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!
So how do we make these beautiful almond cupcakes? The cupcake batter is simple and traditional cake batter consisting of all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and almond extract and milk.
Tips for success:
- Use room temperature ingredients – this ensures everything blends easily and blends well.
- Do not over-mix the batter once you add the flour. Over-mixing can create a tough cupcake.
- Make sure to use whole milk – adds a nice richness to the cupcake batter and overall taste and texture of the cupcake.
These cupcakes are light and fluffy and the buttercream frosting is so silky…I could 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!
- Almond Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 cup buttermilk or whole milk, room temperature
- Whipped Almond Buttercream Frosting
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 sticks unsalted butted, room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 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-alone 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 3/4 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 – 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 briefly mix in the almond extract, vanilla extract, and salt. 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 mixer 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.
Honey
Hi Jessica…Im so sorry if I didnt find notes. Can this recipe be used for mini cupcakes?
Jessica Erin
Yes! Baking time will change so keep an eye on them!
Ivette Hernandez
Hello Jessica,
I have baked your cupcakes about 3 years ago and the people loved them! Somehow your recipe got lost or removed from my saved pins and I ended up trying another recipe for almond cupcakes and buttercream frosting. It was just not the same and I was determined to find your recipe again. Last night I searched and finally found it! I baked them this morning and they are amazing! I added homemade raspberry filling. So delicious!
Thank you for sharing your talent๐
Ivette
Jessica Erin
you’re so welcome! thank you for the kind comments! ๐