There is a cake that shows up at almost every Filipino celebration. Birthdays, fiestas, Christmas, New Year’s Eve. It is always there, strikingly purple, usually surrounded by people who have eaten it their whole lives and still reach for a second slice without thinking twice.
That cake is ube cake. And if you have never tried it, you are missing something genuinely special.
Ube cake is a traditional Filipino chiffon cake made with purple yam (ube). According to Wikipedia’s documented food history, it is prepared identically to the classic Filipino mamón (chiffon cake) but with mashed purple yam folded into the batter. The result is a cake that is pink to purple depending on how much ube is used, slightly denser and moister than a regular chiffon cake, with an unmistakably gentle vanilla-nutty flavor that makes it feel like eating something both familiar and unexpected.
Quick definition: Ube cake is a Filipino chiffon or sponge cake made with ube (purple yam), typically layered with ube halaya (purple yam jam), filled and frosted with whipped cream, cream cheese, or buttercream that may also be flavored with ube or coconut. It is vividly purple, moist, and mildly sweet.
What Does Ube Cake Taste Like?
Ube cake tastes soft, moist, and gently sweet with layered flavors of vanilla, mild nuttiness, and a subtle coconut note. Hungry Huy’s comprehensive review describes the flavor as “ultra moist with nutty and vanilla flavors of ube and coconut.” It is nowhere near as assertive as a red velvet or a chocolate cake. The ube flavor is quiet, warm, and slightly floral.
The texture is what separates it from Western-style cakes. Filipino chiffon cakes are made with oil rather than butter, which keeps them moist longer and creates a lighter, airier crumb. The addition of ube to the batter introduces starch that further contributes to moisture retention. The combination produces something that is simultaneously light and rich.
When layered with ube halaya between the cake rounds, the ube flavor deepens significantly. The halaya is made from ube cooked with condensed milk, coconut milk, and butter, which amplifies the vanilla and coconut notes. Catherine Zhang, a pastry recipe developer who has made multiple versions of ube cake, specifically recommends spreading a thin layer of ube halaya between layers before the whipped cream because it provides “stronger real ube flavor.”
The Different Types of Ube Cake
Ube cake is not one single recipe. It has evolved significantly over decades and now comes in several distinct formats.
Ube chiffon cake (classic): The original Filipino form. Light, tall, baked in a tube pan, and flavored with ube halaya and ube extract. The crumb is delicate and airy. Often served plain or with a simple ube glaze rather than heavy frosting. The Little Epicurean’s ube chiffon cake uses a combination of ube powder, ube halaya, and coconut milk in the batter for layered flavor.
Ube layer cake: The birthday-party version. Multiple rounds of ube chiffon cake filled and frosted with ube halaya, whipped cream, cream cheese frosting, or ube buttercream. This is the style most commonly seen at Filipino bakeries and the one that photos on social media are usually of.
Ube macapuno cake: Ube layer cake with the addition of macapuno (coconut sport, a gelatinous coconut delicacy) as filling and topping alongside the ube halaya. Macapuno is a traditional partner for ube in Filipino cuisine, and the two together create something genuinely excellent. The Goldilocks Bakeshop released a 2024 Ube Dream Cake with ube chiffon layers, ube halaya, and macapuno jelly, confirming how central this combination remains.
Ube roll (ube pianono): Ube cake rolled Swiss-roll style with ube filling inside. Often served sliced into spiral pinwheels, revealing the purple and cream swirls inside. One of the most visually distinctive ube dessert formats.
Brazo de ube: A meringue-based variant, similar to brazo de Mercedes, where the meringue layer wraps around an ube custard filling. More delicate and egg-forward than the standard chiffon version.
The Goldilocks and Red Ribbon Legacy
If you want to understand what ube cake means to Filipinos, you need to know about Goldilocks and Red Ribbon.
Goldilocks Bakeshop was founded in 1966 in Manila by the Leelin-Limen family and has grown into one of the largest bakery chains in the Philippines with locations in the U.S. as well. Red Ribbon Bakeshop, founded in 1979, was acquired by Jollibee Foods Corporation in 2005. Both chains are household names for Filipino-Americans and are where most people first encounter ube cake.
The Unlikely Baker, a well-known Filipino-American food blog, describes their ube cake as something that “reminds them of the Red Ribbon and the Goldilocks cakes of our childhood, if not better.” That combination of nostalgia and genuine deliciousness is central to why ube cake has endured and why it is now making its way into American mainstream bakeries.
What Goes Into an Ube Cake
The core ingredients are cake flour, eggs (separated to make meringue for lift), oil, sugar, ube halaya, ube extract, baking powder, and coconut milk. The frosting varies by baker but commonly includes whipped cream cheese, heavy cream, and more ube extract.
