Ube Hot Water Buttercream (No Grit Method)

Why This Recipe Works

• The hot water fully dissolves the powdered sugar before it meets the butter, eliminating the grainy texture you get from beating sugar and butter alone.
• Ube powder gives a natural purple base color and true ube flavor, though the final shade depends on the strength of your powder.
• Whipping the butter alone for 15-20 minutes first builds the aeration that makes this buttercream stable enough to pipe.
• Less sweet than a standard American buttercream, with a texture closer to Swiss meringue buttercream.
• No eggs, no syrup, no candy thermometer required

A Note on the Name

Back in 2016, I hit 10,000 subscribers on YouTube and wanted to give something back, so I filmed the method behind this buttercream: dissolving powdered sugar into hot water first, instead of beating it straight into the butter, to get rid of the grit. That 2016 thank you video is still up if you want to see where the whole thing started. Plenty of other bakers have since renamed or tweaked it and called it their own, but this ube version comes from that same original technique, just with real ube powder mixed through for the color and flavor.

Ube Hot Water Buttercream Ingredients

• Unsalted butter: this is your base, and it needs to be unsalted so you're in control of the sweetness and salt. Skip margarine, it makes the whole thing softer and less stable.
• Powdered sugar (icing sugar): the trick here is dissolving it in hot water instead of just beating it into the butter, that's what gets rid of the grit.
• Ube powder: this is what gives you the purple color and that ube flavor. How intense it turns out really comes down to the quality of the powder and how strong the pigment is, some brands go deep purple, others stay pretty pale. Mine came out lighter than I wanted, so I added a few drops of purple gel food coloring to fix it.
• Vanilla extract: just rounds out the ube flavor and adds a bit of warmth.
• Hot water: dissolves everything into a smooth mixture before it goes anywhere near the butter

How to Make Ube Hot Water Buttercream

Step 1: Make the Ube sugar mixture

In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and ube powder until evenly combined. Add the vanilla and hot water, then stir until fully dissolved with no dry streaks left. Set aside for at least 10 minutes to hydrate. This resting time lets the mixture hydrate, which is what helps remove the grit. A crust will form on top as it sits, so give it a restir before use.

Step 2: Whip the butter

Add the butter to your stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment. Whip on medium-high for 15-20 minutes, scraping down the sides halfway through, until pale, fluffy, and roughly doubled in volume. In a cold kitchen this can take longer, so watch for that pale, aerated texture rather than the clock.

Step 3: Combine

With the mixer running on medium, restir the ube sugar mixture and pour in half. Mix for 1 minute, then stream in the rest slowly. It may look slightly curdled at this stage, this is normal and it comes back together as you keep mixing, though depending on your butter temperature it may stay smooth the whole way through.

Step 4: Final mix

Once fully combined, reduce the mixer to low speed, which helps eliminate air bubbles, and continue mixing for a further 15 minutes minimum. The color deepens and evens out the longer you mix, so if it looks patchy at 15 minutes, keep going a few minutes more. Scrape the bowl once during this stage to catch anything hiding at the bottom.

Pro Tips

• Whisk the powdered sugar and ube powder together first, before any liquid goes in, otherwise the ube powder clumps.
• Don't rush the resting time on the sugar mixture, that's the step that actually gets rid of the grit.
• Keep whipping the butter until it's genuinely pale and fluffy, not just until it looks combined. Cold kitchen, more time, go by how it looks rather than the clock.
• If it curdles when you add the sugar mixture, that's completely normal, just keep the mixer going.
• Drop the speed to low for the final mix, it helps get rid of air bubbles.
• Taste as you go and adjust the ube powder, since strength varies a lot between brands.
• Your color will depend on the powder you're using, so don't stress if it looks different from batch to batch

How to Use Ube Buttercream

• Pipe it onto chocolate cupcakes or a chocolate layer cake, the purple and chocolate combination looks striking and the flavors work well together.
• Frost a classic vanilla cake or cupcakes for a simple pairing that lets the ube flavor stand out.
• Use it as a filling and crumb coat under a different topping if you want the color as a surprise inside.
• Pipe borders and simple swirls, it holds up well for basic piping.
• Spread it on shortbread or butter cookies for a filled sandwich cookie

Storage & Serving

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Bring to room temperature before using, then re-whip on low speed to restore a smooth, pipeable texture. For longer storage, freeze for up to 3 months, thaw in the fridge overnight, then bring to room temperature and re-whip before use. Serve at room temperature for the best texture, it hardens slightly when cold but softens again once it sits out.

Variations

• No ube powder on hand? Use ube jam (ube halaya) instead: swap in ½ cup, more or less depending on how strong you want it, stirred into the sugar mixture where the powder would go. It'll bring some extra moisture along with it, so expect a slightly softer buttercream, and the color will shift depending on the brand.
• Want a deeper color? It really comes down to your ube powder's pigment strength, so results vary. If you don't mind gel food coloring, a couple of drops will get you there, that's exactly what I did with this batch.
• Taste it as you go: start with what's in the recipe, then add more ube powder or jam if you want it stronger.

Ube Hot Water Buttercream Questions, Answered

More Hot Water Buttercream Recipes

• Try the original Hot Water Buttercream this recipe is based on, for a classic vanilla version.
• My Chocolate Hot Water Buttercream uses the same no grit method with real melted chocolate folded in.
• For a coffee lover's version, check out my Coffee Hot Water Buttercream made with real brewed espresso.
• If you love Nutella, my No Grit Nutella Buttercream uses the same hot liquid technique.
• My Mocha Buttercream combines coffee and chocolate in one silky, no grit frosting.
• For something crunchy, try my Honeycomb Buttercream

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