Ube Ice Cream

I’m back with another ice cream recipe! You may be thinking that it is too much but I think you can never have too many ice cream recipes. Especially now that I live in LA, ice cream is always a staple in my home. This week I made ube ice cream, and I have to tell you it’s one of my favorite flavors so far. The color and flavor blew me away. It’s also not too sweet! Which seems to be the key complement in my household. Give this recipe a whirl!

What is ube?

Ube is a dessert made from boiled and smashed purple yam and is typically found in the Philippines. When you have desserts like ube ice cream, ube cake, or ube donuts, ube is what gives the dessert its purple color and flavor. Traditionally when you make ube, you combine grated purple yam, condensed milk, and butter together in a pan and cook until thickened to the consistency of mashed potatoes. That is then added to your dessert for flavor and color.

However, I did not take this approach. I added grated purple yam to my ice cream base with a little bit of ube extract. While non-traditional, it does taste amazing and is a bit simpler than cooking it with butter and condensed milk first. As always, make this ice cream your own! If you want to take the traditional approach, definitely do it! Here is an awesome recipe for ube just in case.

Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments

• Grated purple yam – I bought frozen grated purple yam at my local Filipino market. If you can’t find purple yam, leave this ingredient out and just use 1-2 tsp of ube extract depending on how much color and flavor you want.
• Ube extract – The ube extract is responsible for the color of the ice cream as well as the flavor. You can purchase this on Amazon or at Filipino markets. The one I linked to on Amazon is the one I use. Feel free to use more or less than the recipe amount. If you want more ube flavor and color, use more!
• Whole milk & Heavy Cream – Adds creaminess and richness to the ice cream.
• Vanilla paste – Adds flavor to the ice cream. Like I said in recent dessert recipe, I am an almost exclusive vanilla paste user now. It has so much more flavor than vanilla extract, and I love the little black speckles you see. You can substitute with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean.
• Egg yolks – Egg yolks add richness and creaminess to the ice cream.
• Sugar – White sugar adds sweetness to this recipe.

Making my ube ice cream

First, combine egg yolks and granulated sugar in a small bowl. Whisk until a smooth, yellow consistency forms (~30 seconds). Next, heat heavy cream and whole milk in a sauce pan until smokes begins coming off the liquid. Turn off the heat. Add 1/4 cup of the hot cream to the eggs and whisk until it turns a smooth and uniform yellow color. The goal of this step is to raise the temperature of the eggs, so they don’t completely cook in the hot cream. Pour the eggs into the pan with hot cream.

Turn the heat back on and heat the cream until it reaches 170 degrees F. A good way to test if it’s done is to coat the back of a spoon with the cream and pull your finger through the cream. A done cream should have a thick, smooth trail that doesn’t break. Take the cream off the heat. Pour the cream through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. This will get rid of any egg or milk solids in the cream. Add the frozen grated ube and ube extract. Use an immersion blender to incorporate it into the cream. You can also use a regular blender for this step.

Cool the cream down to room temperature and then put it in the fridge to cool completely. The cream should be in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes. Pour the cream into an ice cream maker and churn for 15-20 minutes. The resulting ice cream should be slightly harder than soft serve. Spoon the ice cream into a freezer safe container and freeze overnight.

Tips on how to make the perfect ube ice cream

Temper your eggs

Just like in creme brûlées, it is important to temper your eggs for the cream. Add 1/4 cup of hot cream to your egg and sugar mixture. Whisk until everything is well combined and no white streaks remain. Now, it is safe to add your egg mixture to the hot cream.

Make sure your cream is cold before churning

You will get better results if your cream is cold. Put your finished cream into the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to cool it down before adding it to the ice cream machine.

Be careful not to over churn

The maximum amount of time you should churn your ice cream is 20 minutes. The more you churn your ice cream, the harder it becomes. A done ice cream will have the consistency of something slightly harder than soft serve.

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