Almond Cupcakes are my all-time favorite cupcake to make. A fluffy vanilla cupcake is flavored with pure almond extract then topped with a silky almond buttercream frosting. These are definitely the perfect party cupcake!
This cupcake has been on my list to make for years.
Literally years. Almond cupcakes are not new to me. My family has been eating almond cake since forever, at least my mom has due to her Dutch roots. Us kids hopped on the band wagon pretty darn fast when she introduced almond desserts to us. Let’s just say we fell…and fell hard.
We fell in love so hard that my sister served almond cake at her wedding and I served the exact same cake at mine. Don’t worry! I have a recipe for almond cake on the blog as well…it’s also a good one!
Not sure where all the rambling is coming form…please ignore me. Anyway, Almond Cupcakes with Whipped Almond Buttercream Frosting are a must have recipe!
A MUST HAVE.
Hands down one of the loveliest cupcakes out there.
They’re light and fluffy and the whipped buttercream is seriously ridiculous. It’s so silky I want to sleep in it.
Almond Cupcakes are the perfect sweet treat to bring to a weddding, bridal shower, baby shower or even for birthdays. Or you can make them and just enjoy them over the weekend like I did. This is why it’s a must have recipe – there are so many life events where an almond cupcake is so appropriate to bring and celebrate with!
Glad I finally decided to make them as life events are quickly approaching. Hello August due date.
I decorated mine with pearl sprinkles and clear sprinkles, but you can decorate however you would like. The cake is a white cake so it can easily be colored or the frosting could be colored. Girl Baby Shower? Pink cupcakes. Boy Baby Shower? Blue cupcakes.
The best cupcake ever.
Save this recipe to your cupcake pinterest board so you have it forever!
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons almond extract
- 1 cup buttermilk or whole milk, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 sticks unsalted butted, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup boiling water
- Decorative sprinkles (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners; set aside.
- In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a stand-along mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (hand-held mixers work too), cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
- Next add eggs, almond extract, vanilla extract and mix until smooth (mixture may have a few lumps which is ok), scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
- Lastly, add one third of the flour mixture and mix on medium-low speed until just combined then add half of the milk, mix until combined, again add another one third of the flour mixture and mix until combined then add the other half of the milk and mix until combined. Finally add the last of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Evenly spoon batter into cupcake liners, about ¾ full each and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, mine baked for about 17 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or knife in the center of a cupcake, and if it comes out clean or with light crumbles on it, they're done! Pull them out, let them cool for just a minute and then remove from pan to fully cool on baking rack or counter.
- To make the buttercream, bring the water to a boil. While the water is coming to a boil, add the powdered sugar to a stand-alone mixer fitted with a WHISK attachment. Add the boiling water to the sugar and mix for 4 minutes on low-speed until the sugar completely dissolves. Use a spatula to scrap the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure no lumps of sugar remain.
- Next mix in the almond extract, vanilla extract, salt and mix. Check the mixture to make sure it's at room temperature. If it's still warm, let it cool slightly before adding the butter.
- Finally, add the room temperature butter and turn the mixer on low-speed and mix for 3 minutes. The mixture will look watery and lumpy. Turn mixture to medium speed and continue to mix until frosting looks like whipped cream. This could 2 minutes or it can take 10 minutes - when it's done it will be fluffy and look similar to whipped cream. You may think it's not done because it will not look like a lot of frosting but it will be enough to frost the 12 cupcakes.
- Frost cooled cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles.
Cupcake recipe slightly adapted from Taste and Tell and Frosting slightly adapted from Wicked Good Kitchen.
I love almond desserts and am excited to try this! Do you happen to know a way to modify the recipe to include alcohol? We’re having a baking party/competition and the theme is alcoholic cupcakes. Wondering if there’s a way to sneak in some Almond Bailey’s or anything that wouldn’t ruin everything.
Thanks for sharing, excited to try this regardless!
Fun! I haven’t done that before but you probably could! However much alcohol you use, just lesson the water by that amount.
