This easy ube buttercream frosting is a creamy purple yam buttercream made with ube extract and a hint of coconut. It’s only 4 ingredients and ready in less than 15mins.
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✏️ Recipe creation
I love ube, it’s such a popular Filipino flavour for desserts. You can use ube buttercream to turn all your baked goods into an ube dream. Everything from filling ube macarons and ube cakes to topping cupcakes, brownies and more.
This ube frosting is an American-style buttercream but with this delicious purple yam flavour loved in the Philippines.
It’s the same homemade buttercream that I use to frost and fill my easy ube layer cake!
If you like ube, check out this collection of the best easy ube dessert ideas.
🥘 Ingredients
This ube buttercream frosting recipe calls for the following ingredients:
- Unsalted butter: room temperature for a softened butter that’s easier to beat.
- Powdered icing sugar: sieve your confectioners’ sugar for a smooth frosting.
- Ube extract: this can be found online or from specialist Asian grocery stores.
- Coconut milk (or other milk): use full fat coconut milk for the best flavour.
- Salt (optional)
See the recipe card for quantities.
Top tip: For accuracy, it’s best to weigh your ingredients rather than using cups.
♻️ Substitutions / Variations
Coconut milk gives the best flavour for this ube frosting, but you can swap this for another milk of your choice such as semi-skimmed milk or evaporated milk.
For a richer coconut flavour and creamier texture, you can swap the coconut milk for coconut cream instead.
For a stronger purple yam flavour, you can add a tablespoon of smooth ube halaya (ube jam or halayang ube). This will change the texture to be less creamy and soft, but add more tasty ube flavour to your ube icing.
📖 Method
Step 1: Beat the butter (either by hand, using an electric mixer or stand mixer) until pale, light and fluffy. This could take several minutes.
Steps 2 - 3: Sieve half of the icing sugar into the butter and beat until combined, then repeat this with the remaining half of the icing sugar.
Steps 4 - 5: Add in the ube extract, milk and salt (if using).
Step 6: Beat until only just smooth then use to frost or fill your desserts as needed.
🎥 Recipe video
Check out the recipe video below for how to make the best ube buttercream!
💭 Top tips
- For creamy ube frosting, beat your butter until it’s pale, light and fluffy first. This could take several minutes with an electric mixer.
- If your ube icing is too thick to pipe, then you can add more coconut milk (½ tablespoon at a time) to thin the frosting until you get the desired consistency.
- If your ube frosting is too thin, you can try chilling it in the fridge for 15-20mins before use. Alternatively, you can beat in a few more tablespoons of butter to thicken it.
❔ Recipe FAQs
Your ube buttercream should last for up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Yes! You can freeze your ube buttercream in an airtight container. Defrost and re-beat before use.
Ube is a purple yam that is popular in Filipino cuisine.
Ube tastes like a slightly nutty and vanilla sweet potato. It has a distinctive flavour and a strong purple colour.
If your ube frosting is too thin, you can try chilling it in the fridge for 10-20mins before use. Alternatively, you can beat in a few more tablespoons of butter to thicken it.
If your ube frosting is too thick to spread easily, then you can stir some more coconut milk or coconut cream (½ tablespoon at a time) to thin the consistency.
🧁 Other goodies
Looking for some tasty desserts to frost with ube buttercream? Why not give these baked goods recipes a try:
- Ube brownies
- Green tea brownies
- Funfetti cupcakes
- Strawberry vanilla cake
- Lemon cake with lemon curd
If you love ube desserts, check out this best easy ube cake and ube coconut no-bake cheesecake!
You might also like these other tasty buttercream ideas:
For more tasty frostings, check out my full collection of the best frosting recipes.
Other Related Recipes:
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📋 Recipe
Ube Buttercream
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Equipment
- Hand mixer optional
Ingredients
- 175 g (¾ cups) unsalted butter room temp.
- 375 g (3 cups) powdered icing sugar
- 2 teaspoon ube extract
- 1 - 2 teaspoon coconut milk
- ⅛ teaspoon salt optional
Instructions
- Beat the butter (either by hand, using an electric mixer or stand mixer) until pale, light and fluffy. This could take several minutes.
- Sieve half of the icing sugar into the butter and beat until combined, then repeat this with the remaining half of icing sugar.
- Add in the ube extract, milk and salt (if using) mixing until only just smooth.
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes enough frosting for roughly 12-14 cupcakes, or to frost a single-layer 8-inch cake.
- Scale up the recipe by ½ to fill and frost a 2-layer, 8-inch cake generously
- Use softened room temperature butter for ease of mixing.
- For creamy frosting, beat your butter until it’s pale, light and fluffy first. This could take several minutes with an electric mixer.
- You can swap the coconut milk for coconut cream or another type of milk or for coconut cream for more flavour and creamier texture.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online nutritional calculator, actual values may vary.
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