Ube (Purple Yam) Bread Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
Soft and ultra fluffy, these Ube Bread Rolls are filled with a creamy ube jam inside and finished with a luscious cream cheese frosting! You can make homemade ube halaya (included in this post), or buy premade. If you love ube, you definitely also have to try Ube Morning Buns!
Originally published March 2017 and now republished with an updated recipe and photos.
These ube rolls are a beautiful sight in the counter. But then again so is every ube baked good. My ube ensaymada, ube pianono, ube cheesecake and ube pie– they aren’t only pleasing to the eyes, but such delicious treats!
Ube halaya makes these rolls so special because you are adding a creamy element to the bread. On its own, ube halaya is such a wonderful treat already. The earthy, starchy profile made creamy and decadent by the addition of coconut milk, condensed milk and butter is such a perfect combination for an addictive dessert.
But when you incorporate it into bread, there’s whole new story.
What I Love About these Ube Bread Rolls
- The thin layer of ube in between the sheets of rolled bread adds moisture, richness, and flavor to every bite. These rolls are amazingly soft out of the oven.
- They are like delicate packets of clouds that pull apart very easily with spots of purple peeking through their thin skin as you expose their sides.
Making Ube Halaya
- Making the ube jam is a pretty straightforward process. You just melt butter with coconut milk and condensed milk over medium heat, then add the grated ube. Initially, the mixture is nowhere near the consistency of a jam or paste.
- It will be soupy and runny but as it cooks, the liquids get soaked up and you will yield a thick and sticky paste.
- You must stir it continuously especially when it gets thicker to avoid the jam from forming burnt crusts. Once the halaya is thick and not flowy anymore. It is done.
- I used frozen grated ube sold at Asian supermarket. They are labeled as grated purple yam and usually come in 454 grams packages. Thaw them before cooking.
Let’s Make Ube Bread Rolls!
Proof the Yeast. Make a mixture with the yeast about a teaspoon of the sugar and warm water. It is important that the water here has just the right temperature. Too hot water will kill the yeast. Stir in milk, cream, egg, the remaining sugar and salt.
Add the flour gradually, stirring after addition. Once the mixture gathers into a shaggy ball of dough, you can start kneading using the dough hook.
While kneading the dough, sprinkle the remaining flour. Knead for 5-7 minutes. The dough should be cleaning the sides of the bowl, stretchy and smooth.
Let the Dough Rise. Gather the dough into a ball. Let it rise n a bowl, covered with a clean towel or plastic wrap. This should take abut an hour to an hour and a half.
Shape the Dough. Roll the dough into a rectangle that is ¼ inch thick. Spread the be in a nice even layer. Not too thick, but thick enough to have some creamy element there.
Roll the dough into a log, and cut to 12 equal portions.
Let them rise in a parchment-lined baking pan. Cover the pan with a towel or plastic wrap. In about an hour, they should be soft and puffy.
Bake!
Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the rolls for 35-40 minutes. Let it cool slightly, then spread cream cheese icing.
Your rolls are ready to enjoy! For perfection, serve with cold and creamy coffee jelly.
Storage and Re-heating
- Store leftover bread in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- The flavor gets better as they sit. It gets more ube-y and bread-y the next day. Re-heat leftovers in the microwave for 15 seconds or so , and they will still be amazingly soft and tasty.
- I find this container (affiliate link!) perfect for storing them! Doesn’t mess up with the icing and nicely sealed!
Here are more yummy ube recipes:
- Ube Taisan
- Ube Chiffon cake
- Ube Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Ube Cake with White Chocolate Coconut Cream
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Ube Bread Rolls
Equipment
- Stand mixer affiliate link
Ingredients
FOR THE UBE (PURPLE YAM) FILLING
- 1 stick (or 1/2 cup) unsalted butter
- 1 can condensed milk (300 ml)
- 1 can coconut milk (400 ml)
- 1 lb frozen grated ube (purple yam), found in Asian groceries, see note 1.
FOR THE BREAD
- 2¼ tsp active dry yeast
- ¼ cup warm water 105-115 ℉
- ⅔ cup warm milk
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided plus up to 3 tbsp. extra
For the Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp. milk
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 125 grams cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp milk
Instructions
MAKE THE UBE FILLING
- In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the coconut milk and condensed milk and stir until heated. Add the grated ube (purple yam) and stir everything together. This process takes 35-45 minutes. Stir the mixture often and do not allow the mixture to boil or bubble vigorously. Maintain a heat level to slowly cook the mixture until it is thick. It is important to stir the mixture often during cooking to prevent it from forming a crust. The ube is ready once the mixture is not flowy any more but has a more spreadable consistency. Transfer the ube jam/ paste to a container and set aside.
MAKE THE BREAD
- Proof the Yeast. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast and about 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Let this sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the milk, egg, cream, the remaining sugar and salt. Stir everything with a wooden spoon.
- Add 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time, stirring well with the wooden spoon after each addition. Now using the remaining flour, add gradually and stir, just until the mixture gathers into a shaggy ball of dough. You will not need the entire amount of flour here.
- Knead the Dough. Attach the dough hook to the mixer. Knead the dough on medium-high speed, gradually adding the remaining flour while the mixer is running. Knead for 5-7 minutes, or until the dough is cleaning the sides of the bowl, and is smooth and stretchy. You may have used the entire amount of flour at this point. If the dough is still sticky and not gathering, sprinkle up to 3 tbsp more of extra flour as you knead. see note 2
- Gather the dough into a ball. Place it in a lightly greased bowl and let it rise until doubled, about an hour to an hour and a half.