Tried the frosting recipe last weekend and it turned out great!! Any ideas on making a chocolate version? How much cocoa powder would you add? I’m thinking of trying it for my sons birthday cake!
Glad you liked it! Try 1/4 cup at first then add from there!
Do you think semi sweet chips melted would be better or stay with cocoa powder?
I’m thinking cocoa powder would be best!
Beautiful photos and great post! I am in love with the almond buttercream frosting!
thank yoU!
I made these this weekend and they were Devine! However, my icing separated a littlle, and looked kind of like it was sweating, if that makes sense. Any suggestions? The flavor was fabulous.
So glad! The water may have been too warm or you over-mixed the frosting a little. A little practice and you will get it perfect! It’s not a traditional frosting recipe so it’s a little more difficult but it’s definitely worth the extra effort and practice!
My buttercream tasted too much like butter. 3 sticks to 4 cups powdered sugar, correct? I love the almond flavoring, but just think butter each time I bite down on the frosting… Perhaps I should have done the1 stick to 3 cups powdered sugar ratio…?
You could try that if you prefer. 🙂
Can you freeze these cupcakes? I’m having a bit of a time crunch.
I’ve never tried freezing them so I don’t want to give you the wrong answer.
I froze mine…put them in lots of Sedan wrap. Then set them out at least 12 hours before you need them. I frost them frozen. Makes them super moist!
Absolutely the best vanilla almond cupcake I’ve ever had! This is my new go to for special occasions. Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe. I love the texture of this cupcake, it’s so light and fluffy!!!!
Wonderful! You are very welcome!
I need to make 4 dozen cupcakes for my party this weekend- have you ever scaled the recipe up to double or quadruple? Any changes to make or should I make 4 individual bathes?
Hi Elizabeth – I have not tried doubling the recipe so to be safe, I would make separate batches! Enjoy!
I doubled the cupcake recipe and it came out fine. Again, I doubled the frosting and it also worked good. A double batch of frosting frosted 48 cupcakes very generously. Many compliments. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Great! Glad it worked out!
I thought recipe is only for 12 cupcakes? Why would a double batch make 48?? I’m struggling to know if doubling the recipe (for 24 cupcakes) for Easter is enough, or if I should triple it. But NINE sticks of butter for the icing just sounds ridiculous. I can’t bring myself to begin!
Hi Jane! perhaps Elizabeth made smaller cupcakes? How many are you feeding for Easter? You could always make mini cupcakes if you’re feeding a crowd! 🙂
I made two double batches of cup cakes (so 48 total) and then one double batch of frosting. I need 48 cupcakes for my event. I merely made the comment to help others along to know that the recipe for cupcakes doubled fine (which is not always the case) and that I found the frosting recipe was extremely generous even for me. Again, I though real feedback would be helpful for others. Hope that helps clear it up.
Thanks for clarifying Liv!
Do use the whole egg in cake batter or just egg whites?
whole eggs
This may seem silly but how much butter is a stick of butter in grams? I live in Australia and our sticks of butter are much larger and measured in grams. I want to make sure I use the right amount.
113.4 Grams – this is according to this website! http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/butter_converter.html
Can I use almond butter instead of almond extract or will that mess up the recipe?
Unfortunately that wouldn’t work. Sorry!
Do you prefer specific brands for the ingredients?
Nope! Whatever you use or like should be fine!
I made these tonight and I loved them- my cake turned out light and fluffy-( I used buttermilk). I have never made a frosting like this before and it was amazingly simple and turned out perfect- thank you!!
So glad you liked them! They’re one of my very favorite cupcakes!
I have made this recipe multiple times, so I LOVE them. It’s also a conversation starter, because the cupcakes are sooo rich and decadent.
When I first made them (just the frosting) I halved the recipe, but the water would cool down too quick for it to blend the pow. sugar and water, so the recipe wouldn’t whip like it should. After that I did a full batch, cake, frosting, and all; all of the sweet teeth I know loved it, and liked when the frosting was firm after chilling them. But I find the rich-sweetness overpowers the cake, so now I make a double batch of cake to compensate for the amount of frosting. I can get it to top off a mini cupcake pretty high. 🙂
I love this cake!!! Thank you for blogging about it.
