Ube cassava cake is a delicious combination of two of your favorite Filipino desserts. It’s a one-bowl recipe that’s so easy to make and tastes as good as you imagine. Serve during the holidays, bring to potlucks and picnics, enjoy at all your celebrations.
(Try this recipe for cassava cake with macapuno for the classic dish everybody loves.)
Cassava cake is a popular Filipino delicacy usually served during get-togethers like Christmas, fiestas and birthdays.
We bring it up a notch by adding ube plus topping it with cheese for a dessert that people won’t be able to get enough of — sweet and salty, rich and creamy, chewy and delicious.
Let’s get to it.
Why you’ll love cassava cake with ube
If you’re already a fan of cassava cake, you will love it with ube.
- Ube and cassava complement each other so well. It’s a flavor combination that will make your tastebuds sing!
- Made with real ube. We stir in grated ube into the batter and don’t just rely on ube extract for flavor.
- It’s very easy to make. You only need 1 bowl, you won’t need a mixer, and we don’t even use eggs!
- Simple and fool-proof. It’s also very hard to make a mistake here. There are no special techniques required, no special equipment needed, perfect for bakers of all levels.
- Make-ahead. You can bake this the day before and chill in the fridge.
- Feeds a crowd. This is perfect for all your get-togethers!
- Delicious. Most important of all, it tastes so good. Definitely better than what you can find in stores.
How to make
Making cassava ube cake is as simple as mixing the ingredients, transferring to a baking dish and baking!
Ingredients
You can find the full ingredient list in the recipe card at the bottom of this page. A few things to note.
- Frozen grated cassava — you can find this in the frozen section of your Asian supermarket. If you have access to fresh cassava, you can use that too! Just grate it yourself using a cheese grater or a food processor, then squeeze out the excess liquid. Note that cassava must be cooked properly because raw cassava can be poisonous.
- Frozen grated ube — you can also find this in the frozen section of your Asian supermarket. And again, if you can find fresh ube, you can use that and just grate it yourself.
- Jarred macapuno in syrup — this would most likely be in the Filipino aisle. It doesn’t matter what brand you use. See more info in the FAQs below.
- Coconut milk — make sure you use milk and not cream. And for best results, use full-fat.
- Ube extract — you can find this in the baking aisle of your supermarket and it’s also available in Amazon. Unfortunately, there is no suitable substitute for this ingredient. I use the McCormick brand.
- Cheese — I like using sharp cheddar cheese but you can use any hard, melty cheese you like.
Baking tools
You won’t need any special equipment to make this ube cassava cake recipe. Just a mixing bowl and a baking dish.
Step-by-step photos
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish and set aside.
In a large bowl, stir all ingredients — but only half of the condensed milk — until combined.
Smush the softened butter to the sides of the bowl to make sure it is incorporated.
Pour the batter into your prepared dish and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the edges start turning puffy and starts to separate from the edges of your baking dish. You can also give the dish a gentle shake to see if the center is set. It’s okay if the top of your cake is still bubbling.
Carefully remove the cake from the oven — keep the oven on — and spread the rest of the condensed milk on top. Try to spread it as evenly as you can.
Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
Continue to bake until the top is caramelized and the cheese has melted. You can also choose to broil on low for a few minutes to help with the caramelization. Just remember to watch your cake because broiling can easily burn it.
Remove from oven and allow to cool in baking dish before cutting into squares and serving. Best served warm.
Expert baking tips
Super easy, right? Here are more tips for perfect ube cassava cake every time.
- Remove excess liquid. When prepping the thawed grated cassava and grated ube, remove excess liquid but don’t completely drain. I usually just scoop out the liquid from the top.
- Don’t over-bake. This is a very forgiving recipe. It’s hard to over mix the batter but you can definitely over bake the cake, which makes it tough and rubbery. So watch for signs that it’s done baking, like golden brown edges.
- Don’t stress over the condensed milk. When dividing your condensed milk, simply eyeball it. Pour half into your cassava mixture and reserve the other half for your topping.
- Don’t over-broil. Watch that you don’t burn the topping. Broiling is a great shortcut but don’t leave it while it’s broiling because the top will brown fast.
