This delicious Ube Ice Cream is smooth and creamy with an almost floral hint. Make it at home using frozen grated purple yam. You will totally love it!
People say “Third time’s a charm!” and I whole heartedly agree. After 3 tries and a few quarts of ice cream later, I am finally satisfied with this super creamy and delicious Ube Ice Cream. If you have never tasted purple yam ice cream, you have to give this a try. I promise you will totally love it.
Ube (Purple Yam)
Ube is the Filipino word for a kind of lavender colored yam found in the tropics. It is native to Southeast Asia (mainly Philippines, Indochina, and possibly Indonesia) and should not be confused with taro or purple sweet potatoes. Although there are lots of purple sweet potatoes in Malaysia, I have never encountered purple yam there. Fortunately, frozen fresh grated ube can be found in some Asian markets here in the Midwest.
In the Philippines, ube desserts are very popular. Ube is used in ice cream, cakes, cookies, and even jam. I have tasted taro ice cream but not Ube Ice Cream and was very interested to give it a try. Most recipes found on-line use cooked mashed ube. Grated fresh (uncooked) ube presents a different challenge. It holds water when thawed and it needs to be cooked to prevent the ice cream from becoming gritty.
Preparing the Ube
I found this source on-line that says that the thawed grated ube should be squeezed to remove as much water as possible. This makes sense but squeezing the grated ube is messy business and so I decided to skip this step. Cooking the ube is a must cause you definitely do not want to eat raw yam. I steamed the ube for 15 minutes, mashed it with a fork, and it was good to go.
Third Time’s a Charm!
In my first try, the ice cream turned out quite creamy and delicious but it was still a little gritty with flecks of purple yam in it. My solution was to blend the ice cream mixture and strain it before freezing. In my second attempt, I wanted it to be a little different and so I added some cream corn to the mixture. I was disappointed that the combination was okay but not fantastic. In my third attempt, I left it plain. This Ube Ice Cream was very creamy and smooth with an almost floral hint. It was totally delicious and I am very satisfied! Love the color too and it is all natural. Only 4 ingredients – ube, sugar, milk, and cream. No eggs.
Similar Tools Used in Making This Ube Ice Cream
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• Cuisinart 1.5 Quart Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream Maker (White)
• Disposable Fine Mesh Brewing Bags (30 Count)
This delicious Ube Ice Cream is smooth and creamy with an almost floral hint. Make it at home using frozen grated purple yam. You will totally love it!
(Makes about 5 cups of Ube Ice Cream)
- 1 cup ube (grated purple yam) (250g)
- 1 cup whole milk (240ml)
- 2/3 cup sugar (145g)
- 1½ cups heavy whipping cream (360ml)
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Steam grated ube for 15 minutes.
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Remove and mash with a fork.
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Combine whole milk and sugar in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Do not cover but stir until sugar dissolves and milk comes to a bare simmer. Turn off heat.
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Mix in steamed ube and heavy whipping cream.
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Using a stand or stick blender, puree the mixture until smooth.
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Then pour the mixture through a sieve to remove remaining lumps of ube.
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Discard solids.
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Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
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Place frozen bowl on base of ice cream maker and turn it on. Pour chilled ube mixture into the frozen bowl. Churn according to manufacturer’s instructions for 10 to 15 minutes.
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Transfer ice cream to a container with lid. Cover and freeze for a couple of hours before serving.
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
Ranjani says
September 3, 2014 at 2:38 amAmazing texture and beautiful color. I dont have an ice cream maker :(, so i never get this perfect texture
Linda says
September 10, 2014 at 7:42 amThanks Ranjani! I have tried making ice cream several times without using the ice cream maker. Unfortunately, the texture is never quite the same. Hopefully, you can get an ice cream maker soon. 🙂
Lokness @ The Missing Lokness says
September 5, 2014 at 10:52 amNOMMMM! I love taro and I always want to make taro ice cream. But it is not easy to find fresh taro in Los Angeles. I love that you used frozen grated taro. I need to look for them now! Your ice cream looks perfect!
Linda says
September 10, 2014 at 7:40 amThanks Lokness! This ube is a little different from taro but I will make taro ice cream one of these days.Taro ice cream is what I ate as a kid. I must say though that this ube ice cream is very delicious. It is smooth, creamy, and full of flavor. 🙂
Ramona says
September 14, 2014 at 6:26 amMy daughter would go crazy over the color of this ice cream alone. What a clever ingredient to use in ice cream… I have never heard of this yam… but would love a cone!
Linda says
September 16, 2014 at 3:25 pmIsn’t that just the prettiest color? I love it too and this ube has almost a floral scent to it. I hope you get to try it sometime.
Aida says
December 4, 2014 at 6:09 amYour ube ice-cream is making me very curious to try it. Can you recommend any stores where I could find it? (I’m on the East Coast.)
Linda says
December 4, 2014 at 11:25 pmTry any Asian grocery stores. Some of them may have it in the frozen section.
Imilda says
April 21, 2017 at 5:46 amHi Linda, I made it following your recipes. The ice cream colour was brilliant, but the texture was not smooth creamy but too starchy for me. Any suggestion about it?
Linda says
May 2, 2017 at 7:39 amI guess you could reduce the amount of ube.
Myrna says
June 7, 2017 at 10:08 pmI used your recipe and my ice cream came out totally wonderful. I love the simplicity of using only 4 ingredients. I had some Ricotta cheese so I added 1/2 cup and the ice cream was delicious.
Linda says
June 7, 2017 at 10:32 pmSo glad to hear that you enjoyed the ice cream. Adding some cream cheese or ricotta cheese make the ice cream much creamier and quite delicious. So much easier and lighter without eggs. You may want to check out my Pistachio Ice Cream or Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Ice Cream. Both have a little cream cheese in it. 🙂
Marivic says
June 2, 2018 at 12:52 pmI cant wait to try your ube icecream recipe using my newly bought icecream maker. Got all the ingredients. Unfortunately, my husband bought the frozen grated purple cassava. Is it the same as the purple yam?.
Linda says
June 5, 2018 at 5:08 pmI have never come across purple cassava and so I can’t tell you if it is the same thing as purple yam. I wonder if it was mis-labeled.
Ayumi says
November 10, 2018 at 9:00 pmHi Linda, thanks for the recipe! I have been quite fortunate to have FINALLY found purple yam / ube in Malaysia. After years of searching, these gems are nestled in an Indian shop in Brickfields KL. The store name is Asokan store in Little India sold for very reasonable price. I hope this piece of info will help other Malaysians on their venture to make purple yam ice cream. Now that I’ve found mine, I can’t wait to turn them into delicious ice cream 🙂 Yumm!
Linda says
November 10, 2018 at 9:19 pmYou are welcome. Thank you for sharing the info on where you found the purple yam. I think you will enjoy this ice cream. It is almost like taro ice cream.