Here’s to more representation for hungry Filipinos all over the world who constantly crave for sweet creamy ube.
The purple yam is a popular ingredient in Filipino desserts including cakes, a dish that is showcased in popular YouTube channel Binging with Babish’s latest video. Posted yesterday, chef Andrew Rea recreates the ube roll from the cartoon Steven Universe that everyone wished was real.
In the video, Rea says that this particular ube roll had been a long-requested treat for his channel to recreate.
Those who have ever watched a movie and thought “I’d love to be eating that right now,” will get a kick out of watching Binging with Babish videos, a channel that painstakingly recreates food from films and TV shows.
Rea went through several attempts to perfect the cake and, just like in his other videos, did not shy away from expressing his frustrations as he did it. The final recipe involved using a Japanese sponge cake as a base and adding ube jam from ube powder and ube flavoring. The striking purple color, however, does not only come from the yam but from a drop of violet gel food coloring.
The batter was transferred to a rectangular tray, baked in a 325-degree Fahrenheit oven for 10 to 15 minutes, cooled, and filled with buttercream frosting before being rolled. The cake was left to set in the fridge before it was topped with three dollops of buttercream, just like in the cartoon.
It’s a lot of work, for something you can get from a Filipino bakery, but netizens seem to love it.
“Filipino grandmothers have joined the chat,” netizen Mik 19 commented.
“UBE?!? Sign me up! I’m down for anything ube flavored, especially ube ice cream,” LifewithAnnaBee said.
Xan, on the other hand, talked about the joy he felt watching that Steven Universe episode. “This sh*t made me feel so happy when I saw it on TV, like yo … Lars was half Filipino? I love that.”
The ube roll was part of the Steven Universe episode from 2017 The Good Lars. In it, the character Lars Barriga is revealed to be of Filipino descent when he bakes an ube roll for a potluck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLk1EQxqiG4
Ube is a staple in Filipino cuisine. The most popular form is ube jam made with mashed up ube. It can be eaten on its own but it’s also added to sweets like the shaved ice dessert halo-halo, cakes, and ice creams.
The ingredient recently surged in popularity in the United States, with food website Grub Street even calling it “the new matcha” in 2017.
