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5 from 1 vote

Ube-Purple Yam Pound Cake with Ube Glaze

This Ube Pound Cake with an Ube Glaze was a new addition to our holiday feast this year. Instead of the usual ube chiffon cake we, Filipinos are used to, I baked a pound cake  using boiled ube (purple yam). This ube pound cake had a heavy, rich texture. Every slice was plump and magnificent, made more magical by the ube glaze cascading down all sides. This recipe was adapted from the “Sweet Potato Cake” of Nancie MacDermott in her cookbook “Southern Cakes”. This ube pound cake serves 6 to 8.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Resting Time20 minutes
Total Time2 hours 20 minutes
Course: Dessert, Merienda, Snack
Cuisine: American, Asian, Filipino
Keyword: Filipino Ube Purple Yam Pound Cake
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 1017kcal
Author: Asian in America-Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Equipment

  • Round Tube cake pan - 10-inch
  • Cake Mixer

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons McCormick's Ube flavoring from Asian stores or online sources
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 4 whole large eggs
  • 2 cups mashed boiled ube frozen (from Asian markets)
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar for glaze
  • 1/8 cup milk for glaze
  • 1 teaspoon McCormick's Ube Flavored Extract for glaze
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract for glaze

Instructions

  • To prepare the ube: Thaw the frozen ube or purple yam at room temperature. The boiled yam must be mushy and not frozen. Place the frozen ube in a colander, some liquid may melt as it is thawed.
    *Note: Do not microwave to defrost. Allow the frozen ube to thaw out naturally. Set ube aside.
  • To bake the ube cake: Preheat oven at 350 F. Prepare and grease a 10-inch round tube or Bundt cake pan.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set aside.
  • Separately, in a small bowl, mix together the milk and ube flavoring (bottled). Set this aside for use later.
  • In a large bowl, using a stand mixer, mix the butter and sugars on high speed till combined well.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each egg is added.
  • To the egg and butter mixture, add the mashed ube. Mix this on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Make sure the batter is mixed well and the ube is distributed evenly.
  • Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk-ube flavor mixture into the batter. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Beat for about 5 minutes till the batter has a thick, smooth texture and is colored light lavender.
  • If cake pan has a removable bottom, place heavy duty aluminum foil underneath the removable bottom so the batter will not spill out while baking.
  • Pour the cake batter into the round tube cake or Bundt pan. Bale at 350 F for 60 to 75 minutes. Test the cake for doneness by inserting the tip of a sharp knife in the center of the baked cake. If knife comes out clean, cake is done.
  • When the cake is done, remove from the oven. Cool on counter for about 20 minutes by covering the cake with a cloth towel. When cake has cooled, invert on a cake rack and allow to cool thoroughly.
  • How to make the ube icing glaze: Using a hand mixer, mix on high the confectioners’ or powdered sugar with the milk. Add the ube flavoring and almond extract. Continue beating for 3 minutes more or till ube icing is smooth. Let this icing cool in the refrigerator while the ube cake is on the cake rack.
  • How to frost the ube cake : Using a clean, sharp knife, carefully run slice a thin layer off the top of the cake to trim and scrape off any dark green cake parts. (Ube cake tends to come out dark green on the top and sides after it is baked). Smoothen the ube icing glaze with a spatula on the top of the cake. Slice and serve. Store this cake in the refrigerator.
  • Cook’s comments: Nancie McDermott,  prolific author, is a friend I trust for her foolproof recipes and amazing cookbooks. I previously baked an Egg Custard Pie from another cookbook she wrote and it’s in a past blog post here. Ms. McDermott’s stories, recipes and cookbooks are on her site or on Amazon.
  • Recipe notes: For this recipe I used frozen boiled ube (in the photo above) which can be found in Asian markets. Regular fresh ube (purple yam) is seasonal (November to January), and not always found in the markets here in the USA.
  • Ingredient notes: I use the McCormick Ube flavoring for this recipe's ube glaze. It adds a light purple color and mild ube flavor. It can be found in Asian markets or online sources like Amazon.
  • Hello, Friends! Please DO NOT plagiarize, lift, scrape or copy my original recipes. All the images and content here are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and owned by my media company Besa-Quirino LLC. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to use my photos or content on your website, cooking videos, cookbooks, TV programs and media content  without my permission. If you want to republish this recipe or content, please ask my permission, re-write it in your own words and simply link back to this blog to give proper attribution. It’s the legal thing to do. Thank you.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 1017kcal | Carbohydrates: 177g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 223mg | Potassium: 304mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 119g | Vitamin A: 978IU | Calcium: 137mg | Iron: 4mg