Mango Cupcakes with Filling and Buttercream

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.

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.

Jump to:

• Ingredients for this Recipe
• Recipe Planning for Mango Cupcakes with Fresh Mango
• Steps for Baking Cupcakes
• Making Mango Cupcake Filling
• Mango Frosting Recipe
• Tips for Cupcake Decorating with Freeze Dried Fruit
• Assembling Mango Cupcakes with Mango Filling
• Cupcake FAQ
• Tips for Perfecting this Recipe
• Bake Like a Pro: Use a Kitchen Scale
• More Dessert Recipes
• 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.

Steps for Baking Cupcakes

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.

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a standard muffin or cupcake tin with 12 paper cupcake liners.

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

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Mango Frosting Recipe

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the unsalted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and coconut extracts, salt, freeze dried mango, and heavy cream (or coconut milk) on low for about 30 seconds before increasing speed to medium high for 5 minutes.  

Test taste and add a drop or two of lemon juice to cut sweetness if desired.  

Set aside frosting in bowl until ready to use for topping cupcakes.

Assembling Mango Cupcakes with Mango Filling

If you have a cupcake corer to add your filling, use it. I do not, but no problem.

Instead, I used the wider end of a large piping tip (like the size of 1M, 2D, etc). Make a hole in the center of each cupcake 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 it with frosting anyhow.

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.

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

Cupcake FAQ

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 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.

More Dessert Recipes

If you're looking for more recipes like these easy mango cupcakes, then I bet you'll love these big batch chocolate chip cookies. They're made with brown butter, oatmeal, and are basically my favorite cookie recipe of all time.

Or check out this old fashioned carrot cake recipe with pineapple. It's moist and sweet, due in part to the pineapple juice inside it.

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