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Musings. Family. Food. Stories. Cooking. Recipes. Eating. A recipe journal. From simple Filipino dishes to challenging recipes and exciting gastronomical failures. This is for my girls to look back on for comfort, memories, laughs, love and lots of food!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Purple yam (Filipino ube) cake for the November SABH



 

The colour purple signals the middle of spring in Sydney. When jacarandas are in full bloom and every nook and corner is just alight with these purple beauties.  They’re gorgeous from afar and up close.  The downside is that these purple beauties don’t last long.  A few weeks after they bloom, they’re already down on the ground wilting away.   But never mind. Jacarandas are beautiful no matter what.



And so it goes without saying, my inspiration for this month’s Sweet Adventures Blog Hop hosted by JJ from 84th and 3rd, is inspired by this Australian flora.  The colour purple.  And its timing that it is my mother’s fave colour, and the weekend of the SABH coincides with my mom’s birthday.  And even though she’s in the Philippines celebrating with my dad and other family members, we celebrated her birthday here too.  With a cake that’s her favourite colour.  Purple yam cake (or Ube cake in Filipino parlance).

 



Ube or purple yam is an indigenous Filipino root crop.  Alongside the sweet potato, cassava or tapioca, parsnip, turnip and taro, the purple yam is a favourite ingredient in many Filipino sweets.  These purple beauties are added made into cakes, cupcakes, puddings, rice cakes, tarts or pastries,  flavoured in jams and preserves, topped in coldtreats, ice cream and even shakes!  As a matter of fact, they are used in more sweets than savoury dishes.  Considering it is infact a vegetable makes it for the perfect “vegetable” showcase for my post. Check out Jun Blog's post about this special vegetable and why Filipinos love it! 


Just some of the many purple yam products from the Philippines


To make this cake is like making any cake that uses vegetables (such as beetroot or cauliflower), you’ll need to cook the purple yam, mash them and pass through a sieve to get the finer texture.  

L: Frozen grated purple yam and R: Powdered dehydrated purple yam


But since it’s just a few of us around here, I’m sharing you a cheat version.  Sssshhhh!   I’ve used dehydrated purple yam powder, which I simply rehydrated with water, simmering for 20 minutes.  You can also buy frozen grated purple yam from Filipino stores and select Asian shops across Sydney. There is also that hint of purple yam essence which you can add for that extra bit of flavour and colour.  Otherwise, you can just use any food colouring combining red and blue till you get the perfect hue.  Without the colouring, you’ll get a very light purple cake, but still keep the purple yam flavour. So either way, you can’t go wrong.



You don't  need this much!  Just one bottle will do. I always just tend to overreact when food shopping!


There are a lot of variations on this cake around Google, but I was most inspired by this version from allrecipes.com and Pinay in Texas Cooking Corner sans the macapuno (Coconut sports) filling and using Italian buttercream as filling and icing.  Just because I like meringue-based frostings!  This cake has seen many afternoon teas and desserts and birthdays in our home.    

 

 
To make this purple yam (ube) cake
 Print recipe here

7 egg yolks

125ml vegetable oil

125ml fresh milk

1 cup grated purple yam

20ml (1 bottle) purple yam essence

2 ¼ cups plain flour

3 teaspoon baking powder

1 ¾ cups caster sugar

7 egg whites

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cream of tartar


Preheat oven to 178*C.  Grease and line the bottom and sides of two round 20cm cake tins.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, half of the caster sugar and mix with a whisk.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, oil, milk, grated purple yam and purple yam essence. 
Add the egg yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix using a wooden spoon until they’re all combined (wet and dry combined). Set aside. 

In the bowl of your stand mixer, whip the egg whites and salt until frothy.  Add the remaining sugar and the cream of tartar and whip until you get stiff peaks. 

Gently fold the egg whites mixture into your purple batter until combined.  Fold gently to retain the aeration.  

Divide the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 30-45 minutes.  Do the skewer test.  It should come out clean.

Prepare your cooling rack lines with baking paper.  Immediately invert the cake pan onto the rack and leave to cool.

Once cooled, trim off tops and sides if necessary to get a uniform round shape.  Process the off cuts to make into crumbs.  Set aside.


To make the Italian buttercream, I used this recipe.


Assembly:

Place a paper doily on your cake tray and spread a tablespoon of frosting. This keeps the cake from moving around.  Place the first layer of cake on the doily.

Pipe the filling onto the cake using any kind of tip, or simply use a spatula and spread the filling evenly.

Place the second round cake on the filling and continue icing the cake sides and top.  

Using your hands, gently tap some of the crumbed off cuts on the sides of the cake.

Use remaining icing to decorate around the cake or the top.




