut as the first ingredient. This adds flavor, moisture, and fat.
Ube Extract: This adds that iconic vibrant purple hue and helps to enhance the subtle, sweet and nutty ube flavor. For best results, I recommend Butterfly brand.
You’ll also need granulated sugar, baking powder, natural oil (such as grapeseed oil or vegetable oil) and two eggs.
The ube cream cheese frosting is made by combined ube halaya, salted butter, cream cheese, ube extracts and confectioners’ sugar (aka powdered sugar).
Step-by-Step Instructions
1 PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
6 BAKE.Bake for 18-20 minutes in center rack of preheated oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed.
7 COOL. Let cupcakes cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool to room temperature.
These ube cupcakes are incredibly versatile! They’re perfect for
- Valentine’s Day– The romantic purple color and rich flavor make them ideal for celebrating love
- Mother’s Day– Treat mom to something sweet and pretty!
- Birthdays– A unique alternative to traditional vanilla or chocolate cupcakes
- Bridal or Baby Showers– The elegant color works beautifully for themed events
- Or whenever you need to impress with minimal effort, these ube cupcakes deliver maximum flavor with minimal fuss.
Why This Recipe Works
I’m always looking for ways to make elevated desserts more accessible. This recipe proves that shortcuts don’t mean sacrificing quality. The mix provides consistent results every single time, while the homemade ube cream cheese frosting adds that personal, from-scratch touch.
The combination of convenience and authenticity makes these cupcakes perfect for both experienced bakers and complete beginners. You get all the flavor and visual impact of traditional ube desserts without the intimidation factor!
More Ube Recipes
Ube Cupcakes with Ube Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 320 g Birch Benders Ube Mochi Pancake & Waffle Mix, 2 cups
- 100 g granulated sugar, ½ cup
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 180 g full-fat canned coconut milk, well shaken ¾ cup
- 50 g grapeseed oil, ¼ cup, or other neutral flavored oil
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon ube extract, preferable Butterfly Brand
Frosting:
- 90 g ube halaya, 6 Tablespoons*
- 113 g salted butter, ½ cup, softened, room temp
- 227 g brick-style cream cheese, 8 oz, softened, room temp
- 1 teaspoon ube extract, preferable Butterfly Brand
- 500 g confections sugar, about 4 cups
Instructions
Cupcakes:
- Prep. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients. Whisk together ube mochi pancake mix, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- Combine wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk coconut milk, grapeseed oil, eggs, and ube extract until smooth and emulsified.
- Wet and dry. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir together until smooth. Don't worry about over-mixing since this batter does not contain flour.
- Portion. Divide batter evenly among prepared cups, filling each about ⅔ full.
- Bake. Bake 18-20 minutes until tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool. Let cupcakes cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Cool fully before frosting.
Frosting:
- Stir the ube halaya in a large bowl until it reaches a smooth, spreadable consistency similar to peanut butter or mayonnaise. If it's too thick or stiff, add 1 tablespoon of canned coconut milk to thin it out.
- Add butter and cream cheese to ube halaya. Beat together until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.
- Add ube extract and confectioners' sugar. Beat on low speed until sugar is incorporated. Increase to medium-high speed and beat for about 2 minutes until frosting is smooth and silky.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!FAQ
I specifically created this recipe using Birch Bender Ube Mochi pancake & waffle mix. I cannot guarantee similar results with other pancake mixes.
Prepared ube halaya is sold in jars. Find it in Filipino market or well-stocked Asian supermarkets. It’s also widely available online through Weeee! or Amazon.
Absolutely! Bake the cupcakes up to 2 days ahead and store unfrosted. Make the frosting the day you plan to serve and frost just before serving for the freshest presentation.
