Ube Macapuno Cupcake Recipe

Ube is used in a wide variety of Philippine desserts. For today’s recipe, we’d like to feature a familiar sweet treat with a distinctly Filipino twist: ube macapuno cupcake. Are you ready? Let’s begin!

This Ube cupcake with macapuno topping was made in 30 minutes. Seeing so many ube recipes online that has become such a hit with many Filipinos has inspired me to try making my own cupcake for the first time. I realized afterwards that cupcakes are so much easier to make given that the baking and decorating is so much faster than making regular-sized cakes.

How to Make Ube Cupcake with Macapuno / Purple Yam Cupcake with Macapuno – Simple Recipe

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Globally, Filipino food is becoming more popular these days, especially in places where there are many Pinoy expats and immigrants. When it comes to sweets and desserts, perhaps the most popular Filipino recipes are those made using ube, or purple yam.

In the Philippines, ube is eaten boiled, baked, or more commonly as a sweetened dessert called ube halaya or jam. Ube halaya is made from boiled and mashed ube combined with condensed milk. It may be eaten on its own, or used as an ingredient in ube-flavoured treats.

The great thing about ube dishes is that you don’t need to add any food colouring to make them stand out. You can add ube extract to enhance the flavour; nonetheless, the natural, purple colour of the ube comes out… you can’t miss it!

The following recipe takes about 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook, for a total of 30 minutes. In less than an hour, you can expect to bake a batch of yummy ube cupcakes!

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs (or 3 medium eggs)
• 1 cup cake flour or all-purpose flour
• 1 cup ube halaya or jam
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
• 3 tsp ube extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• macapuno or soft coconut strips (topping)

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners, then set aside.
2. Put the eggs, sugar, and canola oil in a large bowl. Whisk until combined.
3. Add the ube halaya and ube extract. Whisk until combined and you don’t see any ube chunks.
4. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into the ube mixture. Stir until combined, but avoid over mixing.
5. Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners, filling each just over 1/2 full.
6. Bake the cupcakes for 12 to 15 minutes.
7. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and let cool.
8. Make a small hole at the center of each cupcake and fill it with Ube Jam.
9. Top the cupcakes with macapuno strips. Serve and enjoy!

 

Video: Ube Macapuno Cupcake

Check out the video below on how to make ube macapuno cupcake:

As an alternative topping, you can use ube cream frosting instead of macapuno strips. To make the frosting, you’ll need to mix heavy cream, unflavoured gelatin, cold water, sugar, and ube extract. Simply frost and decorate the cupcakes anyway you like!

This ube jam recipe was so quick and easy to make. I actually created a second batch and added more ube jam to fill more of the cupcake liners. The 2nd batch I created, the cupcakes were fuller.

 

Other Popular Ube Treats

As mentioned earlier, ube is used in a variety of Philippine desserts. The popular halo-halo would not be complete without ube as topping; likewise, ube ice cream is also a hit among Pinoys (and other nationalities, too)!

Fancy a hot, steaming bowl of ube champorado? How about a slice of ube chiffon cake, or some ube pandesal (bread rolls) with delicious cheese filling? These are just some of the most popular Filipino treats and sweets made with ube or purple yam.

Speaking of Filipino food, another dish that comes to mind is the sinigang na ulo ng salmon, or salmon head cooked in a sour broth of tamarind and tomatoes. We’ve recently shared a recipe for making this dish, which is also bound to be a hit among your family and friends!