The Best Ube Cake

4.82 from 113 votes

Ube cake is a staple in any Filipino celebration. Light and fluffy ube cake layers frosted with the most luxurious ube buttercream. Find out why this recipe is a reader favorite and consistently has a 5-star rating.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Filipino

Servings: people

Calories: 590kcal

Author: Jolina

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Ube Cake Batter:

2 ½ cups sifted cake flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 tsp ube extract see notes
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup milk room temperature
8 pcs egg yolks from large eggs room temperature
⅓ cup granulated sugar see notes
3.5 oz ube jam (about ½ cup) room temperature, see notes
purple gel food colour optional

For the Meringue:

8 pcs egg whites from large eggs room temperature
1 tsp cream of tartar
¾ cup granulated sugar

For the Ube Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

5 pcs egg whites from large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons
pinch salt
2 cups unsalted butter cut into parts, room temperature
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
ube extract to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Ube Cake:

Preheat your oven to 350F. Line the bottom of 3 8-inch round baking pans with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift cake flour, baking powder and salt.
In a smaller bowl, combine ube extract, vegetable oil and milk. Set aside.
In another large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat egg yolks while gradually adding ⅓ cup sugar (about a teaspoon at a time) until the mixture is light yellow (about 7 minutes on medium-high speed).
Add ube jam and beat until smooth and no big lumps remain. If you want your cake to be a vibrant purple, you can add gel food colour at this stage (optional) and give the batter a stir until the colour is evenly distributed.
Fold a third of your flour mixture into your egg mixture just until combined. Then add half of your milk mixture, another third of your flour, the rest of your milk and finally the rest of your flour, folding each addition just until combined. Be careful not to overwork the batter.
Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or your handheld electric mixer - making sure that the beaters are clean, dry and grease-free), beat the egg whites on medium speed until they start to get foamy.
Then add cream of tartar and beat until very frothy.
Gradually add ¾ cup sugar (about a heaping teaspoon at a time) into egg whites until you reach stiff peaks.
Take about a cup of the meringue and fold it into your cake batter to lighten it.
Then fold the rest of your meringue into the batter until evenly blended.
Transfer the cake batter to prepared pans and bake for 20 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with minimal crumbs.
Put the pans upside down on a cooling rack and cool completely.

For the Ube Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

See this recipe on how to make basic Swiss meringue buttercream.
Once your buttercream has come together, start adding ¼ teaspoon ube extract at a time until you get the flavour you desire (I usually put 3 teaspoons total).
Whip until the flavour is fully incorporated and the buttercream is evenly coloured.

Cake Assembly:

Trim the tops of your cakes if they are uneven. Trim the sides too to get rid of the brown edges so you're left with a vibrant purple cake.
Fill and decorate with frosting as desired.

Video

Notes

You can find ube extract in Asian supermarkets and at Amazon (linked above).
You may need to adjust the sugar content depending on the kind of ube jam you find. Ube jam can be found in Asian supermarkets as well. I make my own, check out my ube jam recipe here.
See the post for step-by-step photos, baking tips, FAQs and a Swiss meringue troubleshooting guide.

Nutrition