I was born in Manila, and as a chef, I wish I could say that I cook amazing Filipino food, but I’ve mostly cooked Western food my entire life. One thing I could say is, I have tried to incorporate Filipino flavours especially in baking. Although sometimes, that feels a little bit like taking the easy way out. I am proud of my heritage, and maybe someday I would go back and learn more about native ingredients and incorporate them in my cooking as well.

Here, I’m sharing with you my ube cheesecake recipe La Viña style. What is it? You know how a crustless, burnt cheesecake have been trending for a few years? One that is more commonly know as Basque Cheesecake? Well, this is the ube version, with homemade ube jam as well. I call it La Viña cheesecake because that’s the name of the restaurant in San Sebastian where people flock to have a taste of the original version. It is a crustless cheesecake that is caramelised outside and soft in the middle.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Joanne | Mrs.FancyPants (@mrs.fancypants.recipes)

If you want the original recipe as per the video above, I published my easy to follow recipe here. Just remember whichever version you are making, start with room temperature ingredients so the batter incorporates quickly and you will not get a lumps. The idea is to get a caramelised outside that serves as your crust, so this entails baking at a very high temperature. I preheat my oven to 220C and line a 23cm or 9in springform with baking paper and ensure there is an overhang. The overhang protects the cheesecake from getting too burnt too fast, and it also supports the cheesecake when it puffs up, which prevents overflowing.

Now with the ube version, it is also straightforward to make with the addition of making your own ube jam. Why would you want to make an ube version? Because my recipe of this is absolutely delicious and the natural purple colour of ube gives this (and basically most ube desserts) a really pretty purple hue. Ube jam is basically cooked ube, pureed and mixed with milk and sugar and cooked until its thick like peanut butter or Nutella. Let your ube jam cool to room temperature before using it for the cheesecake. I use all the ube jam yield in this recipe, but feel free to double the batch because it is really nice on warm bread rolls with a touch of butter.

To make the cheesecake, combine the ube jam, cream cheese, eggs, cream and sugar in a large bowl. Mix until smooth then sift over flour and fold in until incorporated. Pour the batter in your lined springform and bake for 1 hour. The cheesecake will still be jiggly in the centre. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for at least 2 hours. Serve at room temperature to retain that soft, custardy texture. If you have leftovers, you can eat it as is or reheat in the microwave for 10sec per slice to get that softness back.

The detailed recipe is below for you to try. I would love to see your finished products, so tag me on your social media posts @mrs.fancypants.recipes or use #mrsfancypantsrecipes. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below. ???? Happy baking!

Now, the cake recipe today is baked in a 10-cup bundt pan. What is a bundt pan you say? Bundt pans are cake pans that look like donuts because they have a tube in the middle. They also have different designs that make your cake look spectacular (when you get the cake out correctly). You’ll see the bundt pan I have in my video below, but if you don’t own one and still want to make this cake, don’t fret! You can use a large loaf pan instead.

This cake is a variation of my vanilla butter bundt. I wanted to make an ube flavour to commemorate Filipino Food Month. Filipino flavours and Filipino food don’t tend to be as popular as other cuisine, and Filipino Food Month is the Government’s initiative to give it a push globally since Filipinos are all over the world. Now this cake is not traditionally from the Philippines, however, ube is a well-known native flavour of the Philippines. Ube is a root crop also known as purple yam. It’s colour gives desserts a vibrant pop but this doesn’t translate to a strong flavour, instead its flavour is very mild–a little nutty with a hint of vanilla. It is widely used in local desserts, and one day I will post an actual traditional Filipino ube dessert when I get my hands on fresh ube again. But for now, here is the recipe for this delicious and easy to make butter cake. Happy baking!

What is ube? Ube is classified as a tuber, same as sweet potato, potato, yam, taro, etc. Specifically, ube is a variety of purple yam native to the Philippines. It has a vibrant purple colour and is a favourite ingredient by Filipinos to use in desserts. In the last decade, ube has gained popularity in the western palette as well, because of it’s mild and nutty flavour. Personally, I feel like the Europeans would recognise the flavour because it’s a little bit similar to chestnuts, but a different texture.

How to use ube? It’s very versatile, much like the sweet potatoes, yams and pumpkins in America during Thanksgiving, we can use it in cakes, jams, pies, ice cream, you name it, and there is probably an ube flavoured version of it. You can find my ube recipe’s here. Or if you want to try this ube cake and you’re in Sydney, you can order it below:

Going back to the cake, the base is a coconut and purple yam chiffon cake with stabilised whipped cream frosting and coconut and ube filling. The cream will set and hold for 2-3 days, and in my experience, this cake gets eaten much faster than that period. I used ube flavour and added sweetened ube to give it a good flavour kick, but the sweetened ube is optional. This cake is not sickly sweet, so it’s popular to those who are looking after their sugar intake. The cake is also very light because it’s a chiffon, so great for those who don’t like rich desserts.

So now you can scroll down and find the full recipe and my notes. Chiffon cake is fairly straight forward to make, and if you follow the instructions, it would be a breeze for you. I would love to know if you made this and how you liked it, so please connect with me on Instagram, and use #mrsfancypants so I can see your baked goodies!!!

I get a lot of questions about stand mixers, and these are my recommendations. It comes with a caveat though, I only recommend you get one if you bake a lot because they are not cheap. Otherwise, a hand mixer is the more practical option.

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When I go home, I normally hunt down a specific brand of ube jam. It’s from North Luzon, and is called Mountain Maid, but is more popularly know as the Good Shepherd ube jam. This specific brand is part of a social enterprise by the Sisters of Charity of the Good Shepherd, and the proceeds from the sales of the products send the less fortunate youth to school.

I take a couple of bottles–okay, maybe 4–home with me and chuck them in the freezer. They last forever in the freezer, as long as you don’t pop the seal. Now, not everyone travels to the Philippines, so if you want to try and make these today, head to your nearest Filipino/Asian store and ask them if they have ube conserve or jam. Some of them would have frozen mashed ube and that works too, just thaw completely and drain excess liquid before using.

Now, ube has a very mellow flavour profile. So, aside from the amount of ube conserve in this recipe, I added ube flavouring as well. Again, this is available in your nearest Filipino/Asian store.

Super easy and quick to whip up, try this as your next baking project. Crunchy top and soft inside, next time you’re catching up with a Filipino mate, you can impress them by making a batch!