Halayang ube is another popular Filipino dessert. There are many ways to make this delicious dish, but it is always made from boiled and mashed purple yams cooked in milk and sugar. The kind of milk used to cook the mashed yam differs, depending on the region or family. This recipe uses coconut milk, evaporated milk and condensed milk. I used purple yam roots, boiled and then mashed. For convenience, others use frozen grated yams or powdered yams which can be bought at any Asian store. This recipe has few ingredients, and the tedious part is stirring the mixture constantly until thick as dough. The finished product is definitely worth all of the work.
Halayang Ube (Purple Yam Dessert)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs purple yam
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 2/3 cup evaporated milk
- 3/4 cup coconut milk
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk (300 ml)
- Macapuno strings (coconut sport strings), optional
Instructions
- Place the yam in a large saucepan and add enough water to cover it. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pan, lower the heat to medium and continue to cook until fork tender, about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the sizes of the purple yams. Drain and let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel the yam and then mash with a potato masher or a fork. It will yield 2 ½ cups mashed purple yam. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Add the evaporated milk, coconut milk and condensed milk. Stir and then add the mashed yam. Cook, stirring constantly until very thick and starts to pull away from the side of the pot, about 40 minutes.
- Transfer mixture into desired greased containers. Let cool completely.
- Top with macapuno strings, if using and serve.
Eoghan
I’m not supposed to eat coconuts. Is there a recipe for Ube that doesn’t use them?
Liza Agbanlog
Hi Eoghan,
Yes, there is a recipe of halayang ube that does not use coconut milk. You can google the recipe “ube halaya (without gata)”. Hope this helps!
JJ
Did you change this recipe? I could have sworn it used to use frozen ube?
Liza Agbanlog
Hi JJ,
Yes, I used frozen ube when I first made this recipe. I modified it by using purple yam roots.
Sougene Minett
Hi can I use powder purple yam ?
Liza Agbanlog
I have not tried powder purple yam in making this recipe but I have seen some recipes that use it.
Marcella
What can you do if it doesn’t get thick?
Liza A
Hi Marcella,
It’s hard to tell but I would guess you need to stir longer to get the desired thickness.
no comment
Loved It!
Thao @ In Good Flavor
This looks so pretty and sounds so good! Pinning.
Kristen @ The Endless Meal
I’ve been obsessing over purple yams lately! I will definitely be trying this recipe. 🙂