Very Nice Article…
Great! Glad you like it!
I tried this recipe and it came out amazing!!! I’m literally in awe at the buttercream, it’s smooth, silky and just amazing! But I wanted to know how it works, I’m not sure how or why the end result is achieved and I wanted to understand so that if I wanted to make a different flavor buttercream or do chocolate or maybe bailey’s, what I’d need to add or substitute.
Hello! Thank you for the recipe.
How long can this frosting sit out at a pot luck. Will it hold together or start to slide off or run down the cupcake?
Thank you for your reply:)
You’re welcome! It should hold up just fine at room temperature and not run. However, if you’re potluck is outside and it’s really warm, any frosting would start to melt.
These are AMAZING! I made these at a potluck with some friends, and everyone absolutely loved them! I will definitely be making these again soon. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! (Check out my blog if you have a chance!)
Thank you! So glad you liked them!!
These were absolutely amazing!! They were a big hit at one of my family potlucks! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe, it was very moist and had stunning flavor! ( Please check out my blog if you have a chance)
My cupcakes came out dense, but not in a good way. Judging from the comments, I’m pretty sure I overworked the batter.
The frosting, however, was phenomenal. To my knowledge, this is the first time I attempted a buttercream frosting that was successful on the first try. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Shoot! Hopefully next time they will come out better. You can mix the batter by hand which may help not overwork the batter.
What about at high altitude?
Hi Chendra – I have not made these in a high altitude so unfortunately I don’t know how to answer your question. Perhaps you could google it and someone living in a high altitude area has written about it. Enjoy!
I made these at 3am this morning and they are great. I only used the butter, sugar and almond flavor for the icing and it turned out perfect. This is definitely going to be among the favorites.
These are amazing! I’m a huge almond fan and these did not disappoint. Definitely adding to my list of favorites. I did add 1/2 C. extra powdered sugar to the frosting because it tasted too buttery for my preference, that made it perfect for my taste. Thanks for the recipe.
Wonderful! So glad you like them!
I tried the recipe and was so sad about how it turned out. The cake was easy to make and came out pretty good, my boyfriend and sister said it was dry and spongy. The icing was a disaster and I dumped it out and tried twice. I followed the directions exactly and used a stand mixer but both times came out very watery and never whipped up. I don’t know what went wrong. I never made frosting with boiling water before but followed the recipe to a T.
I’m so sorry Tracy. IF you make the cupcakes again, adding the dry ingredients to the batter by hand. It’s easy to over-mix batters in a mixer. The frosting is not your typical frosting recipe, I would suggest mixing longer if you decide to make it again and turning up the speed of your mixer. Hope this helps!
Super yummy! These just came out of the oven! I was looking for a recipe that didn’t use cake flour or buttermilk or separated eggs, and this one fit the bill!
I colored them blue for my sister’s baby shower tomorrow, and made mini-cupcakes. Baked for 13 minutes. I was super nervous when they went in because the batter was super runny, but they turned out great! (For the person who said they made cookies because the dough was to dry??? All I can say is you must have forgotten the milk or something because in no way shape or form was this thick.)
I had my 4 year old “helping” me, so after the butter and sugar was creamed, in went the flour. Oops. Everything else but the milk got dumped in together and mixed all at once, then the milk was added and mixed in. The batter ended up looking a little funny, almost separated, which added to my nervousness, but they turned out great! I am going to make a white vanilla buttercream and top with blue sprinkles. It’s a keeper!
Wonderful! Hope your family enjoyed them!
I made the buttercream frosting for my sugar cookies. I absolutely loved it! So light and fluffy and that almond flavor!!!! I will be making it again!
Sharon
Yum! So glad you liked the frosting! It’s one of my favorites!
I was very excited to make these as a cake. Imy still going to try it again. The cake was dense and more of a bread texture and dense consistency. Do you have any pointers or suggestions that I could use on round two. I really have no clue what happened.
