Our ube cake has two fluffy ube cake layers sandwiching an ube jam, and everything is frosted in ube Swiss meringue buttercream. Coconutty macapuno is the pièce de résistance.
Instructions
1
Make the cake batter
2
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, five to seven minutes. Add the egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the ube extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the 2% milk. Editor's Tip: Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl before adding the flour mixture and 2% milk. I like to start and end with the flour mixture for a more stable cake.
3
Bake the cakes
4
Pour the batter into two greased 6-inch round baking pans. Bake each cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool the cakes in their pans at room temperature for 10 minutes, then remove them from the pans and onto wire racks to cool completely to room temperature.
5
Heat the sugar and the egg whites
6
In the heatproof bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the egg whites, sugar and salt until blended. Place the bowl in a large saucepan of simmering water over medium heat. Whisking constantly, heat the mixture until a thermometer reads 160°, 8 to 10 minutes.
7
Beat in the butter
8
Immediately remove the bowl from the heat. With the whisk attachment of your stand mixer, beat the mixture on high speed until cooled to 90°, about 20 minutes. Gradually beat in the softened butter, a few tablespoons at a time, on medium speed until smooth. Editor’s Tip: If your buttercream is looking curdled, your ingredients were too cold. Keep beating to warm them up or blow a hair dryer around the edges of the bowl to encourage the ingredients to warm up. If your buttercream is looking soupy, the ingredients were too warm. Place the bowl in the fridge for five minutes (or longer), then beat again.
9
Add the ube extract
10
Whisk in the ube extract until no white streaks remain. Test Kitchen Tip: Ube extract comes in different strengths, and some contain more purple food coloring than others. Start with the lower number in the range and add more as needed.
11
Assemble the cake
12
Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread the top with a thin layer of frosting. Pipe a border of frosting around the cake layer, then fill it with ube jam. The border acts as a barrier so the ube jam doesn’t ooze out. Top it with the remaining cake layer, making sure they’re as lined up as possible.
13
Frost and decorate
14
Frost the top and side of the ube cake. Place the remaining frosting into a piping bag with a star tip, and pipe a border around the bottom and top of the cake. Fill the inside top with the macapuno. Enjoy! Editor’s Tip: For those who need a quick frosting refresh, read through all our best tips and tricks on how to decorate a cake.
