Creamy 4 Ingredient Ube Halaya

This Creamy Ube Halaya is made of 4 simple ingredients and yields a luscious and melt in your mouth ube jam! Use it as a spread for bread, topping for ice cream or enjoy on its own! I use it as a filling in these Ube Bread Rolls.

My memory of Ube halaya is a grand gesture of my aunts during Holidays back home, cooking in big pots (kawa) low over a fire in the earth. They use big wooden spatula to stir the big batch of halaya, and they do it at night so it is not too hot. Come Christmas eve, the ube is ready in llaneras to enjoy.

Now this recipe we have here is a far more simple one. A small batch, and only using 4 ingredients, this allows me to re-create the fond memories back home but with less effort.

What You’ll Expect in This Ube Halaya Recipe

• This recipe yields an ube halaya that is more like a jam. It is creamy, soft and melt in your mouth. If you are looking for a chunky, or more firm ube halaya recipe, this is not the one.
• Cooking time is about 40- 50 minutes, more if you want a really thick jam. This is a slow cooking process, stable heat all throughout, and stirring often too prevent sticking.
• Using only 4 ingredients and yields a small batch, this recipe can be easily made anytime, not just on Holidays!

Ube Halaya Ingredients

• Grated Ube. These are sold frozen in Asian/ Oriental section of supermarkets. Thaw this before using. If you are using fresh purple yam, peel and grate it and follow the same instructions.
• Butter. This adds more creamy element to the ube. It also helps with stickiness, as the butter helps the mixture glides easily in the cooking pan.
• Coconut Milk. This gives depth to the ube halaya flavor, a more earthy and tropical touch!
• Condensed Milk. There is no sugar in this recipe, and the sugar in the condensed milk add the sweetness to the ube jam. Condensed milk can sometimes also be labelled as sweetened condensed milk.

How do I Know if the Ube Halaya is Done?

The mixture in the pan will start out to be liquidy. As it cooks, the mixture becomes thicker. Do not be tempted to crank up the heat. A steady temperature will help the halaya to thicken into a creamy and smooth mixture as it cooks.

Also, you want to be careful not to let the mixture boil. Once the mixture oats the back of the spoon and makes a clear path when you run a spatula in the pan, the ube is ready. You can cook for a little bit longer if you want a thicker consistency.

Containers/ Molds for Ube Jam

I used three small llaneras here. But you can use any container that you have. Glass baking dish, small round pans or even a loaf pan will do.

Enjoy this ube halaya as a dessert, but of course you an use it to make other desserts special. halo-halo topper, in Ube Ensaymada, ice cream topper and so much more!