There are other ways to make this cake.  You can use a rectangle cookie sheets with sides and make thinner cakes (cooking times will be less) and make a Swiss roll type of ube cake.  For the icing, you can use cream cheese frosting (sans the lemon) or a simple Creme Chantilly recipe (cream whipped with icing sugar and vanilla).  I believe any kind of white icing will work with this purple cake.



This lovely cake was showcased for dessert last weekend.  When the skies were blue, and the jacarandas in full view.  We had backyard barbeque with the family and some friends, ate and drank some, and listened to jazz and 80s music all afternoon.  Spring, weekends, barbeque, family, friends and cake.  What else could you ask for?







46 comments:

  1. Sounds and looks delicious! Can't wait to try out the purple yam!

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  2. How fun is this cake and it matches the jacarandas perfectly! I do love this time of year when all of Sydney turns purple :)

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  3. I love ube cake! I keep buying ube powder intending to make a cake but lol, I never do. And I hope your Mum had a lovely birthday. Such a lovely match of shades between the ube and the jacaranda :)

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  4. That cake looks amazing! What a brilliant colour!

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  5. What a beautiful looking cake, I love the colour of it - gorgeous. I have never heard of Ube before, I will have to keep an eye out next time I'm at the Asian Grocer.

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  6. Stunning colour :D omg I love it!! Thanks for joining the hop :)

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  7. Oh my daughter would love your purple cake as it's her favourite colour. What a lovely idea and I too adore jacaranda. I've never thought of cooking with grated purple yam - I'm going to look for it next time I'm at the Asian grocery shop. Cheers!

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  8. That has to be the prettiest coloured cake ever! I love the colour of yam and teamed with that frosting, wow! :))

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  9. Ooooh yum this looks absolutely delicious!! Ube is one of my all time favorite flavours, especially the ice cream! I have a jar of the jam and the essence sitting in my cupboard hehe. Would love to make this, thanks for sharing!!

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  10. This looks fantastic. I've never had ube, but I adore purple taro ice cream so I'm sure I would love this! I'm going to pick up some ube powder next time I'm in China Town and make a similar cake!

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  11. Lovely purple cake! I would love to recreate something beautiful as this. :)

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  12. I do love the jacarandas in full bloom around Sydney at the moment. This cake is gorgeous! Such a beautiful deep purple. I've yet to try purple yam cake, but given how good yours looks I think I'll need to try one soon.

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  13. I've tried your recipe for the base and used ube buttercream frosting instead... oh it was so heavenly. It didn't last a day with the fam and friends. :) Thanks for sharing! :)

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    1. Thank you Rhea! Its one of those beautiful Filipino cakes that stand out. I'm glad you liked it. I'd love to try ube buttercream frosting next time. xx

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  14. Do you actually use the whole bottle of ube extract in the batter or just enough to achieve the color you are looking for? I want to to try making this before my daughters birthday to make sure I get it to come out right.

    Thank you

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    1. Hi! I was hoping you left an email address so I can reply to you direct. For the ube essence, I actually used the whole bottle. The cake tends to lighten up a little when baked. If you want to use more, for a deeper colour that would be fine as well. xx

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    2. Thank you for the reply, If I were to leave out some of the extract, should I replace the liquid with water or something else. I can be reached at dipthong007@hotmail.com

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  15. Using fresh grated ube makes the best ube cake. I live in Orlando, Florida where ube vine/plant grows so well. I have some extra ube vine/plant available for transplant. palengke97@gmail.com

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  16. Using fresh grated ube makes the best ube cake. I live in Orlando, Florida where ube vine/plant grows so well. I have some extra ube vine/plant available for transplant. palengke97@gmail.com

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  17. Thanks for this recipe, it was the easiest one I could find online. Married to a Filipino who loves ube cake, so I thought I'd give this a go and glad I did as it turned out well. I used self raising flour instead, and I couldnt find purple yam essence at our local Filo store so I used a few drops of Purple Essence for colour. By the way where do you buy purple yam essence?

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    1. I usually get them from our local Filipino shop. Or if guests are coming from overseas, I request for them to bring these to Sydney. :D

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    2. Thanks for the kind words too! This is my go-to ube cake recipe. But I'm playing around with a sponge cake to use only purple yam essence for flavouring. It would make the ube flavour very subtle though. :D

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  18. can you freeze the excess re-hydrated purple yam? 1 packet is way too much?