Hi Leann – I’ve never made the cupcakes into a cake so I can’t talk to that process but perhaps you over-mixed the batter a bit? Over mixing batter or dough creates a tougher cake. Hope this helps!
Is it possible to make with 2 percent milk instead?
yes, 2% would work!
I made these last weekend for my in laws surprise 30th wedding anniversary party. HUGE HIT! I did add a bit more powdered sugar because we have a bit of sweet tooth in this family. But even with adding 1/2 cup more it was the perfect amount of sweetness. Not to sweet but also not bland. The cupcakes were the same way. They had a great balance of sweetness as well, so when eating all together with the frosting it was perfect. No sugar bombs going off in your mouth.
Also a tip for anyone who will be making these with a hand mixer (I’m not a lucky lady who has a stand mixer ??) crank the speed up to 3 when your whipping the frosting and in about 10 minutes maybe less you have whipped frosting.
Needless to say, my 3 dozen cupcakes were all gone when we went home.
I really liked the cupcake but the frosting came out tasting like whipped butter. Not sweet enough, very buttery but not in a good way. I made a half batch, 2 cups of powdered sugar plus 1/4 cup boiling water. Mixed as directed, added the extracts and salt, mixed, then added 1.5 sticks room temp butter, and mixed as directed. It took a full 10 minutes to come together. It wasn’t as smooth as it should have been. I had to use a spatula to mix it and bring it together. Can I add more powdered sugar to sweeten it and get rid of that buttery taste?
HI Nazia – glad you liked the cupcakes. Sorry the frosting didn’t turn out for you. You could try adding more sugar to sweeten it up but I will be honest, I’ve never had an issue with the frosting so I’ve never tried adding more sugar. I don’t see how it could mess it up but just want to let you know. If you don’t like the frosting, you could make a simple buttercream frosting instead which you can find here https://www.stuckonsweet.com/homemade-funfetti-cupcakes/ . I would just add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract to the frosting to enhance the almond flavor.
Soooo delicious.
I was a little suspicious of this recipe; Most white cakes call for a metric ton of eggs and it seemed like a lot of almond extract, but it turned out great for a Friday night! I didn’t want to fuss with cupcakes so I just made a cake and I’m kinda sad about it. The crispy edges of this cake were like candy and the inside was sooo fluffy!
When I see fluffy in a cake description I always worry it’s that weird spongy quality that you get with some angel food cakes, but this was melt in your mouth buttery, without being crumbly. The almond wasn’t overpowering, but was definitely more than “a hint.” I used it as the base of a strawberry shortcake and was very pleased. Next time I might do a lemon curd layer cake.
For those of you who are wondering, it worked just fine as a cake. Needed five extra minutes in an 11×7 pyrex.
Hi Jenn! Yay! I’m so glad you liked the recipe. I have yet to make a cake with it so thanks for your comment – now I know it works well!
these are delicious! how do you store the leftover frosted cupcakes? do they need to go in the fridge?
Thank you! Yes, you can store them in the fridge but bring them to room temp before serving again. Enjoy!!
thank you so much for this lovely recipe, made this yesterday and I got a very high compliment; these cupcakes were so fluffy and light and scrumptious! thank you again!
wonderful! glad you enjoyed them!
I loved the cupcakes. Didn’t think I was going to like the Almond flavor, but I am in love with this recipe, total keeper . I didn’t try the frosting but will definitely try it next time.
I made these and they were a hit I have extra frosting how long will it be good for in the fridge
that’s great! I would say a 3-5 days…but you will have to bring it to room temperature to spread it or pipe it again.
Will the frosting work if some of the butter is substituted with crisco?
Hi Jodie I haven’t tried it with crisco but I assume it would work! Let me know!
I guess it worked. At the end I had to add about 5 cups of powdered sugar b/c it was so runny. It’s probably not the texture it’s supposed to be, but it tastes great & the icing is standing up on the cupcakes. I will try it again soon to try to achieve that silky texture.
