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.
Hello. Can I substitute the active dry yeast with instant yeast? This will be my first time making bread so I’m not sure. Will this change the recipe at all?
Hello! Yes you can 🙂 I hope you enjoy this!
Thank you I can’t wait to try this! Do you put the glaze on before or after baking?
Hello F. The glaze is brushed on after baking.
Wonderful!!!! I cheated and made your no knead Mallorca bread at the same time, halve the dough and used the other half for this ube bread rolls 🙂 it was so good! Thank you!!!
That works too! Great idea! I am glad you loved it!
Hi it’s very hard to find ube or any kind of ube here in Ontario I was able to order from the states ube flavoring. How can I use it as a filling? Can I use cream cheese and ube flavor with icing sugar? But I think it will be runny or what kind fo sweetner should I use for the ube filling?
Hello! What you can do is beat softened cream cheese just until fluffy, then beat in 1/2 to 1 tsp of ube flavor, then add icing sugar to thicken. You dont want to over beat it though as it may become runny. Worth a try :
Just made these and they’re delicious! I made too many to eat alone, so do you know how long they’ll keep in the fridge? Can I also freeze ones I’ve made to make them last longer? Thank you for the great recipe!
Hi Nikki! I am so glad you liked it. You can refrigerate for up to a week but I have not tried freezing them though.:)
Hello! Would the recipe still work if I sub out the heavy cream for coconut milk, and the milk for almond/soy milk? I am lactose intolerant
Hello there, Kay! Thanks for your interest in the recipe. Unfortunately, I have not tested subbing non-dairy luquids here so I cannot guarantee 🙁
Hi , can i skip the heavy cream?
Hello Kathy! Just replace the amount with more milk 🙂
Turned out great! Thank you for the recipe. I did let the cut rolls rise for another 20 minutes before baking and it really filled in and came out fluffy and soft.
I am so glad you likes them!
Would bottled ube halaya be okay to use for the filling?
I tried to make this bread and i stayed true to the ingredients and quantities. It is a very wet dough.
I was able to make a workable dough by doing the initial kneading with a flat blade paddle attachment to the mixer. I’d knead for 5 minutes, rest for 10’ knead for 5, repeat until the dough started to gather, then switched to a kneading hook, using the same knead-rest repetition until i had a smooth, tacky but not sticky dough.
It is a very delicate dough and the rolled product tended to slump. And when i sliced the rolls, the knife actually pinched the roll shut so that the pretty spirals are not visible.
I am thinking that perhaps, the issue might be the protein content of my AP Flour. My flour has a protein content of 10%. Might you be using KAF AP Flour with a protein content of 12.7%. If so, i can figure out mathematically how to reduce the milk to make it work.
I have just spent 5 weeks of intensive baozi (siopao) experimentation and i have learned a lot about the water/protein ratio. I can share that with you if you are interested.
Thanks, Ms Sanna. I have adapted your cheese roll recipe to make Texas-style kolaches. They are awesome.
Hello Thank you for your feedback! I am so glad you liked Cheese Rolls. Your learnings on water/ protein ratio shared will be very much appreciated 🙂
I’ve made this a few times. However Can I leave the dough out or refrigerate if I’m not going to bake it the same day? Thank you
You can refrigerate the shaped dough in the fridge overnight 🙂 Thank you so much!
I tried this today ! I used evaporated milk instead of heavy cream.
I also used halaya jam. Followed instructions but it was kind of sticky so I add some flour. It was really good! Thank you for your recipe. I love it !
I am so happy you loved it!
Hi Sanna,
I googled ube recipes and came out lots of your recipes so I want to try them. Just want to ask what is the heavy cream in the bread ingredients? There’s a lot of cream like liquid whipping cream or just whip cream. Please specify what is the heavy cream. Thank you
Hi Belinda! The heavy cream is the liquid whipping cream.Happy baking!
Hi Sanna ,
Thank you for your quick respond I really appreciate!
Hi! My rolls came out great, but I had to knead by hand and noticed the dough was very sticky. How do I prevent this? Do I need to add more flour than the recipe calls for?
Just sprinkle four as needed but refrain from adding too much 🙂 Thank you very much!
Hi! This looks really good and I’m going to try to make it. But I noticed there’s no butter in the recipe. You don’t need butter for the bread dough?
Hi Donna:) No butter needed in the dough. I hope you love this!
Hi! this looks yummy & i’d like to try to make it. However, its difficult to find grated ube here in Toronto. I mostly find ube halaya (purple yam puree or jam) instead. Is it ok to use that instead?
Hello there! You can use ube jam as a straight filling for the buns instead 🙂
Hello! Just wanted to say I made these rolls all with vegetarian ingredients! The egg was the exception here!
“The heavy cream”
1 cup +1tablespoon creamy oatmilk warmed to 115°f and mixed with 1/2 a cup of earth balance vegan butter
Then I followed all other instructions you listed
The filling I used
1 cup Powdered ube and one can of coconut cream with 1/3 cup of sugar simmered in pot for about 10 min stirring constantly and since I miss my island I added mashed taro to the mix in the end for a more island flavor. Approximately 2cups of boiled and mashed taro it formed a paste as it cooled and spread very easily.
I can say the only thing not vegan or vegetarian was the one egg.
I will try an egg replacement next time for a full vegan recipe but I loved this recipe and it worked for me!
Thank you!
Thanks for this, Alexis!
Can I use the paddle attachment if I don’t have a hook attachment for my mixer?
HI there Diana! I have not used the paddle mixer so I cannot really guarantee it 🙂 Please let me know if you tried it.