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    1. Hi Mayumi! Thanks for dropping by. I have never tried freezeing the re-hydrated yam, but I'm sure it should be fine. But why not use it to make Ube Halaya? Its just a simple mixture of the purple yam and condensed milk - mixed to your desired consistency. Then you can enjoy you by the spoonfuls. :D

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  19. Hello! I was thinking of using your recipe for my mum's birthday, but I am gonna use a 'normal' yam instead. Can I know how much is 1 cup of yam in grams? I am gonna do it the conventional way of steaming and meshing it. Thanks for your help! Hope you reply fast! =D

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    1. Thanks Alvin and good in you for going the traditional way. 1 cup is approximately 250g. If you're using yam you need to cook them first and mash them. If you want other ideas and options you can also check out Jun Belen's blog on ube. Thanks for dropping by.

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  20. Hey Bambi (don't mind me calling through your nick!) ! Thanks for the awesome fast reply! I was also wondering, does the taste of ube and yam (taro) differ a lot? I never tried ube before. And I am not able to get the essence as well. Do you think by substituting taro in your recipe is a good choice without the essence? Will the taro taste be protruding enough? My mum loves taro!

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    1. Hi Alvin. Purple yam has wry subtle flavor that's why the essence is recommended but you don't have to use essence if you don't want to. The cake will come out less purple in color too. Taro by experience when cooked has a bit of a slimy texture so I don't think you'll get the same result.

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  21. Where do you get your ube extract from? I see some online but it's about $6 for one tiny bottle. I'm wondering if I can find any cheaper.

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    1. HI Arlene! They're sold here locally in Sydney at Filipino shops for about $2-3. Are you in AU?

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  22. How much powdered purple yam & water I need to rehydrate for this recipe? Please let me know. Thanks

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    1. Hi Camilla! I used a packet or dehydrated purple yam and rehydrated it according to the instructions in the packet. It will come up to a cup and a bit more. Thanks for stopping by my blog. xx

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  23. How much powdered ube do I use and water to rehydrate the powder for this recipe?

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  24. Hello I really wanted to try your go to Ube Recipe. I live in Sydney and most filo shop Ive been to dont have the Ube Esence. Where do you get yours? Hope I can hear from you ASAP. Thanks So Much!

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    1. Hi! I get them either from Manila Mart in Ryde near the train station or from Sari Sari Store in Chatswood

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  25. Did you use the entire package of Ube Powdered Mix for the cake? I have the same 4.6 oz package & I want to make 24 cupcakes. If not_what amount did you use?Thanks.

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    1. Hi! I rehydrated the whole pack and used 1 cup of the ube mixture. The whole pack actually is more or less a cup. Thanks for dropping by! xx

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  26. I'm visiting this question again! I made or tried to make the Ube Cake for my Birthday over the weekend...FAILED! I reconstituted the whole package per your comment_ it was more than a cup after simmering for 30 minutes (Ube Mix+4 cups Water). Okay,so I cheated w/ a French Vanilla Cake mix_after mixing the cake batter_poured in the cooled Ube mix & beat. I used a 4 1/2 deep cake/bread pan for just a single layer_popped in oven...noticed it started to crack near the end of bake time_cooled it on a rake_came back to check on it_WAS FLAT AS A PANCAKE.The taste was awesome but oh so UGLY! So,do you cook the powder down to 1 cup,when do you add it,would it have been better to use just a little of the powder (not hydrated) & add to mix...I have so many questions! My sister "The Baker in the Family" said that cake mix is not the way to go....the taste was good_PLEASE JUST SEND ME A SLICE OF YOURS...lol

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  27. can you pls confirm that a teaspoon of salt is the correct amount? as it seems a lot!! mjkohler@xtra.co.nz i have made the recipe up and it cooks wonderfully. but it is for a special occassion and if too salty I need to cook asap. ta :)

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  28. can you pls confirm that a teaspoon of salt is the correct amount? as it seems a lot!! mjkohler@xtra.co.nz i have made the recipe up and it cooks wonderfully. but it is for a special occassion and if too salty I need to cook asap. ta :)

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  29. can you please confirm 1 tsp of salt is the correct amount? i have cooked up cake and has cooked well however it is for a special ocassion and will need to recook if too salty. mjkohler@xtra.co.nz :) also does the macapuno need to be drained of syrup before placing inbetween layers. Ta :)

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  30. can you pls confirm that a teaspoon of salt is the correct amount? as it seems a lot!! mjkohler@xtra.co.nz i have made the recipe up and it cooks wonderfully. but it is for a special occassion and if too salty I need to cook asap. ta :)

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    1. Hi Melinda. Yes it is a teaspoon of salt.

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  31. Hi there! How much ube powder is needed if I use that instead of grated ube?

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    1. Hi! Thanks for dropping by. The recipe only calls for 1 cup of grated ube. If you're using the powder, once you have rehyrdrated it, use only 1 cup. The instructions on how to rehydrate is on the packet.

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