Ube Cupcakes with Ube Swiss Meringue Buttercream

These ube cupcakes have delicate, moist crumbs infused with ube
flavor. The ube swiss meringue buttercream is a perfect icing to match
the softness of the light ube cake. This is a simple, straight up recipe
that uses ube flavoring.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes

• 1 and 1/4 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 and 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 tbsp baking powder
• 1 and 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 teaspoons ube flavoring Flavacol or Mc Cormick
• 3 egg whites room temperature
• 3/4 cup milk room temperature

For the Ube Swiss meringue buttercream

• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 and 1/2 stick unsalted butter softened
• 1 tbsp ube flavoring

Instructions

1. Preheat
   oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners, and line a second
   one with 5 liners. This recipe makes 17. Cream butter, baking powder,
   salt, sugar and ube flavor in the bowl of a stand mixer for about 5
   minutes until the ingredients are fluffy and incorporated.
2. With
   the mixer on low speed, add the egg whites one at a time and mix for a
   few seconds until incorporated fully into the batter.
3. Add ⅓ of
   the flour and continue mixing. Add in half of the milk, mix then add
   another third of the flour. Add the remaining half of milk, mix until
   incorporated and finally add the remaining third of the flour. Mix
   batter for a few more minutes just until smooth. Spoon into the cups
   until they are 2/3 full. Bake in a 350 F oven for 15-18 minutes or until
   a toothpick inserted at the center of a cupcake come out clean. Cool
   cakes completely in a wire rack before frosting.

For the Swiss Meringue buttercream:

1. Fill
   a cooking pot with about 2-3 inches of water. Bring the water to a
   boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer. Place a heat-proof glass bowl
   on top of the pot of simmering water. It should be a bowl that fits
   perfectly over the pot. The simmering water should not be touching the
   bottom of the bowl. If it does, you need to lessen the amount of water
   carefully.
2. Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl and start
   whisking continuously using a wire whisk. Once the mixture turns frothy
   and white and reaches a temperature of 160 F, turn off the heat. That
   should take about ten minutes or so. Pour the egg whites mixture into
   the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk. Start whisking on high
   speed until the mixture forms shiny and firm peaks. This should take
   around 5-8 minutes. The bowl should be cold to the touch.
3. Add
   in the softened butter to the mixer and continue whisking. The
   buttercream might turn lumpy or might curdle for a moment. Keep whisking
   until a thick, fluffy icing takes form. Add in the ube flavoring and
   continue whisking until combined. Store in a tightly closed container at
   room temperature or use icing right away.

Recipe Notes
In
cooking the egg whites for the buttercream, a temperature of 160F is
necessary to be attained and maintained for about three minutes to get
rid of any salmonella present in the eggs. The cupcakes are best stored
in room temperature, inside a tightly sealed container. Consume within
3-4 days.