Homemade Ube Ice Cream (with Video!)
Here’s how to make deliciously creamy and thick homemade ube ice cream! Using an ice cream maker and my simple method, you’ll be enjoying bright purple ube ice cream in no time!
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. Ice cream is always a staple in my home. For instance, my family can’t get enough of my delicious durian ice cream recipe. 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!
All about my ube ice cream
This Filipino ice cream is the perfect marriage of east meets west. An egg-based ice cream base is flavored with ube extract and ube halaya. The ube extract is what gives the ice cream its vibrant purple color as well as some of the ube (purple yam) flavor. Like in my various ube dessert recipes, the ube halaya is responsible mostly for the flavor of the ice cream and a little bit of the purple color. Both are needed for the perfect ube flavor. You can substitute ube halaya with ube extract, but the results won’t be the same.
Using both ube halaya and ube extract
It’s might seem weird that I’m using both of these ingredients for the ice cream recipe, but I promise you they are both essential. In my tests for this recipe, I found that using both provided the best ube color and flavor. I tested it once with just ube extract, and while the purple color was vibrant, the flavor tasted a little too artificial. Adding the ube halaya added complex, fresh ube flavor, and is one of the keys to making this ice cream SO GOOD! That’s why I recommend using both for the best results.
Use the no churn method if you don’t have a lot of time
This ice cream recipe utilizes the churn method for making ice cream. Check out my no churn ube oreo ice cream to learn how to make this using the no churn method. The no churn method is perfect for those moments when you don’t have a ton of time.
How I like to enjoy this ice cream
This ube ice cream is such a versatile dessert that can be eaten with a variety of other desserts. You can serve this ice cream with a piece of ube pie or a gooey ube brownie. I like to use it in a milkshake!
Did you make this dish?
If you made this dish, I would love to see!
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Get the Recipe:
Homemade Ube Ice Cream (with Video!)
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ube extract
- ¼ cup ube halaya
Instructions
- Heat heavy cream and whole milk in a sauce pan until smoke begins coming off the liquid. Turn off the heat.
- Combine egg yolks and granulated sugar in a small bowl. Whisk until a smooth, yellow consistency forms (~30 seconds).
- 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.
- Add the vanilla extract and ube extract.
- Turn the heat back on. Stir 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 ube halaya. 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 6-8 hours. This helps create a creamier texture.
- Pour the cream into an ice cream maker and churn for 10-15 minutes. The resulting ice cream should be slightly harder than soft serve.
- Spoon the ice cream into a freezer safe container and freeze overnight.
Notes
- You can also only use ube extract instead of both the extract and ube halaya. I would use 2 tsp of ube extract if you choose to use only the extract.
- I would highly recommend Butterfly Ube Extract. I only use this extract because it produces the best results. If you are using another ube extract, I would add more if your mixture is not purple enough.
- 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 6-8 hours to cool it down before adding it to the ice cream machine. This might seem like a lot, but the colder your ice cream base is, the creamier your ice cream will be.
- 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.
- Storage Instructions – Store in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
super delicious and easy! i ended up putting 1/2 a cup of ube halaya because 1/4 cup didn’t give me enough ube flavour, but that might just be the brand of halaya i am using. i also recommend adding a pinch of salt to bring out the flavours. thanks for the great recipe 🙂
Thanks for making the recipe and sharing your adjustments! I love adding more ube halaya for more flavor!
My ube halaya has a cancer warning on the jar. Bummer because we started making ice cream to use healthy ingredients and organic dairy ..
You could also make your own at home. Here is my recipe: https://www.cooking-therapy.com/ube-halaya/
That’s great news!! I put in a big chunk of Hawaiian purple sweet potato and skipped the extract the result was delicious! Definitely making again with your halaya recipe.
What kinds of nuts did you use to garnish the ice cream in your photo? Do they taste good with the ice cream or was that just for the pic? Thanks!
Hi Grace! I garnished it with toasted peanuts. They taste good with the ice cream!
Do you know the volume of ice cream base this makes (before it is frozen)? Looks delicious!
Thank you! It makes about 2 pints of ice cream before it is frozen. If you’re referring to before it is churned, it makes about 2 cups of ice cream base.
I tried your ube ice cream recipe and it tasted so good. I even shared it with friends they all love it.
Amazing! I’m so excited everyone enjoyed it!!
I dont have ice cream maker can i just cool the cream mixture and whip it?
I would recommend using the no churn method then. I have a recipe for it here: https://www.cooking-therapy.com/ube-oreo-ice-cream/. You don’t have to include the Oreos.
Would love to try this recipe. If i use frozen ube grated and raw, how do we adjust or what would be the measurement of the ube? Is it the same?
A lot of the ube flavor comes from the ube extract since the flavor is so concentrated compare to the ube halaya. I would use the same amount as long as you’re still using the ube extract. I would also squeeze out as much water as possible from the raw ube. Water tends to make the ice cream more icey and less creamy. Let me know how it goes!
This recipe turned out beautifully and was so delicious! I tried Ube ice cream for the first time at a bakery in Austin and immediately had to have it again. This recipe was very similar and really scratched that itch. The only issue I had was that I did not have an immersion blender so instead used a whisk. Since I had only used a whisk, I decided to strain again before chilling and I’m glad I did because there were big, rather hard chunks of Ube which would have been unpleasant in the ice cream. I think it was an issue the brand of Ube Halaya I used. Depending on what brand you use, you may want to strain it before chilling just to be sure. Thank you for the fantastic recipe 🙂
Thank you Stephanie for making my recipe and sharing your experience! You can also use a blender if you have one.
Delicious and creamy however we found the vanilla to be much too forward, so much that it drowned out the ube flavor. Next time I will cut it down to 1/4 teaspoon.
Hi Brandon. Thank you for trying this recipe and the feedback!
This recipe is awesome! It turned out so creamy due to the egg yolks, and the flavour of ube is strong and delicious. I can honestly say this is my favourite ice cream I’ve made so far. I’ll be saving this for the future to impress all my friends 🙂
Hi Rebecca. First of all, I have to say I love your name! Thank you for much for the kind words! I’m so glad you liked it!
Congratulations on making one of the dumbest recipes on ube ice cream online I had the misfortune of following. A complete waste of ingredients and sorely lacking in detail.
I’m sorry this recipe did not work out for you.
What’s wrong with it?
Hi, can i use fresh grated purple yam?
If you grate it super finely, I think it should work. I would grate it finely enough, so you’re not eating large pieces of yam in the ice cream.
In step 2 . . . you’re not looking for smoke but steam. Temp should be around 120 to 130F
In step 7 . . . the ice cream base should be left in the refrigerator till it reaches 40 F or a bit lower. This will help crystalize the fat globules and hydrate the milk proteins. All in all, this helps with the churning process in terms of time (less time = small ice crystals = smoother ice cream) and the partial coalescence of fat in support of the ice cream’s air bubbles.
Thanks for the feedback!
Kids loved it, so it’s a keeper! Easy to follow, even for someone who isn’t patient in the kitchen. DDG’s comments were helpful.
Yay! That sounds like a win to me 😊 I’m so glad your kids enjoyed it!