Ube Black Sesame & Lemon Cupcakes (Gluten-Free)
Zingy lemon curd and nutty black sesame fillings make this deliciously moist ube cupcake a flavor experience unlike any other.
Ok, in all honesty I wasn’t planning on doing a second pride month recipe, but this idea struck me like a punch in the face and I just couldn’t stand to hold onto it until next year.
We recently went on a trip to Hawaii and I had the best ube and black sesame treats, that the flavors have just been swirling around in my brain, waiting for a recipe. And the nonbinary flag colors just so happen to be purple and black (and yellow and white), so it just seemed like a no-brainer to make a nonbinary pride themed cupcake!
Did I have to absolutely crunch last minute and rearrange my entire posting schedule to make this happen in time? Yes. Was it worth it? You’ll just have to make ‘em and see. (Spoiler: yes.)
Servings: 12 | Prep Time: 1 hour 55 minutes | Cook Time: 14 to 18 minutes
Spice grinder / Mortar and pestle
Microplane zester
Food processor / Blender
Small saucepan
Fine-mesh sieve
12-cup muffin pan
Cupcake liners
Hand-mixer / Stand-mixer
Wire cooling rack
Plastic wrap
Cupcake corer / Small knife
Small and large piping bags
Large star piping tip
Black Sesame Filling:
¼ cup roasted black sesame seeds
½ cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp hot water
Lemon Curd Filling:
1 large lemon
½ cup sugar
3 egg yolks
¼ cup butter, cold
Ube Cupcakes:
120 g (about 1 cup, but I recommend weighing gluten-free flour) Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp xanthan gum
¼ tsp salt
1 cup grated ube (fresh or frozen)
Splash of coconut milk
2 eggs
⅔ cup sugar
½ cup canola oil
1 tsp ube flavoring
Purple food coloring
Buttercream Frosting:
1 ½ cups butter, room temp
4 ½ cups powdered sugar
¾ tsp clear vanilla
Pink food coloring
Purple food coloring
Black food coloring
Yellow food coloring
Black Sesame Filling (5 minutes)
In a spice grinder, blend the black sesame seeds into a fine powder.
Transfer to a small bowl and add the sugar and melted butter. Stir to combine.
Whisk in the hot water until filling comes together.
Transfer the black sesame filling to an airtight container and store at room temperature until assembly.
Lemon Curd Filling (20 minutes)
Zest and juice the lemon. This should yield about 1 tbsp of zest and ¼ cup of juice. Set the juice aside.
In a food processor, blend together the sugar and lemon zest until the zest is fully incorporated into the sugar.
Transfer the sugar to a small saucepan.
Add the egg yolks and whisk vigorously until pale in color.
Gradually whisk in the lemon juice.
Heat mixture on medium-low, whisking constantly, until it begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and whisk in the cold butter until fully incorporated.
Pour the curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a jar.
Seal and refrigerate until assembly.
Ube Cupcakes (15 minutes prep + 14 to 18 minutes cooking)
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Set aside.
In a blender or food processor, blend the grated ube with a splash of coconut milk into a smooth puree.
Transfer the ube puree to a large bowl.
Using a hand-mixer, or stand-mixer, whisk in the eggs, sugar, oil, ube flavoring, and about 5 drops of purple food coloring (may vary depending on how strong your food coloring is).
Gently fold in the flour mixture until just combined.
Fill the muffin pan with the batter so each cavity is 2/3rds of the way full.
Bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Buttercream Frosting (45 minutes)
In a large bowl, with a hand-mixer or stand-mixer, beat the butter until increased in volume and pale in color, about 5 minutes.
Sift in the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, beating after each addition until fully incorporated.
Add the vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds.
Place half of the frosting into a separate bowl and set aside. This will be your black frosting.
Place half of the remaining frosting into a separate bowl and set aside. This will be your purple frosting.
Place 2/3rds of the remaining frosting into a separate bowl and set aside. This will be your white frosting.
The remaining frosting will be your yellow frosting.
Your frosting should now be divided as follows:
½ of the total frosting = black
¼ of the total frosting = purple
⅙ of the total frosting = white
¹⁄₁₂ of the total frosting = yellow
To make the black frosting, add a few drops of black food coloring to the largest batch of frosting and beat until incorporated.
Place the bowl of frosting into the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds. This will deepen the color from a dark grey to a black.
Whisk the frosting for a few seconds to evenly disperse the color.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
To make the purple frosting, add a couple drops of purple and a single drop of pink food coloring to the second largest batch of frosting and beat until incorporated.
Place the bowl in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds to deepen the color.
Whisk the frosting for a few seconds to evenly disperse the color.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
To make the white frosting, add a tiny amount of purple food coloring at a time to the second smallest batch, beating to incorporate after each addition, until the yellow in the frosting disappears.
Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature until assembly.
To make the yellow frosting, add a couple drops of yellow food coloring to the smallest batch of frosting, beating to incorporate.
Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature until assembly.
Once the black and purple frostings have chilled, beat with a hand-mixer until creamy again, about 1 minute.
Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature until assembly.
Assembly (30 minutes)
Once the cupcakes are completely cool, use a cupcake corer or a knife to core out the centers of the cupcakes. Discard (or eat) the centers.
Transfer the black sesame filling and lemon curd to small piping bags with the corners cut off.
Pipe black sesame filling into the centers of the cupcakes until they are about halfway full.
Fill the centers the rest of the way full with the lemon curd. Set cupcakes aside.
Fit a large piping bag with a large star tip.
Transfer the black frosting to the bag and pipe a rosette onto each cupcake, just enough to make one layer of frosting and cover the fillings.
Wash the large star tip and fit onto a small piping bag.
Transfer the purple frosting to the bag and pipe a smaller rosette on top of the black frosting on each cupcake.
Wash the large star tip and fit onto a clean small piping bag.
Transfer the white frosting to the bag and pipe an even smaller rosette on top of the purple frosting on each cupcake.
Wash the large start tip and fit onto another small piping bag.
Transfer the yellow frosting to the bag and pipe a single dollop on top of the white frosting on each cupcake.
Serve immediately or store in the fridge up to 3 days.
Enjoy!
Be sure to check out my Best Practices page for tips on how to make this recipe yourself. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and feel free to tag me on Instagram @made.by.shade if you make it!
-Shade