Mango Cupcakes with Filling and Buttercream

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Whether you're a new baker or pro at whipping up desserts in the kitchen, this recipe for mango cupcakes is an easy crowdpleaser. People will be so impressed when they find that the insides are packed with fresh mango filling. Read on for the details and simple steps for making the filling and mango buttercream used to top off this refreshing treat.

Mango cupcake, missing a bite, and showing the filling inside.

For additional fruit-forward options if mango isn't really your thing, take a peek at my strawberry filled vanilla cupcakes or these blueberry filled cupcakes with basil buttercream. Both of those recipes have insanely good (and easy-to-make) homemade fillings.

Though if you're in a pinch, a few spoonfuls of the jam or preserves of your choice will work just fine inside the cupcake of your choosing.

🥭 And if you can't get enough mango, you'll love my mango mousse cake recipe. It uses mascarpone for a creamy texture and melt-in-your-mouth flavor.

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Ingredients for this Recipe
Recipe Planning for Mango Cupcakes with Fresh Mango
Best Results: Baking in Grams
📖 Step-by-Step Cupcake Baking Instructions
🥭 Making Mango Cupcake Filling
Mango Frosting Recipe
💡 Tips for Cupcake Decorating with Freeze Dried Fruit
Assembling Mango Cupcakes with Mango Filling
❓Cupcake FAQ
Cupcake Storage
Tips for Perfecting this Recipe
More Recipes like these Easy Mango Cupcakes
Mango Cupcakes with Filling and Buttercream

Ingredients for this Recipe

In the instructions below, you'll find all the ingredients you need for this easy mango cupcake recipe. Here are highlights of a few key ingredients:

Canola or Vegetable Oil - Oil, a rich source of fat, adds moisture to baked goods. It helps keep these cupcakes moist and tender days after baking. Read more about baking with oil and butter.
Mango filling - By cooking mangos on the stovetop and then using a food processor or immersion blender, we turn chunks of mangos into a spreadable filling to go inside each cupcake. We essentially create a mango purée.
Unsalted room temperature butter - Butter is a fat, and fat equals flavor! Mixing butter and granulated sugar incorporates air into the batter. This process helps your cupcakes rise in the oven.
Vanilla extract - To make the base vanilla cupcake recipe used here, you'll need vanilla extract. There are lots of options out there, but you don't need fancy and expensive vanilla extract for good flavor. The one at your local grocery store is great. I never taste much difference between pricier extracts and more affordable ones.
Coconut extract - These fresh mango cupcakes feel like a mini-tropical getaway, which brings coconut to mind. This extract pairs really nicely alongside the mango flavor.
Freeze dried mangos - Freeze dried mangos add a concentrated mango flavor to the cupcakes' mango buttercream. In general, freeze dried fruits are a helpful trick in making frosting. They add fruity flavor without introducing moisture to frosting, which can water it down or give it a soupy texture.

Recipe Planning for Mango Cupcakes with Fresh Mango

To knock out this recipe in one session, I recommend to first cook your fresh mangoes.

Then start setting out your ingredients to bake the vanilla cupcakes as the mangos cook on the stove top. Once done, let fruit cool.

While your cupcakes bake, puree your cooked mangos and clean your mixing bowl to make the frosting.

Alternatively, I prefer cooking my mangos one day and focusing on baking and assembling the cupcakes the following.

Best Results: Baking in Grams

If you’re not already, use a kitchen scale for accuracy in baking.

While I include cups and grams in my recipe cards, weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams ensures consistency.

I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale.

📖 Step-by-Step Cupcake Baking Instructions

About an hour before beginning this recipe, bring your eggs, butter, buttermilk, and full-fat Greek yogurt (or sour cream) out of the refrigerator. Place them on your counter so they reach room temperature.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a standard muffin tin with 12 paper liners.

Step 2: To a large bowl, add and whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside.

overhead image of white batter (creamed sugar and butter) in a mixing bowl.

Step 3: Using the paddle attachment in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream your unsalted room temperature butter, vanilla and coconut extracts, and granulated sugar together on medium speed for 4 minutes. Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the two eggs and beat again for 1 minute.

overhead image of off-white batter in a mixing bowl.

Step 4: Add half of your dry ingredients and all buttermilk to your mixing bowl. Mix on low for about 45 seconds and scrape the bowl's sides again so all ingredients are evenly incorporated. Add the remaining flour, along with your Greek yogurt and oil. Mix on low speed until mostly incorporated. Stop mixer and fully incorporate by hand with a spatula for another minute or two to avoid over-mixing.

Step 5: Pour and evenly spread the batter into the prepared liners in your cupcake pan (about 50 grams in each cavity). Bake for 14-16 minutes or until cupcakes appear buttery and dense but bounce back at the touch of your finger.

light-colored cupcakes, cooling and sitting on a wire rack as well as on a countertop.

Step 6: Let cupcakes cool in pan about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before inserting the fresh mango puree.

