Authentic Ube Halaya Recipe – Purple Sweet Potato Jam Recipe

This is the authentic Ube Halaya recipe from the Philipines, A Filipino dessert made with creamy purple yam. This rich and velvety treat is packed with flavor and a gorgeous color that makes it impossible to resist. You will be amazed at how versatile and delicious this dessert is!

Ube Halaya (Halayang Ube), or purple yam spread, is basically mashed purple sweet potato jam mixed with a little palm sugar and butter to make it super creamy and easy to spread.

It’s got this rich, nutty, and kinda earthy flavor that makes it super special. And the best part? It’s super easy to make, anyone can do it!

Once you make it, just keep it in the fridge for later. You can use it for all kinds of stuff! Fill pastries like Red Bean Pastry, Pumpkin Buns, or Snow Skin Mooncakes with it. Or, if you’re feeling lazy, spread it on your toast or whip up some Ube Mochi Pancake in no time. You will be amazed at how versatile it is!

Recipe Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

Purple Sweet Potato – pick the ones that have purple bright color skin. Wash and peel the skin before steaming. Or you can steam it with the skin attached and peel it after.

Palm sugar – The coconut and nutty smell of palm sugar pairs well with purple sweet potato. You can also use coconut sugar if you don’t have palm sugar.

Condensed Milk – You can use store-bought condensed milk or make homemade condensed milk with real milk.

Evaporated Milk – I use evaporated milk because it has lower water content. This makes the ube halaya easier to process. You will not need as much time needed in cooking it with milk.

Butter – Use unsalted butter if you already put salt. If you only have salted butter, omit the salt.

Substitutions & Variations

You can substitute evaporated milk and condensed milk with coconut milk to get the right consistency. Use a thick one, canned coconut milk is highly recommended.

Instead of butter, use coconut oil to add nutty flavor to the purple jam.

How to Make

STEP 1. Wash the purple sweet potato clean. You can peel the skin first (Image 1) if you like or you can peel it later after steaming. Steam the purple sweet potato 30-45 minutes or until a fork can be inserted easily into the middle part of purple yam (Images 2, 3, 4).

STEP 2. Take them out from the steamer. Let them cool for a while. Mash the potatoes using a fork (Images 5, 6) or a food processor until smooth. You still have to sieve it later. Put all the ingredients except butter in a non-stick pot, starting from the mashed ube, evaporated milk, condensed milk, salt, and palm sugar (Image 7). Stir well with a spatula (Image 8).

STEP 3. Put the pot on a stove and cook with low heat. Keep stirring with a spatula. Do not leave it unattended. You will see that the mixture dries up gradually and the mixture will become thick and less runny (Image 9). To make the jam even more spreadable, add butter (Image 10). Stir until the butter melts and the jam can hang on the spatula for a while (Image 11). Sieve it so the texture is even smoother (Image 12). Transfer to a glass bowl to let it cool before using.

How to Serve

You can spread the purple jam on your toast for a quick, simple breakfast and add a slice of butter and grated cheese on top. Or whip it up into Ube mochi pancake.

Serve it with Asian drink like Lemongrass Tea or Lemon Ginger Tea. Or you can pair it with with Butterfly Pea Flower Tea or Latte.

FAQs about Ube Halaya (Purple Sweet Potato Jam)

Storage

If you use it often, you’d better store it in a fridge/chiller. It can stay nice for a maximum of one week for the non-dairy and one month for the dairy version.

You can also divide the jam into 2, store it in a different container and put half in the freezer for up to 3 months. Simply take it out of the freezer and chill it overnight for use the next day.

More Recipes Using Purple Sweet Potatoes

If you love the taste of purple sweet potatoes like I do, you can also check out some other recipes below.

• A perfect combination with tapioca starch and coconut milk makes this Talam Ubi Ungu taste wonderful.
• Add sweetened coconut inside this purple sweet potato balls and drizzle it with coconut sauce, and you will have Bugis Mandi Ubi Ungu.
• If you want a fast and simple ones, you can check Candil Ubi Ungu.