- Shape the Dough. After rising, dust a clean surface with flour. Roll the dough into a rectangle that is about ¼ inch thick. Spread ube jam on the rectangular dough. You will not use all of the ube jam here. Roll the dough into a log starting on the short edge. Then cut the log into 12 equal portions.
- Let the rolls rise. Arrange the rolls in a parchment-lined 9×13 inch baking pan. Cover loosely with a towel and let rise for an hour, until they are soft, puffy and touching. Brush egg wash on the surface of the rolls.
- Bake the ube buns at 350℉ for 35-40 minutes, or until the tops are golden. Let cool then, spread cream cheese icing on top.
Egg Wash
- Beat together milk and egg. Brush on the buns before baking.
Cream Cheese Icing
- Beat together the softened cream cheese and softened butter until smooth. Beat in the icing sugar and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and spreadable. Adjust the consistency by adding more sugar to thicken it up, or add milk a little a time, to thin it out.
Video
Notes
- Purple Yam. you can also use fresh purple yam. Peel it first, then grate it. Or you can also pre-boil them, then mash. Continue with the recipe. You will need 1 lb of purple yam.
Hi Sanna,
I just noticed you’re using active dry yeast and didn’t proof the mixture before adding in the remaining ingredients. I know instant yeast can be mixed with the rest of the ingredients at the same time. Just wondering. If I proof the yeast first, with the warm milk and one tsp. of sugar and adding the cream and the rest of the ingredients altogether and kneading the dough as per instructions. Would still this create a soft and fluffy dough?
I made this rolls but with butter and active dry yeast which came out excellent. I just want to try your recipe with the cream.
Jessica
Hi Jessica!
Thanks for your question. It is a great question. I made this recipe way back, and this method works perfectly fine.. however, with the same thought and inclination you probably have now, i felt the urge to proof the yeast first moving forward, just to make my procedures more consistent.. so I actually updated this dough recipe using the method you just described, and it can be found in the MILK BREAD recipe. With that said, rest assured that this method stated here will work just as fine. I just prefer the blooming first now and I probably should update this recipe to reflect that 🙂 I hope this helps!
This looks great! Wondering how I can adapt and use with a can of Ube condensed milk that I have in the pantry (not fresh ube)?
Hello there! You can use the ube condensed milk but you can only spread a thin layer to the bread. You can also mix it with softened butter to give it more body. Please let me know if you try it 🙂
My dough was a little bit on the soft side and a little bit harder to knead and make it to a roll. I changed the milk to cashew milk, do you think this was the reason why it turned out different? Thanks
Hi Christina! I think the cashew milk substitution is fine. In some instances, the dough may be quite soft, and you may need to add just a bit of flour during kneading to make it more kneadable.
This Uber roll recipe is so good and easy. I don’t have the stand mixer so I just kneaded the dough by hand for 10 minutes and it turned out perfect! I also froze the left over baked rolls by wrapping them individually with Saran Wrap and just microwave for 20 seconds before eating and it still tasted like the freshly baked rolls. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Thanks! so glad you loved it.
Can I use bread flour instead of AP flour?
H, JV. Yes, you can.
Hi. I can’t wait to make these! I just have one question, how do I store the other half of the dough?
You can freeze the other half of the dough by wrapping it well in plastic, then in foil. Freeze it for up to a month.
Just tried this recipe yesterday. I don’t have a stand mixer, so I ended up kneading the dough by hand for about ~10 minutes after mixing all the ingredients and it still worked, so I think the dough is very forgiving! I’m really loving these rolls! Thanks a lot for sharing the recipe!
Thanks for your feedback on hand kneading and I am so glad you loved it!
Do I have to proof the yeast first? Or just mix it as is? Thanks
Hi there! Yes, just mix it as it is. Enjoy!
Hi there! First off, I LOVE your recipes! Whenever I have a party to attend I go straight to your blog <3! Second, would you be able to share your old recipe and instructions (or possibly make a second post)? I absolutely love this recipe but I personally prefer the other method a little better since the cooking time in the oven is shorter. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Alexis! Thank you and I love that you are enjoying the blog. Here is the old ube rolls recipe. Note that the uba halaya recipe stays the same 🙂
Ube bread Rolls: Old recipe
In a mixing bowl, add in the following order:
Add 1 cup + 1 tbsp warm milk, 2/3 cup warm heavy cream, 1 egg, 1/3 cup sugar, 4 cups all purpose flour, 1 tbsp active dry yeast, and 1 ½ tsp salt. Stir with the machine on low, using dough hook attachment.
Once incorporated, knead in the mixer for 12-15 minutes. The dough is ready when it is cleaning the sides of the bowl, and slapping the sides , quite violently. The dough should be smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball and allow to rise in a covered bowl for 1 ½ hours, or until doubled.
After rising, divide dough in half. Roll one portion into a ¼ inch thick rectangle. Spread ube on top. Roll the dough into a log, starting on the short edge. Cut the log into 12 -16 portions (depends on how thick you want them to be). Arrange them evenly spaced on a parchment lined 9×13 inch baking dish. (Repeat with the other half of dough)
Allow to rise once more. Covered for 1 hour. For ease in slicing, refrigerate the dough after the second rise for about 15 minutes. ( I added this for ease, optional)
Bake at 350 F for 1-20 minutes.
Make sugar glaze. Stir together 3 tsp sugar in 2 tsp hot water. Brush this on the bread surface.