If you've noticed an increase in purple desserts appearing on menus, dominating social media feeds and gracing the pages of culinary magazines, you're not alone. From Michelin-starred tasting menus to specialty grocery stores, it seems ube is everywhere. Having grown up enjoying ube halaja at every holiday and asking for an ube birthday cake year after year, the recent explosion of ube's popularity fills me with immense pride. But what exactly is ube and how can you use it to create your own amazing purple baked goods?
What is ube?
Ube is a type of purple originating from Southeast Asia. It is a prized ingredient in Filipino cuisine, used in both traditional desserts such as ube halaya (a pudding-like dessert) and kakan (rice cakes), as well as modern desserts such as cakes, cookies and ice cream. A symbol of celebration, no holiday gathering or festive occasion is complete without at least one ube dessert on the table.
Although often confused with purple sweet potatoes, ube is a distinct species. While they share the same luscious color inside, ube has a rough, thick exterior that looks a bit like tree bark. It also boasts a sweeter, more aromatic flavor than purple sweet potatoes and lends a richer, darker color to dishes. While purple sweet potatoes are easier to find in specialty grocery stores, purchasing fresh purple fruit in the United States can still be a challenge. However, due to the continued popularity of ube cakes, other forms of ube are becoming more accessible, and most are great for baking.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Sheila Jarnes
With its mesmerizing shade of purple, it's clear why ube has grown in popularity, especially in the age of visual platforms like Instagram and TikTok. But what gives ube the potential to be a culinary staple isn't just its eye-catching color, but its enigmatic aroma. Ube is earthy with a milky aroma reminiscent of white chocolate, notes of coconut, rich nutty pistachio and aromatic vanilla. While challenging to put into words, ube's flavor translates beautifully across the culinary spectrum and tastes delicious in everything from donuts and pasta to lattes and cocktails.
How do you bake with ube?
The type of ube product you should buy will depend a lot on what you want to bake. Different forms of ube products can greatly affect the texture of your roast, so different recipes will call for a specific form of ube. Here are the most common ones.
Fresh Ube
Securing and baking with fresh ube is quite a challenge. It is rarely imported to North America, but can sometimes be found in Asian grocery stores. In the Philippines, it is mainly used to make ube halaya, a unique dessert served on special occasions that has no American equivalent. It's a bit like sweet potato casserole, but with a thicker, more substantial consistency since ube is starchier than sweet potatoes.
To make it, roasted ube is boiled and mixed with copious amounts of butter, sugar and coconut milk. (Some recipes call for sweetened condensed milk.) Although the cake may seem simple, it's a painstaking process that requires constant attention to prevent it from burning and sticking. It's a labor of love and some arm training.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
Jam Ube (sometimes called ube halaya)
Ube jam commonly found in the Filipino section of many Asian grocery stores, online and even at Trader Joe's. This versatile ingredient can easily be incorporated into a variety of recipes, including cake batter and cookie dough (like these Ube Crinkle Cookies Stuffed with Mochi). It comes sweetened and makes a delicious filling for layer cakes or sweet buns, similar to how you would use red bean paste.
Confusingly, ube jam is often referred to as ube halaya in the United States, both in recipes and on products found in stores and online. However, in the Philippines, the two are completely different. Ube jam is slightly thinner and more spreadable than traditional hala. It is usually not enjoyed on its own and instead spread over bread PRAY or white sandwich bread.
Frozen ube
Easily available in the freezer section of most Asian grocery stores, frozen ube is made from cooked, grated, or pureed ube. It's a convenient substitute for fresh ube in most recipes, and like fresh ube, you can use it to make halaya. Once melted, you can add it directly to dough or batter for cookie, bread, and cake recipes, just like using pumpkin or sweet potato puree.
Ube powder
Ube powder, also known as purple powder, can be found in most Asian grocery stores, online, and increasingly in some health food stores. For most recipes, it should be turned into a paste by adding a little water. Since it is made from cooked, dehydrated and ground ube, it gives a grainy texture to baked goods. In some cases, this can be a good thing! In my recipe for White Chocolate Macadamia Sourdough Ube CookiesI've found that adding ube powder gives a nice heartiness that adds to the overall textural experience of the cookies.
Ube powder works great for lattes, ice cream, cakes and breads. As it maintains a delicate texture, it may not be ideal for cream, pudding or flan fillings where you want a perfectly smooth and silky consistency. It also adds a more subtle flavor and color than other forms of ube, so for a deeper purple hue and more intense ube flavor, it's best to use extract.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne
Ube extract
Ube extract it's made from purple dipped candy, food coloring, and natural flavors; it is readily available in the Filipino section of most Asian grocery stores and online. If you're looking to add intense ube flavor and bold purple color to your bakes, ube extract is your best bet. It is especially suitable for creamy fillings, as shown here Ube Bibingka cream lip recipe. Ube extract is also perfect for adding color and flavor to meringues, macaroons, brownies, cakes, cookies and even cocktails.
If you're unfamiliar with ube and want to give it a try, using ube extract is the easiest way to introduce its unique flavor to your roast as it won't change the texture of your roast. You can easily swap vanilla for ube extract in a 1:1 ratio in your dough or batter. Since its scent is quite subtle (unlike almond or orange extract), it's hard to overpower, and you can always add more if you're aiming for a richer shade of purple.
Beyond its status as a social media darling, ube is a prized ingredient steeped in heritage. Filipinos hold dear their culinary traditions and ube is one of our most beloved ingredients. Witnessing its rise to prominence feels like a long-awaited validation of our rich food culture, especially within the Western world where Filipino cuisine has not always received the recognition it deserves compared to other Asian cuisines. With its growing popularity, ube is now more readily available, so it's easier than ever to start using it in your baking!
For more classic Filipino baking, try creamy Filipino Egg Piecrispy, crunchy Silvanusand this pillow-soft Giant Ensaymada.
Cover photo by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Sheila Jarnes.