🥭 Making Mango Cupcake Filling

Add fresh fruit or mango chunks to a small pot on the stove, over medium heat. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so as mango juices release.

Chunks of mango in a pot with a wooden spoon.

Add lemon juice, sugar, and salt to pot and let it cook over medium-low heat for 16-20 more minutes, bubbling gently. Mango will become very soft, similar to the texture of cooked apples.

Let mango cool for a few minutes before adding to a food processor, blender, or using an immersion blender in the pot. If you’d like to remove the pulp, put your mango filling through a fine mesh sieve, reserving the smooth pureed mango to add to your cupcakes. I personally like the chunks and pieces for filling! Like a thick mango purée, the end result looks like a marmalade.

Overhead image of mango filling in a pot, next to an immersion blender.

Overhead image of mango filling in glass bowl.

Mango Frosting Recipe

Overhead image of ingredients for mango buttercream.

Beat the ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the unsalted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, coconut extract, salt, freeze-dried mango, and heavy cream (or coconut milk, whole milk, or another variety) on low speed for about 30 seconds. Then, increase to medium-high speed and continue beating for 5 minutes.

Process shot of mixing bowl, filled with ingredients for mango frosting.

Adjust the flavor: Taste the frosting and, if desired, add a drop or two of lemon or lime juice to balance the sweetness.

Smooth the frosting: For the smoothest texture and fluffy frosting, spend 2-3 minutes gently swiping your spatula around the bowl, pressing the frosting against the sides to reduce air bubbles. This will result in a thick yet silky consistency.

Mixing bowl filled with a smooth, light yellow frosting and a white rubber spatula.

Set aside: Set the frosting aside until you're ready to use it for topping cupcakes.

💡 Tips for Cupcake Decorating with Freeze Dried Fruit

For best results, fully grind your freeze dried mangos before adding them to your frosting. A blender or food processor will work well.

Once ground, they should have the consistency of a fine powder so that chunks of the fruit don't get caught in the piping tip. You won't be able to decorate the cupcake or cake easily if that happens.

Finely ground freeze dried mangoes, turned into a powder.

If it does happen, remove or squeeze the frosting out the other end of the bag, using the wide opening, and remove the problematic pieces of fruit.

Assembling Mango Cupcakes with Mango Filling

If you have a cupcake corer to add filling to your cupcakes, great! I do not, but no problem.

Instead, take the wider end of a large piping tip (like the size of 1M, 2D, etc). Make a hole in the center of your cupcakes and go about ¾ of the way down into it.

Scoop about 2 teaspoons of cooled mango filling into the hole of each cupcake. Firmly pack it down, though it's okay if some of the filling spills over the top of the hole. You'll cover the center of the cupcake with frosting anyhow.

Mixing bowl filled smooth mango buttercream and a white rubber spatula.

If you have any mango puree remaining after filling your cupcakes, you can add a few tablespoons of that back into your frosting and mix it well before putting your frosting in a piping bag.

Piping frosting onto cupcakes filled with mango.

To hide the filling, use your piping bag filled with frosting to swirl mango buttercream directly onto the top of the cupcake.

Cupcakes topped with frosting, sitting on a wooden cake stand.

❓Cupcake FAQ

How do you add filling to a cupcake?

A cupcake corer is a cool tool, but if you don't have one, use the wider end of a large piping tip (like the size of 1M, 2D, etc.) to make the hole in the center of your cupcakes. Make sure the hole goes down about ¾ of the way into the cupcake so you have room for filling.

Why do I need to bake with room temperature ingredients?

Ingredients like eggs, butter, and other dairy products are important in trapping air into your baked goods as you mix the batter or dough for them. That air expands during the baking process in the oven. This can mean the difference between a dense and crumbly cupcake and a nice, fluffy one. So you should always bake with room temperature ingredients if a recipe calls for it. This one does.

What makes cupcakes more moist?

In this recipe, we use a combination of room temperature oil, buttermilk, butter, and Greek yogurt (or sour cream could work, too) to create a moist and soft cupcake. The juices from the roasted strawberries also add moisture inside this cupcake!

Cupcake Storage

If you want to prep these delicious cupcakes in advance for special occasions, you can freeze them (frosted or unfrosted) for up to three months. Place them in an airtight container in your freezer, and bring them out an hour or two before you'd like to serve them.

I have a detailed guide for freezing cupcakes if you're curious about the many ways you can successfully do this!

Tips for Perfecting this Recipe

Don't overmix your batter! Overmixing batter can yield a denser cupcake, the opposite of a soft and fluffy baked good. Pay attention to the photos in this recipe for visual cues on how your cupcake batter should look before baking.
Let your delicious cupcakes cool before assembling them. If your cupcakes are still warm when you pipe frosting onto them or try to add the filling, you'll regret it. The frosting may melt, and the warm cupcake's texture won't be quite sturdy enough to hold the filling well.
For a more flavorful cupcake, eat it the next day. The added time allows the flavors to meld together longer, resulting in a stronger taste.