About This Ube Halaya Recipe
October is Filipino-American month, and I’m excited to share something essential for Filipino desserts—this ube halaya recipe! Ube halaya is a Filipino jam made of ube. You can serve it plain as a dessert, or use it as an ingredient in other ube desserts and baked goods.
The ube halaya recipe below is made with just four ingredients: frozen ube, water, sugar, and salt. It comes together in 15 minutes, and can store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
You can enjoy it as a sweet spread on toast, or use it for ube desserts like this ube babka, ube layer cake, ube cinnamon rolls, ube crinkle cookies, and more! Check out the post for a round-up of the best ube recipes on Hummingbird High.
@hummingbirdhigh ubae-by, baby #ube #filipino #filipinofood #bakingrecipe #bakingtiktok ♬ Oblivion – Grimes
What is ube?
Ube, pronounce ooh-beh, is a purple yam often used in Filipino and other Southeast Asian desserts. It has a beautiful, deep purple color and is almost exclusively used in dessert recipes, where it gives the sweets a wonderful earthy and almost nutty flavor.
Ube comes in many forms. You can buy it in its unprocessed, tuber form (however, this form is hard to find in the United States). You can also buy it processed and frozen, dried and powdered, in ube halaya jam form, or as an extract.
What does ube taste like?
Think of it as similar to a sweet potato, but definitely more subtle and not quite as sweet. Some folks have even compared its flavor to a mix between vanilla and pistachio.
Is ube and taro the same?
Many people confuse ube with taro. Not only do they taste pretty similar, but taro also can come in a light lavender color (although it mostly comes in white). But they’re actually just completely different plants.
Although you can classify both ube and taro as tubers, taro is cultivated from the taro plant. Unlike ube, it’s not classified as a “yam”. In the Philippines, people use taro in savory cooking and reserve ube for sweets.
And finally, it’s important to note that both ube and taro are also different from the different varieties of purple sweet potatoes available. It’s confusing, I know!
What Is Ube Halaya?
Fun fact: it is actually really hard to buy fresh ube (that is, ube still in its tuber form). That’s because ube is really hard to process: it needs to be peeled, boiled for a long time, then grated and mashed into its signature texture. So typically, most ube is bought frozen or processed into a powder, extract, or jam. In the Philippines, the jam is called “ube halaya” and is typically what people mean when they say “ube” in recipes.
Ube Halya For Baking Versus Ube Halaya For Dessert
There are two types of ube halaya recipes—the kind you eat for dessert, and the kind you use as an ingredient for baking.
In addition to ube, the dessert recipe usually contains ingredients like coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, and butter. It is eaten on its own, with toppings like shredded cheese, caramelized coconut milk, and more. Although you can use this in baking recipes, the additional dairy ingredients can affect the texture of your ube cakes, cookies, and more.
On the other hand, the ube halaya for baking contains minimal ingredients. It typically only contains ube, sugar, and water. Using this kind of ube halaya when baking will result in more consistent results.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s everything you need to make ube halaya for your baking recipes:
- frozen ube (also known as grated purple yam)
- granulated sugar
- ube extract
- kosher salt
And let’s talk about some key ingredients and where to find them:
Frozen Ube (Grated Purple Yam)
You need 1 (16-ounce) packet of frozen ube (grated purple yam) to make ube halaya.
Where To Find Frozen Ube
Frozen ube is also sometimes labelled as “Grated Purple Yam.” You can typically find it in the frozen fruit aisle OR the Filipino desserts aisle of any major Asian supermarket.
My favorite brands include Simex (pictured above) and Tropics. But really, any of these brands will do!
Can I use fresh ube instead?
Yes, but you’ll need to roast the ube until fork-tender. After they’ve cooled, grate or rice them before using in the ube halaya recipe below.
Ube Extract
You need 1 teaspoon ube extract to make ube halaya.
What is ube extract?
Ube extract is similar to vanilla extract. However, instead of flavoring baked goods with vanilla, it flavors them with ube! Pretty cool, right? Most ube baked goods rely on ube extract for flavor. That’s because ube on its own is so subtle—you really need the extract to boost the flavor.
And in addition to giving baked goods ube flavor, the ube extract also helps color them. Most ube extract is dyed with purple food coloring. This food coloring in the extract helps enhance your baked good’s purple color.
In the United States, there’s only a handful of brands that make ube extract: McCormick and Butterfly. Both are great!
Where To Buy Ube Extract
Although most McCormick spices and extracts are available in most supermarkets, you need to go to a specialty Asian market to source the ube extract. Most Asian supermarkets have a baking aisle. In this aisle, you’ll find extracts for “Asian” flavors like coconut, durian, jasmine, and ube.
If you don’t have an Asian supermarket in your city, you can buy ube extract online on Amazon.
And if you live in my city of Portland, Oregon, get excited. You have a lot of options! Both McCormick and Butterfly ube extract is available at Fubonn and the H Mart on Belmont.
How To Make Ube Halaya For Baking
Here are the basic steps to make ube halaya from scratch:
- Cook the ube with water, sugar, and salt. (Cook Time: 15 minutes)
- Strain the ube halaya and add ube extract. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
- Cool the ube halaya before using in an ube dessert recipe or storing for later use.
That’s it!
The Best Ube Dessert Recipes For Your Ube Halaya
Here are a list of my favorite ube baking recipes on Hummingbird High:
Ube Crinkle Cookies Recipe
Small Batch Baked Ube Mochi Donuts Recipe
Ube Cheesecake Bars Recipe
Baked Pon De Ring Mochi Donuts Recipe
Overnight Ube Cinnamon Rolls
Ube Babka
Get the recipe
Ube Layer Cake
Get the recipe
Ube Brownies Recipe
Now, it’s time to make your homemade ube halaya!
Get the Recipe: 8+ Delicious Ube Dessert Ideas: Ube Halaya For Baking Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) pack of frozen ube (grated purple yam), thawed
- 1 ¾ cups (14 ounces or 397 grams) water
- ¾ cup (5.25 ounces or 149 grams) granulated sugar
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ube extract
Instructions
- Make the ube halaya. In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the frozen ube, water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring continuously.Once the mixture boils, immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring continously, for 10 minutes.
- Strain the ube halaya. Remove from the heat. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl and pour the ube halaya through the sieve to remove any lumps. Add the ube extract to the strained ube halaya and whisk until combined.
- Cool and use. Set the bowl on a wire rack and let cool completely before using in a recipe or storing for later use.
- Serve and store. To store, pour the ube halaya into an airtight jar or container with a lid and refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule
Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.
I like the way you explain stuff. How relatable!