- Chill for clean slices. If you want clean, perfect squares, it’s best to slice the cassava cake after it’s chilled in the fridge and given time to firm up. It’s best served warm though so just microwave the slices for 20 seconds or so before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Cassava is a nutty-flavoured, starchy root vegetable. In North America, it’s often called yuca and may also be referred to as manioc or Brazilian arrowroot.
Cassava is native to the Philippines and other tropical regions of the world because it has the ability to withstand difficult growing conditions; in fact, it’s one of the most drought-tolerant crops.
It’s popular in Filipino cooking but it’s important to note that cassava must be cooked properly because raw cassava can be poisonous. Read more about it here.
You might already be familiar with cassava because cassava root is what’s used to produce the tapioca pearls for our bubble teas.
Cassava flour has also been gaining popularity because it’s a healthier alternative for people with diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
In this recipe, we use grated cassava and not cassava flour.
If you google what macapuno is, you will come across words like coconut sport, mutant and freak.
Don’t be scared lol! This just means that instead of the usual solid coconut flesh, the coconut where macapuno comes from produces meat that is softer, more translucent, almost like jelly.
In fact, macapuno is considered a delicacy in the Philippines and is made into different kinds of treats like macapuno balls and ice cream. In this recipe, we’re using bottled macapuno in syrup.
Ube halaya is already sweetened so adding that to your cassava cake will make your cake exceedingly sweet. So if you want to use ube halaya or ube jam, make sure to adjust the sweetness to taste.
You can store this cake in the fridge and it should keep up to a week.
Just keep in mind that it tends to get rubbery the longer it sits so best to consume within 3 days.
More traditional Filipino treats
Looking to make more treats from home? Check out these tried-and-tested recipes.
I love cassava cake and I love ube so this dessert is right up my alley!
So easy to make, consistently comes out perfect, always a hit with everyone. This is the best ube cassava cake recipe.
Happy baking!
Did you make cassava cake ube? I’d love to hear all about it! Leave a comment or a star rating below. You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to see your creations!
You can also find me on Pinterest and YouTube.
Ube Cassava Cake
Ingredients
- 1 16-oz pack frozen grated cassava thawed
- 1 16-oz pack frozen grated ube thawed
- 1 11-oz jar macapuno in syrup
- 1 14-oz can coconut milk
- 1 10-oz can condensed milk divided
- 3 tsp ube extract
- 5 tbsp brown sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
- pinch salt
- 12 oz shredded cheese I use sharp cheddar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish and set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir all ingredients – but only half of the condensed milk – until combined. Smush the softened butter to the sides of the bowl to make sure it is incorporated.1 16-oz pack frozen grated cassava, 1 16-oz pack frozen grated ube, 1 11-oz jar macapuno in syrup, 1 14-oz can coconut milk, 1 10-oz can condensed milk, 3 tsp ube extract, 5 tbsp brown sugar, ¼ cup unsalted butter, pinch salt
- Pour the batter into your prepared dish and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the edges start turning puffy and starts to separate from the edges of your baking dish. You can also give the dish a gentle shake to see if the center is set. It's okay if the top of your cake is still bubbling.
- Carefully remove the cake from the oven – keep the oven on – and spread the rest of the condensed milk on top. Try to spread it as evenly as you can.1 10-oz can condensed milk
- Sprinkle with shredded cheese.12 oz shredded cheese
- Continue to bake until the top is caramelized and the cheese has melted. You can also choose to broil on low for a few minutes to help with the caramelization. Just remember to watch your cake because broiling can easily burn it.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in baking dish before cutting into squares and serving. Best served warm.
Video
Notes
- Remove excess liquid from your thawed cassava or ube but don’t completely drain. I usually just scoop out the liquid from the top.
- When dividing your condensed milk, simply eyeball it. Pour half into your cassava mixture and reserve the other half for your topping.
- If you want clean, perfect squares, it’s best to slice the cassava cake after it’s chilled in the fridge and given time to firm up. It’s best served warm though so just microwave the slices for 20 seconds or so before serving.
- See post for more tips, FAQs and step-by-step photos.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
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