Important Note: The recipe below is ONLY for the cake. You can pick whatever frosting you’d like as long as it is light and mildly sweet to avoid overpowering the flavor of the cake.
This Easy Ube Cake Recipe is for the non-bakers, the small city residents without a Filipino bakery, and people who don’t have much time but still want some good ole’ pinoy sweet Ube Cake. Now, it might not be as good as Nanay’s or Lola’s but I tell you, this Ube cake will be your own. You’ll take it to parties, bake it with your kids, and bake it for special occasions.
Any American brand white or yellow Cake Mix can be used for this recipe to make it easier for the amateur baker. The result is a cake that’s sweeter in flavor with a denser texture compared to the Filipino version.
Don’t panic if you don’t know how to make frosting from scratch! The easiest and fastest way to bake and serve this cake is to use store bought whipped cream. Bake the cake, leave it to cool, then spread that whipped cream like you milked the cow yourself. Own it.
Where to find Ube or Purple Yam flavoring/extract and Ube Jam?
There are two brands I recommend for Ube flavoring/extract. I use either Butterfly or McCormick. The flavor from either one is good but the Butterfly brand is cheaper. A 1 oz bottle of Butterfly Ube Flavoring Extract = 4 cakes! You can find the flavor extract for purchase here.
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For the Ube Jam, you can make your own from Powdered Ube/Purple Yam (follow package instructions). You can purchase Powdered Ube here or ready made Ube Jam here
Recommended frosting for Easy Ube Cake – Purple Yam Cake
- Whipped Cream
- Buttercream
- Cream Cheese Frosting
For this cake, I used Handle the Heat’s awesome Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe with less sugar ( 1 cup instead of 1 1/4 cup).
Tips for Easy Ube Cake – Purple Yam Cake
- Use parchment paper for the bottom of the cake pan
- Wait for cake to cool before flipping cake on to a plate
- Wait for cake to cool before frosting to prevent melting
Kitchen Tools:
- Hand Mixer
- Spatula
- Large Bowl
- Two 8 inch round cake pans
- Parchment Paper
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Easy Ube Cake -Purple Yam Cake
Ingredients
- Cooking Spray
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1 Jar Ube Jam 15 oz - see substitution below
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Wilton's Gel Violet Color
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Ube extract
- 3 large eggs
- White or Yellow Cake Mix 15.25 oz
- Macapuno or Toasted Coconut
Instructions
- Trace 2 cake pan circles on parchment and cut
- Lightly grease bottom of cake pan with cooking spray
- Place parchment on bottom of cake pan
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Cream butter until light and fluffy
- Add Ube Jam, Violet color, and Ube extract
- Add egg one at a time and mix gently (do not overwhip)
- Add cake mix
- Fold in mixture gently until combined
- Adjust violet color to preference
- Pour cake batter evenly on cake pans
- Bake for 25 to 29 or until toothpick comes out clean
- Cool and top with frosting and macapuno or toasted coconut
Notes
Like this recipe? Try Easy Ube Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Icing
It looks scrumptious…
Thanks Carol, it is a scrumptious cake!
The cake mix asks for water, eggs, and vegetable oil. Am I ignoring all that?
Hi Benny, just follow the recipe included in this post and not the recipe thats’s printed on the cake mix box. Happy Baking!
hello, i have questions, how is the taste of the cake? because it is without sugar, also the texture gonna be dense?
Hi Ari, the taste of the cake is sweet since the recipe uses cake mix from a box and ube jam. No added sugar is necessary. The texture of the cake is dense since the recipe is in it’s easiest and simplest form. If you’d like an airy and fluffier cake, I suggest the chiffon cake technique – separate the egg whites from the yolk in a separate bowl. Follow the recipe above with just the egg yolks. Now for the egg whites, use an electric mixer to whisk the egg whites to medium peak stage. Fold the egg whites gradually and gently into the cake batter. Bake at 325 instead of 350 degrees until cake is done – about 25-30 minutes or until tester/toothpick comes out clean/no crumbs.
Hi, you said for airy/ fluffy cake, use the chiffon technique. Use egg yolks? Then you gave instructions to meringue the egg whites. I’m confused. Do you use the egg yolks too for the chiffon cake?
Hi Rhonnie, I think you might be commenting on the wrong recipe since this Easy Ube Cake Recipe makes no mention of “chiffon technique”. I’ll be happy to help you out, I just need to know exactly what recipe you were looking at.
Can this recipe be used for cupcakes?
Hi Tricia, here’s the recipe for Easy Ube Cupcakes
How long to bake if I’m a 13X9 pan
Hi Erica, I haven’t tried this recipe on a 9×13 baking pan. My recommendation is to start checking if the cake is done around 18 to 20 minutes. Hope that helps!
Hi what size of cake fan did you use?
Hi Jo! I used 8 inch cake round. Happy Baking!
Can I make cupcakes with this recipe?
Hi Lucy! yes it is possible, but you’ll have to adjust the bake time or you can use this recipe for Easy Ube Cupcakes