Thursday, December 25, 2025

Fruit Salad

 


Recommended fruit:
  • Mandarins
  • Bananas
  • Strawberries
  • Blueberries
  • Raspberries
  • Kiwis

Dressing:
  1. Lime juice (2 limes)
  2. Lime zest (2 limes)
  3. 1/4 c. honey

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

Ube Cake

Ube Cake
recipe from here


For the Ube Cake Batter:
  • 2 ½ cups sifted cake flour
  • 2 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ube extract
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup milk room temperature
  • 8 pcs egg yolks from large eggs room temperature
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 3.5 oz ube jam (about ½ cup) room temperature
  • purple gel food colour optional

For the Meringue:
  • 8 pcs egg whites from large eggs room temperature
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar

For the Ube Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
  • 5 egg whites from large eggs
  • 1.25 cup granulated sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 3-4 sticks unsalted butter cut into parts, room temperature
  • 1+ tsp vanilla extract
  • ube extract to taste
For the Ube Cake:
  1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Line the bottom of 3 8-inch round baking pans with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, sift cake flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. In a smaller bowl, combine ube extract, vegetable oil and milk. Set aside.
  4. In another large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat egg yolks while gradually adding ⅓ cup sugar (about a teaspoon at a time) until the mixture is light yellow (about 7 minutes on medium-high speed).
  5. Add ube jam and beat until smooth and no big lumps remain. If you want your cake to be a vibrant purple, you can add gel food colour at this stage (optional) and give the batter a stir until the colour is evenly distributed.
  6. Fold a third of your flour mixture into your egg mixture just until combined. Then add half of your milk mixture, another third of your flour, the rest of your milk and finally the rest of your flour, folding each addition just until combined. Be careful not to overwork the batter.
  7. Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or your handheld electric mixer – making sure that the beaters are clean, dry and grease-free), beat the egg whites on medium speed until they start to get foamy.
  8. Then add cream of tartar and beat until very frothy.
  9. Gradually add ¾ cup sugar (about a heaping teaspoon at a time) into egg whites until you reach stiff peaks.
  10. Take about a cup of the meringue and fold it into your cake batter to lighten it.
  11. Then fold the rest of your meringue into the batter until evenly blended.
  12. Transfer the cake batter to prepared pans and bake for 20 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with minimal crumbs.
  13. Put the pans upside down on a cooling rack and cool completely.

Use swiss meringue buttercream recipe here
Once your buttercream has come together, start adding ¼ teaspoon ube extract at a time until you get the flavour you desire (I usually put 3 teaspoons total).
Whip until the flavour is fully incorporated and the buttercream is evenly coloured.

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Ube Mochi Panckes or Waffles

 


Ingredients for Pancakes (see notes below for waffles) - this recipe makes 2 Belgian waffles, see below for larger batch

Dry

  • 150 g (1 cup) glutinous rice flour

  • 2 tbsp tapioca starch

  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar

  • 2½ tsp baking powder

  • Pinch salt

Wet

  • ¾ cup milk (plus more as needed)

  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

  • 1 large egg

  • ½ tsp ube extract (maybe reduce slightly? it's intense!)

  • 1 tbsp ube jam


For waffles:

Butter: 4 tbsp melted

Milk: ½–⅔ cup, added gradually

Batter rest: 10 minutes

Texture: thick, scoopable

--------------------

Larger batch of 4 waffles:

Dry

  • 2 cups glutinous rice flour

  • 4 tbsp tapioca starch

  • 4 tbsp granulated sugar

  • 5 tsp baking powder

  • Large pinch salt

Wet

  • 1 cup milk (plus more as needed) 

  • 8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

  • 2 large egg

  • 1 tsp ube extract (maybe reduce to 1/2 tsp? it's intense!)

  • 2 tbsp ube jam



Instructions

  1. Mix dry ingredients
    In a medium bowl, whisk together the glutinous rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.

  2. Mix wet ingredients
    In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, egg, ube extract, and ube jam until smooth.

  3. Combine
    Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Whisk just until combined and smooth.

    • The batter should be thick but pourable, like slightly loosened cake batter.

    • If it feels stiff or pasty, add 1–3 tbsp milk, one tablespoon at a time.

  4. Rest the batter
    Let the batter rest for 5–10 minutes. This allows the glutinous rice flour to fully hydrate and improves texture.

  5. Heat the pan
    Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Lightly grease if needed.

  6. Cook the pancakes
    Scoop 3–4 tablespoons of batter per pancake into the pan.
    Cook for 3–4 minutes, until the surface looks slightly matte and the pancakes puff gently.
    Flip carefully and cook for another 2 minutes, until set and lightly golden.

  7. Serve
    Serve warm with butter, maple syrup, or condensed milk.


Helpful Notes

  • These pancakes are chewy by design — more like mochi than fluffy American pancakes.

  • Keep heat on the lower side; high heat will brown them before the centers set.

  • Leftovers reheat best in a covered skillet or microwave (not toaster).