Ube is the purple yam from the Philippines (botanically Dioscorea alata) and one of the biggest food trends of 2026. With its mild-sweet, vanilla-nutty flavour and its vivid purple colour, ube is incredibly versatile - especially in sweet cooking. If you are not yet sure exactly what is behind it, you will find the basics in our guide "What is Ube?". In this post we show you four ube classics to make at home - step by step, with realistic quantities.
These 4 ube recipes are waiting for you
The base for almost all ube recipes is either the fresh, cooked tuber, ube powder or ready-made ube halaya. The natural colour comes from anthocyanins (over 300 mg per 100 g) - and ube is completely caffeine-free. Tip: a little ube extract makes the purple even more intense in every recipe.
1. Ube Halaya (Filipino Ube Jam)
Ube halaya is the heart of Filipino ube cooking: a creamy, sweet jam made from mashed purple yam. It tastes great straight on bread, works as a filling for pastries and is the ideal base for ube latte and ube ice cream. Once you have made halaya, you have the foundation for every other recipe in the house.
Ube Halaya
Ingredients- 500 g cooked, mashed ube (or 60 g ube powder soaked in 250 ml warm water)
- 200 ml coconut milk
- 200 g sweetened condensed milk
- 50 g butter
- 60 g sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- Melt the butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Stir in the mashed ube (or the soaked ube powder) and sweat briefly.
- Add the coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk and stir well. Fold in the sugar and a pinch of salt.
- Stirring constantly over medium to low heat, simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the mixture becomes creamy-thick and pulls away from the bottom of the pan.
- Remove from the heat, let cool slightly and spoon into a clean jar.
Tip
Well sealed in the fridge, ube halaya keeps for about a week. Let the mixture become nice and thick while it simmers - the thicker it is, the better it works later as a filling and as a sweetener for latte and ice cream.
2. Ube Latte (Hot & Iced)
The ube latte is the purple star of every trendy coffee bar - even though there is no coffee in it at all. It is caffeine-free and therefore a relaxed alternative to matcha. Hot or as an iced latte, it is ready in five minutes.
Ube Latte
Ingredients- 2 tsp ube powder
- 250 ml milk or plant-based drink (oat, soy, coconut)
- 1 to 2 tsp ube halaya or ube syrup to sweeten
- optional: ice cubes for the iced version
- Stir the ube powder with 2 tbsp hot water into a smooth paste so no lumps form.
- Add the ube halaya or syrup and stir it into the paste until the sweetness dissolves.
- Hot: heat and froth the milk, then pour it over the ube paste while stirring.
- Iced: put the ube paste in a glass with ice cubes and top up with cold, frothed milk. Stir and enjoy.
Tip
Plant-based drinks like oat or coconut go particularly well with the nutty ube aroma - and underline its natural sweetness, so you need less syrup.
3. Ube Crinkles (Purple Cookies with a Powdered-Sugar Crack)
The ube crinkles are the viral purple cookie par excellence: coated in white powdered sugar on the outside and shot through with characteristic cracks, soft and vanilla-purple on the inside. A real eye-catcher - and surprisingly easy.
Ube Crinkles
Ingredients- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 30 g ube powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 100 g soft butter
- 150 g sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp ube extract (for a more intense colour)
- 60 g powdered sugar for rolling
- Combine the flour, ube powder, baking powder and salt.
- Cream the soft butter with the sugar until fluffy, then stir in the egg and ube extract. Fold in the flour mixture until you have a smooth dough.
- Cover the dough and chill it for at least 1 hour so it firms up.
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C (top/bottom heat). Shape walnut-sized balls and roll them generously in powdered sugar.
- Place them well apart on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 12 to 14 minutes until the characteristic cracks appear. Let cool.
Tip
Don't cut the baking time short: straight out of the oven the crinkles still look very soft, but they firm up as they cool. That is how they stay wonderfully moist inside.
4. Ube Ice Cream (No-Churn)
Creamy, vivid purple ube ice cream - and all without an ice cream machine. The no-churn method, made from whipped cream and condensed milk, keeps the ice cream soft and scoopable despite the freezer.
Ube Ice Cream (No-Churn)
Ingredients- 500 ml cold heavy whipping cream
- 400 g sweetened condensed milk
- 150 g ube halaya (or 4 tbsp ube powder, soaked)
- 1 tsp ube extract for colour
- 1 pinch of salt
- Whip the cold heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold in the sweetened condensed milk, ube halaya, ube extract and a pinch of salt until the mixture is an even purple.
- Pour into a freezer-safe container, smooth the top and freeze for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
- Before serving, let it soften for about 5 minutes, then scoop.
Tip
If you don't have halaya on hand, soak ube powder in a little hot water and stir it in as a paste - the ube extract gives the extra intense purple colour.
Ube for cafe, patisserie & retail
No time to make it yourself, or thinking right away for the whole counter? For professionals in cafes, patisseries, foodservice and retail, VOVAN Global offers ready-made ube products under the own brand UBE - The Purple Wonder - Cookies (75 g), Chocolate (95 g), Powder (150 g) and Donut (70 g) - in B2B wholesale for DACH and the EU. More at vovanglobal.de/en/ube.
Discover UBE - The Purple Wonder → Register as a Retailer