Ube Cake

Our ube cake has two fluffy ube cake layers sandwiching an ube jam, and everything is frosted in ube Swiss meringue buttercream. Coconutty macapuno is the pièce de résistance.

Although ube has recently become popular in the U.S., this ingredient has been integral to Filipino cuisine for centuries. It’s found in both savory and sweet dishes, but with its creamy texture and nutty flavor including notes of vanilla, ube is especially popular in desserts. Haluhalo (also called halo-halo, an ube shaved ice) and ube halaya (an ube jam that’s found in many ube desserts) are some of the most popular ube desserts, along with ube cake—made up of fluffy ube cake layers and frosted with ube buttercream.

The ube cake from Red Ribbon Bakeshop is famous at Filipino celebrations. But if you want to try your hand at a homemade version, this recipe from Taste of Home recipe editor Maggie Knoebel is wonderfully light, fluffy, nutty, and filled with lots of ube flavor thanks to ube extract in the cake and in the Swiss meringue buttercream, plus an ube jam filling. While ours isn’t an exact dupe of Red Ribbon’s famous cake, it’s similar, and the macapuno topping is a knockout addition.

What is ube?

Ube is a purple yam that’s native to the Asian tropics and particularly popular in the Philippines. It has a dark brown-purple skin with a vibrant purple flesh. When it’s cooked, ube has a creamy, nutty, vanilla-like flavor, making it super popular in desserts like haluhalo, ube flan, ube cookies and ube cheesecake.

Ingredients for Ube Cake

• Butter: Soften the butter to room temperature beforehand. When we cream the butter and sugar together, it’s imperative that the butter is softened enough to whip up and create air bubbles.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the cake layers and the Swiss meringue buttercream. Make sure you have enough sugar for both measurements. It’s not recommended that you swap in brown sugar here.
• Eggs: You’ll need five egg whites total for this ube cake recipe. After separating the egg whites from the yolks, save the yolks for custardy egg yolk recipes like creme brulee, homemade ice cream or eggnog.
• Cake flour: Cake flour has the lowest protein content of any type of flour, which yields tenderer cakes than those made with all-purpose flour.
• Baking powder: This leavening agent will help make your cake layers rise nice and tall.
• Milk: While we suggest 2% milk, feel free to use whole or skim milk, or use a nondairy milk alternative if that’s all you have in the fridge.
• Ube extract: Ube extract provides the ube flavoring and coloring for the cake layers and buttercream.
• Ube jam: There’s a thick layer of ube jam filling in the cake for even more ube flavor.
• Macapuno strings: Also called coconut string jam, this Filipino ingredient is a wonderful topping for ube cake. Macapuno strings are jelly-like strings made from Filipino coconut sport. They’re sweet, tender and loaded with real coconut flavor.

Directions

Step 1: Make the cake batter

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, five to seven minutes. Add the egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the ube extract.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the 2% milk.

Editor’s Tip: Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl before adding the flour mixture and 2% milk. I like to start and end with the flour mixture for a more stable cake.

Step 2: Bake the cakes

Pour the batter into two greased 6-inch round baking pans.

Bake each cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool the cakes in their pans at room temperature for 10 minutes, then remove them from the pans and onto wire racks to cool completely to room temperature.

Step 3: Heat the sugar and the egg whites

In the heatproof bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the egg whites, sugar and salt until blended. Place the bowl in a large saucepan of simmering water over medium heat. Whisking constantly, heat the mixture until a thermometer reads 160°, 8 to 10 minutes.

Step 4: Beat in the butter

Immediately remove the bowl from the heat. With the whisk attachment of your stand mixer, beat the mixture on high speed until cooled to 90°, about 20 minutes. Gradually beat in the softened butter, a few tablespoons at a time, on medium speed until smooth.

Editor’s Tip: If your buttercream is looking curdled, your ingredients were too cold. Keep beating to warm them up or blow a hair dryer around the edges of the bowl to encourage the ingredients to warm up. If your buttercream is looking soupy, the ingredients were too warm. Place the bowl in the fridge for five minutes (or longer), then beat again.

Step 5: Add the ube extract

Whisk in the ube extract until no white streaks remain.

Test Kitchen Tip: Ube extract comes in different strengths, and some contain more purple food coloring than others. Start with the lower number in the range and add more as needed.

Step 6: Assemble the cake

Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread the top with a thin layer of frosting. Pipe a border of frosting around the cake layer, then fill it with ube jam. The border acts as a barrier so the ube jam doesn’t ooze out. Top it with the remaining cake layer, making sure they’re as lined up as possible.

Step 7: Frost and decorate

Frost the top and side of the ube cake. Place the remaining frosting into a piping bag with a star tip, and pipe a border around the bottom and top of the cake. Fill the inside top with the macapuno. Enjoy!

Editor’s Tip: For those who need a quick frosting refresh, read through all our best tips and tricks on how to decorate a cake.

Recipe Variations

• Try another filling: Ube’s flavor pairs beautifully with coconut, passion fruit, guava, mango, lemon and vanilla. If you want to introduce one of these flavors into the cake, omit the ube jam and use coconut vanilla frosting or passion fruit, mango, guava or lemon curd.
• Use more or less ube extract: Ube extract has the greatest impact on flavoring the cake with the taste of ube. Feel free to use more or less ube extract to your liking, but remember that more will create a more vibrant purple color, while less will yield a lighter purple hue.

How to Store Ube Cake

Store ube macapuno cake in the fridge for up to three days. Cover it with a cake stand’s lid or invert your largest bowl over it. If you’ve cut into the cake and the inside layers are exposed, press a piece of storage wrap on both exposed sides to prevent the crumb from drying out. I also like to let the cake sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving again so the frosting isn’t so hard.

Can you freeze ube cake?

Yes, you can freeze ube cake. Place the cake in the freezer, uncovered, for 60 minutes, then wrap the cake in storage wrap. Freeze the cake for up to six months. When you’re ready to thaw it, take the storage wrap off the cake and place a cake stand lid or an inverted bowl over the cake, then refrigerate the cake until thawed.

Can you make ube cake ahead of time?

Yes, you can make this recipe for ube cake ahead of time. Bake the cake layers, allow them to cool, then wrap them tightly in a few layers of storage wrap. They can be frozen for up to three months. The frosting can also be made ahead of time. Transfer the frosting to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one week or freeze for up to three months. Bring the frosting to room temperature and paddle it again before using.

Ube Cake Tips

Where can you buy ube extract, ube jam and macapuno?

You can buy ube extract, ube jam and macapuno for this ube cake recipe at your local Filipino or Asian market. You can also sometimes find them at Target or Walmart, but I’d call ahead to see if they have them in stock. Otherwise, you can purchase all three ingredients from online retailers.

How do you make the cake bigger?

To make this ube purple yam cake bigger, double all the ingredients and bake the cake layers in two 9-inch pans. The layers will be thinner but still much bigger. A two-layer 6-inch cake feeds six people, and a two-layer 9-inch cake typically feeds 15 people.

Can you make Swiss meringue buttercream without a candy thermometer?

Yes, you can make Swiss meringue buttercream without a candy thermometer. Once the egg white and sugar mixture feels warm (not hot!), stick your fingers in and rub your fingers together, feeling for grains of sugar. If you can still feel them, keep cooking. If they’re all gone, you’re good to go.