Filipino – Ube Cake

by Hian Alam

DISH DESCRIPTION

One of the most popular desserts in all of Philippines is the ube cake. It is sponge cake which is made ube halaya ( mashed purple yam). It has a very distinctive look as it is purple and gives an awesome feel to the persons eye. It is rich in taste as it is sweet and when covered in frosting gives an impeccable taste which a person can’t deny. Ube is only found in the Philippines and is exported to other countries afterwards. It is a specialty of the Filipino cuisine and there are a lot of desserts which can be made by using ube. There are pastries which can be made through it , pies and cheesecakes as well. You need to master the use of ube and how to control its sweetness in making these desserts. Ube cake is a childhood favorite dessert of everyone. The old people will tell you that there grand parents used to make it for them and now they are making for their own children. It is most commonly made during a celebration or at Christmas time. This cake is served at the end of the dining and is enjoyed by each and every individual.

HISTORY/ORIGIN

There is no doubt that Ube was found in the Philippines but when it was first made is a question and there are multiple stories that claims its origins. The first story was claimed by an Filipino food historian named St. Maria . She said that she has been doing stories on Filipino food since 1970 and she discovered something in the Tagalog dictionary of the Philippines which was published in 1613. In that book there was no direct reference to Ube but there was an article named uvi which was mentioned as a type of camote (sweet potato) that belonged to the Convolvulaceae family but later it was named yam and classified as from the Dioscorea family. She also says that in a book which was published in 1918 there was a reference to the ube jalea recipe which was basically (Pumpkin Jam).

INGREDIENTS REQUIRED TO MAKE THE CAKE

• Fresh ube 1/2 cup

• Ube flavoring 1 tbsp.
• Granulated sugar 3/4 cup

• All purpose flour 1 3/4 cups

• Baking powder 1 tbsp.

• Eggwhites 7

• Egg yolks 7

• Milk 2/3 cups

• Lemon juice 1 tsp

• Purple food coloring 1 tsp

• Salt 1 tsp

INGREDIENTS REQUIRED TO MAKE THE FROSTING

• Whipping cream 500ml

• Cream cheese 200g

• Granulated sugar 1/3 cup

• Vanilla Extract 1 tsp

STEPS TO MAKE THE CAKE

• Take a small bowl and add the egg whites in it along with some lemon juice and whisk it.
• While whisking add some granulated sugar in it and keep whisking until a foamy texture is created.

• Take a separate bowl and add some flour , baking powder , salt and sugar in it.

• Mix it well and then add egg yolks , milk, ube , ube flavor and some purple color in it.

• Whisk it until a liquid type texture is obtained.

• Add the egg white mixture which we made before in the egg yolk mixture.

• Mix it well and your mixture is ready.

• Take a baking pan and pour the mixture into it.

• Put the baking pan in the oven and let it cook for 40-45 minutes in 175 degrees C.
• Take it out when it is ready

STEPS TO MAKE CAKE FROSTING

• Take another bowl and add the whipped cream in it and whisk it again.
• Add sugar while whisking it.
• Add the vanilla extract after this.
• Lastly add the cream cheese and whisk until a foamy texture is made.

• Your frosting is ready

STEPS TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE

• Take out the baked cake from the oven and let it cool.
• Take your frosting and it on the top of the cake.

• Add another layer of cake on top of the frosting.

• Again put frosting on the cake and this time cover the whole cake with it.

• Even out the frosting on the side. .

• Add some ube crumbs at the top.

• Add a design with the frosting at the top.

• Your cake is ready.

TIME NEEDED TO MAKE IT

• PREPERATION TIME : 20 minutes
• COOKING TIME : 45 minutes
• TOTAL TIME : 1 hour 5 minutes
• YIELDS : 8 servings

NUTRITION FACTS

• Calories  129
• Cholesterol  38mg
• Total Fat  2.5g
• Sugars  7g
• Total Carbohydrates  14g
• Protein  1g
• Dietary Fiber  3g
• Iron 2%
• Sodium  37mg