These soft and fluffy honey cupcakes have a floral honey flavor with salted honey buttercream frosting swirled on top. Honey is in the cake, in the frosting, and drizzled on top, making it the star ingredient of these delicious cupcakes!
These extra soft and flavorful honey cupcakes are a perfect Spring or Summer cupcake recipe for special occasions. The cake has a subtle honey flavor and moist texture with honey buttercream on top! They're perfect for using up that local farmer's market honey you got.
The base of these cupcakes is my classic vanilla cupcake recipe with a little honey! This recipe is so easy and only requires one bowl.
The honey frosting has the same texture as whipped honey butter. It's delicious but totally optional. You can also try these cupcakes with honey cream cheese frosting or lavender buttercream for honey lavender cupcakes!
For more honey flavored treats, try honey banana bread, honey apple crisp, or these caramelized honey bananas and French toast.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Using both all purpose flour and cake flour create soft, tender cupcakes!
- There's so much honey flavor because there is honey in the cake and frosting.
- This recipe uses theย reverse creaming methodย where the butter is mixed into the dry ingredients instead of the wet ingredients. This technique prevents extra gluten from forming for a super fluffy cake. I also used it to make these maple bacon cupcakes and root beer cupcakes!
Key Ingredients
- Flours- I used a combination of cake flour and all purpose flour in this recipe for a perfectly fluffy cupcake. If you don't have cake flour, you can make a substitute for it as described in the Substitutions and Variations section below.
- Granulated sugar- Don't leave out or reduce the sugar because it does way more than just sweeten the cupcakes! I tested this recipe with only honey as a sweetener, and the texture was super rubbery and weird. With sugar they were moist and tender!
- Unsalted butter- Butter adds richness and makes the cupcakes moist. Make sure your butter is room temperature so it mixes with the other ingredients easily.
- Honey- The flavor of the honey makes a huge difference! I tested this recipe with honey from a warehouse store and then with fresh local honey, and the local honey tasted so much better! I recommend clover or wildflower honey, but any kind you enjoy works.
- Buttermilk- Adds moisture and its acidity tenderizes the gluten strands, making the cupcakes extra soft!
For the full list of ingredients and quantities, see the recipe card below.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Cake flour: You can make a cake flour substitute by sifting 50 grams (โ cup) all purpose flour and 10 grams (1 tablespoon) cornstarch together. This creates a light, airy texture. Don't substitute the cake flour with only all purpose flour because the texture will be too dense.
- Buttermilk: Plain kefir is the best substitute for buttermilk. Sour cream and plain Greek yogurt are also good options. Don't use regular milk! We really need the acidity that buttermilk provides.
How to Make Them
Step 1: In the bowl of an electric mixer or stand mixer, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the butter, mixing on low until combined and mixture resembles wet sand.
Step 2: Add the eggs, vanilla, and honey to the large bowl. Mix on low speed until a thick batter forms.
Step 3: With mixer running on low, slowly mix in the buttermilk until smooth.
Step 4: Fill each cupcake liner โ full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean with a few moist crumbs attached.
Step 5: Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely for about 30 minutes.
Step 6: Make the honey buttercream and pipe on the cool cupcakes. Garnish with a drizzle of honey and enjoy!
Expert Baking Tips
- Measure the flour correctly. This is key for perfect cupcakes because too much can make them dense and dry. For the most accurate results, measure flour in grams using a kitchen scale. If using cups, fluff the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level it off with a straight edge.
- Don't overmix. Overmixing makes too much gluten develop, leading to a tougher texture. Mix just until the ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth.
- Don't overfill the cupcake liners. If the liners are too full, the batter can overflow and make a mess in the oven!
- Let the cupcakes cool before frosting. This is so important because if the cupcakes are still warm, the frosting will melt and slide off!
Storage Instructions
For cupcakes without frosting: Place the unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container and store at room temperature on the counter for up to 4 days.
For cupcakes with frosting: Store frosted cupcakes in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let them warm on the counter for 30 minutes-1 hour before eating.
Freezing Instructions
You should only freeze cupcakes without frosting. Freeze them on a baking sheet for 2 hours or until frozen solid. Then transfer to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
When you're ready to eat the cupcakes, thaw them in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for 2 hours before decorating.
Frequently Asked Questions
For this specific recipe, you can't. I tried and it was extremely unsuccessful! It's worth a shot for other cupcakes though! Use โ cup honey for every 1 cup sugar because honey is sweeter than sugar. You will also need to reduce the other wet ingredients by 25% because the water in the honey adds extra moisture.
Raw honey is much more solid and thick than squeezable honey, so I don't recommend it for this recipe.
Cupcakes can sink due to overmixing the batter, underbaking, or using too much baking powder. To avoid sinking, mix the batter gently until just combined, bake at the correct temperature (an oven thermometer helps!), and avoid opening the oven door too soon as the cupcakes bake.
More Cupcake Recipes to Try
๐ Recipe
Fluffy Honey Cupcakes
Equipment
- 1 Electric hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment
Need Metric or US Customary Measurements?
Use the buttons below to toggle between grams and cups!
Ingredients
Honey Cupcakes
- 140 grams all purpose flour
- 60 grams cake flour
- 200 grams granulated sugar
- 1 ยฝ teaspoon baking powder
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- 114 grams unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoon honey
- 160 grams buttermilk room temperature
Honey Buttercream Frosting
- 227 grams salted butter softened
- 240 grams powdered sugar
- ยผ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF/180ยฐC. Fill a cupcake pan with paper liners and set aside.
- Add both flours, sugar ,baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer or hand mixer. Mix on low speed until combined.140 grams all purpose flour, 60 grams cake flour, 200 grams granulated sugar, 1 ยฝ teaspoon baking powder, ยผ teaspoon salt
- Add softened butter and beat on low for 3-5 minutes until the mixture looks like wet sand.114 grams unsalted butter
- Mix in the eggs, vanilla, and honey until a thick batter forms.2 large eggs, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 tablespoon honey
- With mixer still on low, slowly stream in the buttermilk. Mix for 2 minutes until the batter is smooth, scraping sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.160 grams buttermilk
- Spoon cupcake batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling each โ full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Carefully transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack. Let cool completely.
Honey Buttercream
- In the bowl of aย stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or hand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high speed for 10 minutes until pale and fluffy.227 grams salted butter
- Slowly mix in the powdered sugar on low 1 cup at a time. Then add the cinnamon. Scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary.240 grams powdered sugar, ยผ teaspoon cinnamon
- Mix in the honey and vanilla on medium speed for 3-5 minutes until well combined and fluffy.
- Frost the cupcakes using a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Garnish with a drizzle of honey and enjoy!2 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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