Honey Cupcakes

This post may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure.

These golden honey cupcakes are light, fluffy, and tender. Just like little cakes from a gourmet bakery. Topped with luscious swirls of honey buttercream frosting, these desserts are perfect for special occasions. They’re absolutely delicious.

📌 PIN HONEY CUPCAKES

Take honey cupcakes to spring and summer socials. Serve them at teacher’s luncheons, graduation parties, baby showers, and church events. For a bakery-style look, make them fancy with bumble bee cupcake toppers, or by adding white Wilton candy pearls.

🛒 Ingredients

🍯 For the Honey Cupcakes

• Whole Milk: Adds rich delicious moisture to the batter so the cupcakes are tender and moist, not dry. But if desired, use 2% milk instead.
• Vegetable Oil: Cupcakes made with oil instead of butter are more tender and lofty. But for a buttery flavor, feel free to use half vegetable oil and half melted (and cooled) butter.
• Honey: We prefer light-colored honey (rather than dark-colored honey) for a sweet mild taste.
• Large Eggs: Provide structure for the batter and help bind the ingredients together.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the batter. I prefer Mexican vanilla extract for its rich buttery flavor and bakery aroma.
• Granulated Sugar: Adds the perfect amount of additional sweetness.
• All-purpose Flour: Helps form the structure of the cupcakes. When mixed with wet ingredients it forms an elastic gluten framework.
• Baking Powder: Is a leavening agent that helps the cake batter rise.
• Kosher Salt: Balances the flavor of the other ingredients.

🥣 For Honey Buttercream Frosting

• Salted Butter: It’s the base of our buttercream. Select a good-quality brand like Kirkland from Costco, Challenge, or Tillamook. To avoid any lumps, make sure to soften the butter to room temperature.
• Honey: This delicious nectar adds exquisite flavors that taste a bit like butterscotch or caramel.
• Powdered Sugar: Adds structure and sweetness to the frosting.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the other ingredients.
• Optional – white pearl sprinkles: For decorating.

📖 Recipe Steps

🍯 Honey Cupcakes

RECIPE PREP: Adjust oven rack to the center position. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12-well cupcake pan with paper liners.

1. Gather ingredients together. Measure the flour using the fluff/sprinkle/level method. This helps make sure you’re not adding in too much flour so the cupcakes aren’t heavy and dry.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: whole milk, vegetable oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla extract.
3. Add in granulated sugar. Whisk to combine. Add in flour, baking powder and salt. Mix just until no large lumps remain. Do not overmix.
4. Evenly divide the batter between the wells of the prepared pan, filling each cupcake wrapper 2/3 full. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until you can smell the aroma of cupcakes in your kitchen, and a skewer inserted into the center of 3 cakes comes out clean.

🥣 Honey Buttercream Frosting

1. Add honey and softened butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer). Beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds, or until the ingredients are well combined.
2. With the mixer on low speed, add in vanilla extract. Slowly add in the powdered sugar.
3. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, turn the mixer on high speed. Beat for 1 to 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
4. With a rubber spatula, transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your favorite metal tip. Frost the honey cupcakes in tall swirls, leaving an unfrosted border around the sides so the golden cake is visible. If desired, decorate with white pearl sprinkles.

🧑🏼‍🍳 Expert Tips: For Perfect Cupcakes

• Ingredients should be at room temperature so they’ll blend together smoothly and evenly.
• Measure the flour using the fluff/sprinkle/level method. This will help ensure you’re not adding too much flour to the recipe.
• Use fresh baking powder. Check the expiration date. Once opened, baking powder can stay fresh for about 5 months.
• Don’t overmix the cupcake batter. Overmixing causes too much gluten to form, which will give the cupcakes a gummy texture.
• Don’t overfill the the cupcake wrappers. For honey cupcakes, fill each well 2/3 full. For other cupcake recipes – follow the instructions.
• Bake cupcakes on the center rack of the oven.
• Cupcakes are done when you can smell the aroma, and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Some bakers prefer a touch test – gently press the top of a cupcake. If the cake bounces back it’s done.
• Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe FAQ

These are the most commonly-asked questions for making the BEST honey cupcakes, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.

🧁 More Cupcake Recipes

Want more yummy cupcake ideas? These popular cupcakes are guaranteed to delight family and friends. Save your favorite recipes for later. Add them to your collection.

• Lemon Curd Cupcakes
• German Chocolate Cupcakes
• Butter Pecan Cupcakes
• Red Velvet Cupcakes
• Tiramisu Cupcakes
• Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Rate This Recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flavor testers rated these the BEST honey cupcakes. They loved the light honey flavor, tender texture and delicious honey buttercream frosting.

If you agree this recipe’s a keeper, give it a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero. Share it with friends. 📌 Pin it to Pinterest.

Print

Honey Cupcakes 👉🏻 Join the Convo

Are you excited to make these honey cupcakes? Will it be for a special occasion? Join the conversation in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.