Ube Pound Cake

A Filipino twist on the classic marble pound cake. Ube pound cake swirls together ube and vanilla batter to create a visually striking, delicious treat!

A quick and easy simple dessert for whenever you have an ube craving! Marble ube pound cake recipe is a wonderful introduction to the versatile Filipino purple yam.

As the name suggests, pound cake was traditionally made with a pound of each ingredient. One pound of each: flour, butter, sugar, and eggs.

Over the years, pound cake has evolved to encompass any fine-textured loaf cake. Pound cakes may be baked in loaf pans, tube pans (or angel food cake pan), or bundt cake pans.

Ingredients

Raw ube is extremely difficult to find in the United States. It is known by many names including purple yam, violet yam, or water yam.

While Filipino purple yam is a relative of sweet potato, they’re not the same tuber. It is also not the same as taro root, although they are often mistakenly used interchangeably.

From my experience, powdered purple yam and prepared ube halaya are the most commonly available ube options.

If you live near a Filipino supermarket or large box Asian supermarket, you may be able to find frozen ube. Frozen ube is sold grated, shredded, mashed, or whole.

This ube pound cake recipe uses a combination of ube halaya, ube extract, and coconut milk to achieve the iconic “ube flavor.”

Ube Halaya Options

Filipino supermarkets carry a variety of different ube halaya options. They are often sold in glass jars labeled as purple yam jam, sweet purple yam spread, or purple yam pudding.

Color and sweetness varies depending on the brand. Out of the two brands photographed above, I recommend the Bayanihan brand. I prefer it’s flavor, texture, and vibrant color.  

I like to add a touch of ube extract to ube halaya to further intensify the flavor.

How to Create Marble Pound Cake

1. Divide batter between two bowls. Add ube halaya and ube extract to one bowl. Add vanilla extract to second bowl.
2. Alternate adding dollops of ube batter and vanilla batter into parchment lined loaf pan. Use a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to easily add cake batter to loaf pan.

This recipe works best in a 9×5-inch metal loaf pan or standard 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan (also known as 1 pound pan).

Type of baking dish matters. Metal pans tend to conduct heat better, resulting in more evenly baked and browned goods.

• Use a chopstick, mini offset spatula, or a butter knife to gently swirl together the two cake batters.
• Be careful not to over-swirl!
• Tap the filled loaf pan against a hard surface to knock out any air pockets and ensure the batter has filled all the crevices of loaf pan

The Secret to Clean Slices

There are two important factors to consider when slicing cakes and other baked goods: 1) cake temperature and 2) type of knife.

Cool cake to room temperature! I cannot stress this enough.

Cake needs time to cool and regain its strength and structure. Slicing into a hot or warm cake will result in a gummy, crumbly slice.

Secondly, use a serrated knife!

Slice the loaf cake or pound cake in a gentle sawing motion. The toothlike, saw-like edge of the serrated knife will produce clean slices.

I recommend having a multipurpose bread knife. This one is great for crusty breads, slicing cake layers, and delicate fruits like tomatoes.

Cake Storage and Leftovers

Once cake is cool, use a serrated knife to slice into serving portions.

Keep slices in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. For longer storage, keep in an airtight container in fridge for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before eating.

For a decadent treat, turn any leftover ube pound cake into cake French toast! Use the batter from this French toast recipe. Top with a scoop of ube ice cream to make one unforgettable dessert!