![\"Slice](\"https:\/\/this-is-vegan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/veganer-ube-kuchen-cheesecake-baiser.jpg\")
At a glance<\/p>\n
- \n
- What is ube?<\/strong> A purple yam from the Philippines (Dioscorea alata<\/em>). Not to be confused with taro or purple sweet potato.<\/li>\n
- Taste:<\/strong> mildly sweet, vanilla-like, slightly nutty. The closest description: a mix of coconut, vanilla and pistachio.<\/li>\n
- Effort:<\/strong> 45 minutes of work, 60 minutes in the oven, then chilling, ideally overnight.<\/li>\n
- Yield:<\/strong> 12 pieces from a 20 x 20 cm tin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
Diesen Artikel gibt es auch auf Deutsch: Ube Kuchen, veganes Rezept<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
What exactly is ube?<\/h2>\n
![\"Purple](\"https:\/\/this-is-vegan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ube-knolle-violette-yamswurzel.jpg\")
Ube, the purple yam. Stock image: Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Ube (pronounced ooh-beh<\/em>) is a species of yam with the botanical name Dioscorea alata<\/strong>. It grows as a climbing plant, the tuber sits underground, and its flesh is naturally violet. The colour comes from anthocyanins, the same plant pigments that colour blueberries and red cabbage.<\/p>\n
In the Philippines ube is not a trend but a staple and a festive ingredient at once. The most important preparation is called ube halaya<\/strong>: a thick, sweet jam made from grated tuber, coconut milk and sugar. It is the base for almost everything else.<\/p>\n
Ube is not taro, and not purple sweet potato<\/h3>\n
These three get confused constantly, in recipes and on packaging alike:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Ube<\/strong> (Dioscorea alata<\/em>): a yam, deep violet flesh, sweet and vanilla-like. Rough brownish skin when raw.<\/li>\n
- Taro<\/strong> (Colocasia esculenta<\/em>): white to pale pink speckled flesh, considerably starchier and less sweet. The purple in taro bubble tea almost always comes from colouring.<\/li>\n
- Purple sweet potato<\/strong> (Ipomoea batatas<\/em>): a different plant family, firmer, earthier, less sweet on the finish.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
For this recipe you want real ube. Purple sweet potato works as a fallback, but it tastes noticeably earthier and colours less beautifully.<\/p>\n
Where the ube trend comes from<\/h2>\n
![\"Puto](\"https:\/\/this-is-vegan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/puto-bumbong-philippinen-ube.jpg\")
Puto bumbong, a classic violet pastry from the Philippines. Stock image: Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The path is well documented. For decades ube existed in the US almost exclusively in Filipino bakeries in California, Hawaii and New York, that is, within the diaspora. The jump into mainstream attention came in 2016, when Manila Social Club in New York sold a gold-leaf-covered ube donut and the international press gratefully picked up the image.<\/p>\n
The market research firm Datassential has tracked the ingredient since 2017. The figures it gave CNBC in April 2026 show how fast it moved after that:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Ube offerings on US restaurant menus up 230 percent<\/strong> in four years.<\/li>\n
- Currently on the menus of 95 chains<\/strong> in the US, with a forecast of another 74 percent growth.<\/li>\n
- In 2022 Baskin-Robbins launched an ube coconut ice cream, in 2025 Starbucks followed with an Ube Iced Coconut Latte, and in 2026 with an Ube Matcha Latte and an Ube Vanilla Macchiato.<\/li>\n
- The ube hashtag runs to around 120,000 posts on TikTok and over 750,000 on Instagram.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Emily Tang, chief product officer at Datassential, explains the success with a low barrier to entry: ube tastes mildly nutty, works with coffee and pastry and looks spectacular doing it. In short, an ingredient that puts nobody off and still stands out.<\/p>\n
The catch behind the hype<\/h3>\n
Most trend pieces leave this part out. While demand is exploding, the Philippine harvest is shrinking: from 14,150 tonnes in 2021 to 12,483 tonnes in 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. The Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Center cites more unpredictable weather driven by the climate crisis and a shortage of good planting material. The Philippines now imports ube from Vietnam itself.<\/p>\n
At the same time exports rose in 2025 to around 3.2 million US dollars, roughly 1.7 million kilograms and about 20 percent more than the year before. Prices are climbing. For the farmers that is good news at first, for supply it is a shaky situation.<\/p>\n
In practice this means ube powder is expensive, and cheap products with “ube flavour” often contain little to no ube. A look at the ingredient list is worth it, not least because milk powder occasionally shows up there.<\/p>\n
The ingredients for the vegan ube cake<\/h2>\n
The full ingredient list with quantities, the step-by-step method and the nutrition are in the printable recipe card below. First, the important part about shopping.<\/p>\n
\nWhere to get the special ingredients<\/p>\n
- \n
- Ube powder:<\/strong> the heart of it. Look for 100 percent purple yam without additives, then it is vegan by default. See ube powder on Amazon<\/a><\/li>\n
- Ube extract:<\/strong> gives the strong colour and a more pronounced aroma. Worth checking the ingredient list here, some extracts contain milk components. See ube extract on Amazon<\/a><\/li>\n
- Ube paste (halaya):<\/strong> the convenient shortcut, it replaces the powder and the milk. See ube paste on Amazon<\/a><\/li>\n
- Coconut milk with a high fat content:<\/strong> at least 60 percent coconut, otherwise too little cream separates out. See coconut milk on Amazon<\/a><\/li>\n
- Vegan cream cheese and ladyfingers<\/strong> come from the supermarket. With ladyfingers it is worth reading the label, classic ones contain egg. Vegan versions are usually in the organic aisle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Amazon links are affiliate links to Amazon Germany. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. The price stays the same for you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The recipe<\/h2>\n
Baked rather than set: the cake gets two layers of soaked ladyfingers, with the ube cheesecake mixture in between and on top. The slightly cracked surface forms in the oven, and the meringue goes on at the very end.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Veganer](\"https:\/\/this-is-vegan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/veganer-ube-kuchen-cheesecake-baiser-320x320.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\nVegan Ube Cake with Meringue<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\nBaked ube cheesecake with two layers of soaked sponge and an aquafaba meringue. No eggs, no gelatine, fully plant-based.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n - Ube extract:<\/strong> gives the strong colour and a more pronounced aroma. Worth checking the ingredient list here, some extracts contain milk components. See ube extract on Amazon<\/a><\/li>\n
- Currently on the menus of 95 chains<\/strong> in the US, with a forecast of another 74 percent growth.<\/li>\n
- Taro<\/strong> (Colocasia esculenta<\/em>): white to pale pink speckled flesh, considerably starchier and less sweet. The purple in taro bubble tea almost always comes from colouring.<\/li>\n
- Taste:<\/strong> mildly sweet, vanilla-like, slightly nutty. The closest description: a mix of coconut, vanilla and pistachio.<\/li>\n