In the last few years, ube desserts and drinks have become social media darlings, garnering attention and likes with their dazzling and bright purple colors. At Alameda’s Filipino Island Fest on October 4, food vendors Ube Area and House of Ube focused on serving their namesake in the form of snacks, drinks, and sweets. The popularity of ube has also spilled over from influencers and specialty stores to the mainstream, where people can buy ube cookies from Trader Joe’s.
Now, home bakers can make their own ube treats with Henry Awayan’s newly published cookbook, The Ube Baking Book: Decadent and Delicious Recipes with Filipino Purple Yam. Awayan is the owner of Alameda’s beloved Whisk Cake Creations and the book includes mouth-watering photos of the desserts by Alameda photographer Maurice Ramirez.
The Ube Baking Book features 41 recipes for cakes, breads, cookies, pastries, and other desserts that utilize ube in mashed, frozen, powdered, and extract forms. There’s a treat for every occasion, including Airy Ube Chiffon, Simple Ube-Frosted Cupcakes, and Ube Crinkle Cookies. There are also recipes for traditional Filipino foods such as Special-Occasion Biningka (a sticky rice cake with coconut), Ube Pan de Sal (a bread roll), and Traditional Halo-Halo with Ube Ice Cream (a sundae-like dessert with shaved ice, sweet beans, fruits, and ice cream).
According to Awayan, Ulysses Press reached out to him to work on the cookbook because ube is “trending right now.” As a Filipino American baker, Awayan felt he was the perfect person for the project because of his background. “It’s funny you say trending because it’s always been a part of my culture and history,” he laughs.
Ube fans can meet Awayan at a book signing at Books Inc., 1344 Park Street, on Saturday, November 8, at 2 p.m. The event will include an author talk, Q&A, and ube treat samples.
What is ube?
Ube is a purple yam from the Philippines and an integral part of Filipino cuisine. It looks like a deep purple sweet potato and has a similar yam-like texture.
“It’s a very mild flavor, but it’s very nutty and earthy,” Awayan explains. “And it almost has a vanilla flavor to it… I feel like it’s the next vanilla.”
Awayan tells the Alameda Post that vanilla flavoring is in many desserts because it’s mild but enhances and boosts flavors. There is also no denying that a large part of ube’s appeal is the bright purple pigment.
“The star of the ingredient is the color… to have something that natural, and then for it to get deeper as you’re cooking with it. It’s insane,” Awayan marvels.
About Henry Awayan
As the owner of Whisk, which he opened in 2014, Awayan has decades of baking experience. The Alameda native started baking cakes as a kid and scooped at Tucker’s Ice Cream during high school. After graduating, he attended culinary school at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. Awayan highly recommends the program to aspiring cooks and bakers, calling it “phenomenal and affordable.”
After culinary school, Awayan worked at various country clubs and bakeries with some of the top pastry artists in the Bay Area, including the highly esteemed Katrina Rozelle, whom he considers his mentor. Awayan then came back to Tucker’s where he worked on a cafe menu and then later made desserts and cakes.
And then he opened Whisk. Ayawan says he opened the popular bakery because, “It’s always been a childhood dream of mine.” His bio on the bakery website notes that he baked his first cake when he was just 10 years old, as a treat for his mother who had returned from a trip to the Philippines.
Awayan points out that over 30 years of recipes from his family and baking career enabled him to write the book. He utilized his collected culinary and cultural knowledge and adapted the recipes to include an ube twist.
“Our love language is food,” he says to describe Filipino culture. “Growing up with that, I think that’s why I loved baking so much, because it brings people together.” Reflecting on the book getting published, Ayawan says, “It’s more than just a cookbook. It’s about the love that goes into each recipe. It’s about the history.”
When asked which is the one recipe a home baker should make from his cookbook, Awayan tells the Post that it’s the Rich, Creamy Cheesecake. And indeed, the samples he served were amazingly light, fluffy, and delicious. The recipe is straightforward and easy enough for a beginner baker to make.
For Post readers who would rather just eat ube treats instead of making them at home, Whisk currently serves Ube Oreo Cheesecake, Ube Macapuno Cake, and Ube Cookies. The bakery plans to offer Ube Pan de Sal and Halo-halo in the future.
Where to get ube ingredients in Alameda
Those who want to give ube a try at home can find ube ingredients here in Alameda. A&M Video Store-Oriental Groceries, 1116 Lincoln Avenue, carries ube yams and extract.
Discount City, 1440 Webster Street, carries ube halaya (paste), powdered ube, ube gelatin mix, and frozen grated ube.
Jean Chen is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jean-Chen.
