These honey vanilla cupcakes will have you buzzing with absolute happiness! Fragrant flavors of honey, vanilla bean, almond extract, and butter. Sturdy and tender, made with the right amount of honey without being too sweet. Pairs perfectly with a cup of tea.
Tops of the cupcakes have luxurious honey buttercream and a honeycomb white chocolate accent.
These cupcakes are absolutely perfect for impressing your family and friends. Perfect addition for a spring gathering, Easter, baby shower, or bridal shower. Bee mine!
Honey Used in Baking
Honey is not 1 : 1 with granulated sugar. Honey contains more moisture and sweetness. It also makes the cakes slightly more dense. For that reason, these cupcakes are not completely light and airy. This is a denser cake with a more mature flavor profile. It will emphasize less sweetness and more richness. It’s got a rich crumb and subtle honey flavor.
Ingredients
Raw Honey: Adds fragrant and powerful sweetness and delicious flavor to the cupcakes and buttercream.
Pasture Raised Eggs: Brings the cake batter together. Pasture raised are ethical and taste better!
Milk: Adds moisture to the cupcakes so they aren’t dry.
Vanilla Extract & Vanilla Bean: Enhances the sweetness and flavor of the cake and honey.
Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness to the cupcakes.
All Purpose Flour: The base that gives structure to the cupcakes. You can use cake flour if you want a more airy cake. I don’t recommend whole wheat flour.
Baking Soda & Powder: Makes the cupcakes rise so they become light and fluffy.
Butter: Base of our buttercream frosting.
Confectioners Sugar: Adds sweetness and structure to the buttercream.
Easy Chocolate Honeycombs
Within minutes, you can create beautiful edible chocolate honeycombs! All you need is white chocolate melting chips, optional edible dust/glitter, and a small roll of bubble wrap. You heard me: bubble wrap.
Melt white chocolate melting chips in microwave as per manufacturers instructions or by double broiler method. If using microwave, do keep an eye on it to not “burn” the chocolate. It will get a beige color and begin to resemble caramel if you’re not careful. Stir occasionally.
Line a tray with wax paper, parchment paper, or plastic wrap. Place your roll of bubble wrap on top. Carefully pour melted chocolate over bubble wrap. With a metal spatula, gently spread chocolate evenly around. Refrigerate until set.
Peel off chocolate from bubble wrap. Break into smaller pieces. Using a brush or your finger, dust the honeycomb pieces and top onto your piped buttercream.
If you’re pressed for time, you can opt out of making the chocolate honeycombs and just put a drizzle of honey on the top of your buttercream frosting.
Honey Vanilla Cupcakes with Honey Buttercream
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle & Whisk (Hand Mixer is ok too!)
- Medium Cookie Scoop
- Silicone Spatula
- Cupcake Tin
- Cupcake Liners
- Medium Bowl
- Wire Rack
- Piping Bag & Tip
Ingredients
Honey-Vanilla Cake
- 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour sifted
- ½ cup Whole Milk Room Temperature
- ⅓ cup Raw Honey
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs Room Temperature
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter Room Temperature
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ tsp Almond Extract
Honey Buttercream
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter Room Temperature
- ¼ Raw Honey
- ⅔ Vanilla Bean
- 1 tsp Corn Starch
- 1 tsp Heavy Cream
- ⅛ tsp Salt
- ¾ cup Powdered Sugar Sifted
Instructions
Honey-Vanilla Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with paper cups.
- In a medium bowl, sift and combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition, then add the honey, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and the milk, a little at a time, alternating between them and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Mix until just combined. Using a medium cookie scoop, carefully fill each paper cup with the cupcake batter.
- Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden-brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely on wire rack while you make the buttercream.
Honey Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a whisk, whisk the butter until lighter in texture and whiter in color, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Mix in honey at low speed. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Increase to high speed until fully combined.
- Switch to a paddle attachment. On low speed and add vanilla bean, salt, and confectioners sugar.
- Increase speed until well combined, scraping down bowl as needed.
- Give a nice stir by hand. Transfer buttercream into a piping bag or apply directly to cupcakes with spatula.
- Finish the top of the cupcakes with a drizzle of honey or a white chocolate honeycomb.
Notes
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