It takes a little bit of practice but I make it all the time and I promise it works! It’s definitely a silkier frosting so if it seems soft it’s because it is soft – it’s a much lighter frosting than a buttercream.
I must be missing something, where does it say sour cream anywhere? I made these and they turned out amazing, moist, delicious.
Hi Alicia – did you get the recipe off of Pinterest or from the blog? On Pinterest, it says to use sour cream…I have updated the recipe since then as some people were saying the cupcakes were too dense. I apologize for any confusion but glad you liked them!
Has anyone used fondant on this icing and if so how did it work for you?
Dough turned out too dense and dry….so we made cookies. Perfect!
I’m sorry the dough didn’t turn out for you – it can be lumpy at first but once you mix in the flour it should have smoothed out. How did the cookies turn out?
Will the frosting be ok to sit out overnight? Or should it be refrigerated?
Hi Kelly – I have not let it sit out overnight so I am not sure that I can fully answer your question. I would suggest putting it in the refrigerator to be safe but then you will have to bring it to room temperature and possibly whip it a little before you frost the cupcakes.
I love this recipe! I made this recipe for my aunt’s birthday, although I did have to convert it to gluten free. Even with converting it, the cake came out nicely and we absolutely love the buttercream frosting.
Wonderful Paula! Glad you liked them!
These almond cupcakes are amazing. They came out perfectly! They are delicious and beautiful too. My whole family and I are obsessed with almond flavored things and almond paste. These cupcakes were a total hit at my mother’s birthday dinner and at my son’s first birthday party. I had several people rave about them and one friend asked me for the recipe. I would definitely recommend trying this recipe.
Hi Melissa – thank you for the great feedback and kind comments. So glad you like how they turned out. Almond is one of my favorite dessert flavors, too!
I made these cupcakes and thought they would come out light and fluffy. Instead, they were dense and they barely rose. They sank in the middle. I even used a timer for the mixing time. What did I do wrong?
Also, I wondered if this recipe could be doubled and used for a 10-inch round cake? (If I can figure out how to make it light and fluffy)
I am not seeing sour cream as an ingredient in the cupcakes or the growth recipes. ??
Thank you
Hi Deb – You could have over mixed the batter. Also, make sure the cream the sugar and butter until fluffy. Hope this helps!
how long does the frosting last
Hi Michelle – it will last about a week in an airtight container in your refrigerator. If you are storing it before you frost your cake, bring it to room temperature and gently re-whip it as well to bring it back to life.
Have you added food coloring to the frosting? When should I add it?
Hi Angie – Add it towards the end of mixing!
I wanna make a sheet cake and put a layer of butter cream frosting in the middle should I make a double batch of the frosting?
Hi Brittney – I would suggest making a double batch just to be sure. You can never had too much frosting, right? 😉 Enjoy!
One more question Jessica, will I be able to put fondant cut out decorations on top of this frosting or do I have to cover the cake with fondant and then add the fondant decorations? The cake will be a full sheet so I was hoping not to cover in fondant. But I just wasn’t sure if this frosting will ruin my cutouts due to the moisture from the frosting possibly coming through the fondant. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Hi Terri – I have not worked with fondant so I am not quite sure how to answer your question. I am assuming the fondant decorations will be fine sitting on top of the frosting. You may want to do some more research on this before your try it though. Hope it turns out!!
Can i use this frosting to froating a sheet cake? Does it crust?
It doesn’t crust and yes, you should be able to use it for a sheet cake. Enjoy!
I am very excited to make these for my daughter’s birthday! I plan to do a trial run this weekend. Do you think these would freeze?
Hi Danielle – these would be great for your daughter’s Birthday! I have not froze them before but I believe you could freeze just the cupcakes but most likely not the frosting. Please let me know they turn out!
Hi! Thanks for this recipe. I made the frosting for my husband’s birthday cake and it was AMAZING! I’ll be sharing this link on my blog post this week. Thank You!
Hi Erin – Yay! So glad you liked it! Happy Birthday to your husband!
