Ube Muffins Recipe (step-by-step photos) (2024)

by Jolina | Published: March 3, 2021 | Last Updated: November 30, 2021| 34 Comments
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Ube muffins are soft but dense, like a proper muffin should be. Topped with a sweet coconut crumble and filled with a generous helping of ube halaya or ube jam, it’s a delicious treat for breakfast, snack, picnics, work and school.

(Craving for ube cupcakes instead? Here’s the best Filipino ube cupcake recipe. It’s frosted with light and creamy ube whipped cream.)

Ube muffins are the latest in my ever growing collection of delicious ube recipes.

From an easy ube cake recipe frosted with the most luxurious ube buttercream to ube bread with a delicious coconut topping, from ube cookies or ube crinkles to ube flavoured and purple coloured puto cheese recipe, I’m not kidding when I say ube is my jam.

It’s one of my favourite things in the world to bake and eat.

And like all of my ube desserts, this ube muffin recipe is easy to make and packed with that distinct and delectable ube flavour we love.

How to make ube muffins

Making ube muffins is easy and straightforward.

Ingredients

First, let’s gather our ingredients. For the muffins, we’ll need:

• Milk (I use either 1% or 2% skim milk)
• Granulated sugar
• Canola or vegetable oil
• Eggs
• Ube extract
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Ube jam or ube halaya — you can buy a jar from the store or make your own. I have a delicious recipe for ube halaya, try it!

To make the coconut topping:

• All-purpose flour
• Granulated sugar
• Sweetened shredded coconut
• Unsalted butter

Baking tools

This recipe makes 16 muffins so we’ll need 2 muffin pans. Also:

• Cupcake or muffin liners
• Mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Measuring cups and spoons

I like using a cookie scoop to transfer my muffin batter to the pan but you can also use a spoon.

Ube muffins recipe

Now that we have everything ready, let’s start baking!

I like to make my topping first. That way, it’s ready as soon as my muffin batter is combined and ready to go.

Luckily, it’s super easy: just mix all your ingredients until well blended and set aside.

For the muffins:

1 PREHEAT. Preheat oven to 350F and line your muffin pans with liners.

2 WHISK. In a large bowl, whisk milk, sugar, oil, eggs and ube extract until combined.

3 SIFT. Then sift flour, baking powder and salt directly into your wet ingredients, stirring just until blended. Careful not to over mix. We want a lumpy batter.

4 TRANSFER. Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, fill your muffin cups ⅓ full. Then put a heaping tablespoon of ube halaya and proceed to scoop the remaining batter over it. Your cups should be ⅔ full prior to baking.

5 BAKE. Sprinkle your prepared coconut topping on the muffins and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a few muffins comes out with minimal dry crumbs. Note that the ube jam might stick to the toothpick and that’s ok.

6 COOL. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Purple yam muffins baking tips and recipe FAQs

For perfect, delicious ube muffins every time, check out these baking tips and answers to your frequently asked questions.

How to make ube halaya with fresh ube

Making ube halaya is really not as difficult as it seems. You just need to put everything together and stir continuously for about half an hour or so until your ube jam is smooth and creamy.

I always make ube halaya with fresh ube but you can also use frozen grated ube in a pinch.

Check out this recipe for ube jam; it’s so delicious you won’t go back to the jarred ones from the store anymore!

How to ensure muffins have a domed top

Ever had your muffins sink in the centre? I’ve had that happen to me a few times so here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way to make sure muffins always have that lovely domed top:

• Do not over mix the batter. If you’ve been mixing it for 30 seconds, that’s already too long. As long as you don’t have massive patches of flour in your bowl, you’re good.

• Also, stir gently. Avoid doing any vigorous stirring because this will make your muffins tough.

• Stir by hand as much as possible. There’s less chance of overworking the batter vs when using an electric mixer.

Remember that you’re not looking for a smooth batter but a really lumpy one so that when you scoop it onto your muffin liners they plop onto the liners like a blob and don’t flow like cupcake batters usually do.

Best way to store ube muffins

Ube muffins are best eaten the day they are baked but they will keep in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. If you need to keep them for longer, it’s best to freeze them.

Once they’re completely cool, place the muffins in a freezer-safe container or a Ziploc bag and place in the freezer. They should last up to a month.

To thaw, loosely cover with a damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30s.

These ube muffins (or purple yam muffins) are a delicious way to get our ube fix.

Enjoy some in the morning with your coffee or tea, bring some on a picnic, pack 1 or 2 in someone’s lunch box, serve to company. Enjoy!

Happy baking!

Did you make ube muffins? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below. If you’re looking for all things ube, check out this delicious collection of the best must-try ube desserts.