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Ube Cake

Ube, a purple yam frequently seen in the Philippines, has subtle nutty, vanilla flavor that manifests quite nicely in cake. It pairs well with macapuno, or sweet coconut, which can be added in between layers as filling or on top as decoration.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Dessert
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

For the Cake
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 5 eggs, separated
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • ⅓ cup whole milk
  • 2 tsp ube extract
  • 1½ tbsp ube jam (or ube puree)
For the Filling
  • ¾ cup ube jam (or ube puree)
  • ½ cup macapuno (optional)
For the Frosting
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp ube jam (or ube puree)

Method
 

For the Cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with ¾ cup of the caster sugar. Add in the milk, ube extract, and ube jam (or ube puree if you are using it) and stir together. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture and stir together gently until just combined.
  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add in the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and beat until the egg whites are just stiff. Be careful not to overbeat, or they will dry out.
  5. Very gently fold the egg whites into the batter, until just combined. Grease two 6″ pans and divide the batter between them.
  6. Bake the cakes for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
For the Frosting
  1. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat heavy cream with sugar until soft peaks form.
  2. Add in the ube jam and beat further until the heavy cream forms stiff peaks.
Putting it All Together
  1. If necessary, flatten your cake layers by cutting off their rounded tops. You can do this with a cake leveler or a long knife (I usually use a bread knife when levelling cakes).
  2. Place one cake layer on a cake board and cover with a layer of the frosting. Spread a layer of ube jam (or ube puree) on top of the frosting, and then a layer of macapuno on top of the jam, if desired.
  3. Place the second cake layer on top of the filling, and apply a single layer of frosting across the whole cake — you will be able to see patches of cake through the frosting, which is fine, as this is just the initial crumb coat. Transfer the whole cake to the freezer for about 15 minutes, which will make applying the second layer of frosting much easier by preventing the cake from crumbing.
  4. Finish frosting the cake by applying a second, more generous layer of frosting. Decorate as you see fit — macapuno makes a lovely garnish atop the cake and has a complementary flavor that pairs well with ube.