The secret to the texture that sets ube cake apart is in how the eggs are handled. Egg whites are whipped to stiff peaks and folded gently into the batter, creating the characteristic lightness of the chiffon structure. It is the same technique as angel food cake but richer, because oil and ube halaya contribute fat and flavor.
For the color, ube extract is almost always added even when real ube halaya is already in the batter. As Little Epicurean notes in her chiffon recipe, Filipino bakeries in both the U.S. and the Philippines use extract or artificial coloring to achieve the vivid purple that consumers expect. Without extract, the natural ube color tends to be softer and more muted.
How to Find the Best Ube Cake
The best ube cakes in the U.S. come from Filipino bakeries. Look for Goldilocks Bakeshop locations in California, New Jersey, and Hawaii. Red Ribbon locations are also concentrated on the West Coast. Beyond chain bakeries, local Filipino-American bakeries in cities with significant Filipino populations (San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York metropolitan area, Chicago) often make ube cakes to order that rival or exceed anything from the chains.
For home baking, Hungry Huy’s recipe is one of the most thorough available and is built around a traditional ube chiffon cake structure. The Unlikely Baker also offers a version using ube halaya specifically.
For complete guides to ube baking and desserts, Ube 101 covers every ube product category.
Key Takeaways
Ube cake is a Filipino chiffon cake with purple yam folded into the batter, layered with ube halaya, and frosted with whipped cream or buttercream. It tastes moist, light, and mildly sweet with vanilla and coconut notes. The best versions include ube halaya as a filling layer, macapuno for extra depth, and proper ube extract for that vivid purple color. Goldilocks and Red Ribbon are the bakery references, but Filipino-American home bakers make extraordinary versions too.
References
- Wikipedia. “Ube Cake.” en.wikipedia.org. Updated 2025.
- Hungry Huy. “Ube Cake (Filipino Purple Yam Cake w/ Macapuno).” hungryhuy.com. 2021.
- The Unlikely Baker. “Ube Cake (Filipino Purple Yam Cake).” theunlikelybaker.com. 2023.
- Catherine Zhang. “Soft and Fluffy Ube Cake Recipe.” zhangcatherine.com. November 2024.
- Little Epicurean. “Ube Chiffon Cake.” thelittleepicurean.com. May 2025.
- Riverten Kitchen. “Heavenly Ube Cake.” rivertenkitchen.com. September 2024.
Често задавани въпроси
What is ube cake?
Ube cake is a Filipino chiffon or sponge cake made with purple yam (ube). It has a purple color from the ube and typically includes ube halaya filling and whipped cream or cream cheese frosting. It is a staple at Filipino celebrations.
What does ube cake taste like?
Ube cake tastes moist and mildly sweet with notes of vanilla, pistachio, and coconut. The chiffon base is light and airy, and the ube halaya filling adds a richer, creamier depth. It is less sweet and less assertive than most American cakes.
What is ube chiffon cake?
Ube chiffon cake is the classic Filipino form of ube cake. It is baked in a tube pan using the chiffon method (separated eggs, with whipped whites folded in for lift), flavored with ube halaya and ube extract, and has a tall, airy structure.
What is ube halaya cake filling?
Ube halaya is a sweet, creamy purple yam jam made from mashed ube cooked with condensed milk, coconut milk, and butter. As a cake filling, it is spread between layers to add concentrated ube flavor and a soft, jammy texture.
Where can I find ube layer cake?
Filipino bakeries in the U.S. including Goldilocks Bakeshop and Red Ribbon Bakeshop sell ube cake. Filipino-American bakeries in major cities also make it. It is harder to find in mainstream grocery chains, though increasing numbers carry it in ube-heavy regions.
What makes ube cake purple?
The purple color comes from the ube itself (anthocyanin pigments in the purple yam) and, in most commercial and home recipes, from added ube extract which contains artificial red and blue food coloring for a deeper, more vivid hue.
What is ube macapuno cake?
Ube macapuno cake is an ube layer cake that includes macapuno (coconut sport, a gelatinous Filipino coconut delicacy) as one of the fillings alongside ube halaya. The macapuno adds a slightly sweet, chewy coconut element that complements ube naturally.
Can I make ube cake without ube extract?
Yes, but the color will be more muted. Without extract, the natural purple from ube halaya alone tends to be softer. The flavor will still be good, but the vivid purple appearance most people associate with ube cake requires extract.
Is ube cake the same as purple cake?
Not necessarily. A purple cake can be any cake with purple food coloring added. An ube cake specifically uses ube (purple yam) for its flavor, making it purple naturally plus through the use of ube extract. Not all purple cakes taste like ube.
What is the difference between ube cake and ube roll?
Ube cake is a round or rectangular layer cake. An ube roll (also called ube pianono) is a Swiss roll-style cake where the ube sponge is rolled around an ube filling and served in sliced spirals.