Will this be enough icing for 11×13 cake?
Hi Linda – Yes, I believe it will be enough frosting although I haven’t tried it. Let me know how it works out! You will love the frosting!
Thank you
I’ve used this recipe a few times for icing! We love it. I made a large batch last night to use for piping a cake tonight and the texture has completely changed…any ideas?
Hi Alicia – Perhaps the icing wasn’t cooled enough before adding the butter? What was the texture like?
My cupcakes were not good, but the icing was Devine. I had to exercise patience until it became fluffy, but it was worth the wait!
Hi Patti – so sorry the cupcakes didn’t turn out for your – what didn’t you like about them? However, I am so glad the frosting turned out – you definitely have to be patient but like you said, it’s totally worth the wait!
Would this recipe work with almond flour?
Hi Karrie! I have not tried the recipe with almond flour, but I would assume it would work! Let me know if you try it!
The frosting was absolutely delicious, but the cupcakes were not good at all. Usually I love almond cupcakes, but not these. I don’t know what it was, but I wasn’t a fan of the cupcake part, sorry. The frosting recipe was a keeper for sure though. Thanks!
Hi Brittany! So glad that you like the frosting but sorry to hear you don’t like the cupcakes. What was it about them that you didn’t like? Flavor? Texture?
I agree with Brittany. I feel like the texture reminded me of a muffin. My kids were a little confused! Still tasted good but the texture was off. I followed your instructions to fold in the dry ingredients, so it was for sure not over mixed.
Hi Alison! Sorry you didn’t like the texture but glad you enjoyed the flavor. 🙂
My buttercream will not thicken no matter what I do. I followed the recipe exactly and even added three more cups of sugar and it will not get thick enough to pipe help?
Hi Debi – I’m sorry that you’re having trouble. Did you whip it long enough? It does take awhile for it to thicken up. I adapted the recipe from Wicked Good Kitchen. She uses half shortening and butter where I use all butter. However, she has a step-by-step tutorial and that might help. http://wickedgoodkitchen.com/best-ever-american-buttercream/
I had the same problem. 🙁 I whipped it for almost 10 minutes and it was still runny. Ended up making a cream cheese almond frosting instead, but I really want to make this one the next time. Is it possible the butter was too warm and that was the issue?
I had the same problem so I added a few tablespoons of whipping cream and it thickened up right away!
Glad the heaving whipping cream helped!
I tried whipping cream, extra powdered sugar, everything and it didn’t help. Can you over whip because I left it on for a while thinking it would help!
hi Gina – yes you can over whip – that could have possibly happened. The frosting looks very light and fluffy – it’s not really all that thick looking. Perhaps try it again? It’s a type of frosting recipe that requires a little bit of practice as the difficulty level is little higher than usual. I have never had a problem with it but I have made it so many times that I know exactly what it should look like. If you keep having problems, let me know!
Can you use salted butter for frosting?
Hi Laurie! Yes you can use salted butter. I just
Prefer to use unsalted so I can control the amount of salt in the frosting. However,using salted should be just fine!
Does this turn out OK if I don’t use the sour cream ?
Yes, it should be fine!
Directions don’t say where to use the sour cream or substitute. I’m guessing along with the other wet ingredients. We are giving it a try.
Hi Cassie – sorry about that! I updated the recipe so it includes when to add it. You add it with the wet ingredients. Enjoy!
Hi! Where can I find the updated recipe that includes the amount of sour cream needed? Or can you please provide me with this information. Thanks
Hi Cyndi – this recipe does not include sour cream.
I adore almond extract – it really brings desserts to a whole other level!
These look so light and fluffy!! And I love the simple sprinkles on top! So pretty!
Look absolutely delicious….almond is my favorite flavoring….can’t wait to try them
Your maternity ward nurses are going to be very lucky if you bring them a basket of your homemade treats! 🙂 These look delicious.
Thanks Cathy!
I love almond cake. These cupcakes look even better. I just love the sound of that frosting.
These look delicious and they are very pretty!