We absolutely love cheescake! Cheescake is a great, decadent dessert that can be fancy or not! The normal delicious cheescake is absolutely wonderful, don't get us wrong! BUT....we wanted to add a little pizazz and exotic flavors to up this classic dessert to another level. We added a popular Filipino ingredient known as Ube, pronounced "ooh-beh" that adds an additional layer of flavor that is slightly nutty with a vanilla taste. It also adds this unique vibrant purple color to the dessert and has been trending in more American desserts. Explore this amazing ingredient and give this recipe a try!
What is Ube Jam (also known as Ube Halaya)?
Ube or Purple yam desserts have more recently entered the United States through Philippine cuisine, under the Filipino name "ube". Ube, pronounced "ooh-beh", is a bright purple sweet potato with an even sweeter, more mellow taste than regular sweet potatoes and has a slightly nutty, vanilla taste. . It is particularly popular due to the striking violet-purple color. Ube is often confused with Taro, another similar root vegetable, Taro is often used in savory dishes, while ube is more commonly used in sweets.But unlike the ube yam, taro is large in size and it has a hairy brown skin with white flesh and little purple specks.
Ube and ube halaya is widely used for a variety of Philippine desserts, such as ube cake, ube cheesecake and ube crinkles, as well as an ingredient or flavor for ice cream, milk, donuts, tarts, jam and other types of pastries.
Where Can You Find Ube Jam and Ube Flavoring?
It may a bit difficult to find ube at your local supermarket but you can usually find ube at the local Asian supermarkets that have Filipino cuisine products or your can find ube on Amazon. Below are the links for ube on available on Amazon:
Ube Flavoring
Tips for Baking the Ube Swirl Cheescake
Allow the cream cheese to become room temparature before using to allow for a smoother batter. If it is not at room temperature and softened, there will be clumps in your batter.
After adding the vanilla cheesecake batter to the ube batter, only fold 2 or 3 times to keep the ube swirl.
How can you tell if a cheesecake is done baking in the oven? Jiggle it. Seriously! Jiggle it! Open the oven, pull the cheesecake pan out half way and gently shake the cheesecake. If the cheesecake looks nearly set and only a small circle in the center jiggles slightly, it's done. If the cheesecake completely jiggles or you see ripples as you gently shake it, it is not ready. We add an additional 10 minutes each time, after doing the "jiggle test" and it is still not done. Ours was completely done around 1 hour and 20 minutes.
An additional tip during the actual baking, if the cheesecake top starts to brown too quickly, gently tent a piece of foil over the top (being sure the foil does not touch the cheesecake) to prevent the top from burning.
Allow the cheesecake to become firm in the refrigerator before removing the springform pan mold. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or even overnight to allow the cheesecake to firm up.
UBE SWIRL CHEESECAKE RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CRUST:
1 cup graham crackers, crushed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
FOR THE UBE CHEESECAKE BATTER:
1 bar (227 g) cream cheese, room temperature and softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup ube jam (ube halaya)
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 Tbsp ube flavoring
FOR THE VANILLA CHEESECAKE BATTER:
1 bar (227 g) cream cheese, room temperature and softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING:
1 Pint heavy cream, chilled
3/4 to 1 c powdered sugar, sifted
Ube flavoring, adding a few drops for color
DIRECTIONS
FOR THE CRUST:
In a small bowl, combine all crust ingredients including the graham crackers, sugar, cinnamon, and butter until combined.
Add crust mixture to the bottom of the mold and firmly pressed the mixture down into the mold. Set aside.
FOR THE UBE CHEESECAKE BATTER:
In a standing mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese and ube jam at low to medium speed.
Add the granulated sugar to the mixture and combine.
Add the egg, egg yolk, heavy cream and ube flavoring to the ube cheesecake mixture and mix at medium speed until completely combined. Set final ube mixture aside for later.
FOR THE VANILLA CHEESECAKE BATTER:
In another standing mixer bowl with paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese and sugar.
Add the egg and continue mixing.
Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and continue mixing at medium speed until fully incorporated.
FOR THE VANILLA CHEESECAKE BATTER:
Using both a chilled bowl and chilled beaters, beat the cream until frothy.
Add the icing sugar and vanilla gradually while beating. Add a few drops of ube flavoring.
Whip until light and a thick enough consistency to spread as an icing. Adjust color by adding ube flavoring drops, one drop at a time. Use immediately.
CHEESECAKE ASSEMBLY:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add the vanilla cheesecake batter to the uber cheesecake batter.
Fold with spatula only 2-3 times.
Pour the final batter into the springform pan.
Place springform pan into a larger pan. Pour water into the larger pan halfway up to make a water bath for the springform pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes depending on whether the cheesecake is completely baked.
Remove from oven and allow to cool still sitting in the water bath, for around 1 hour. Once cooled, remove the pan from the water bath and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Keep the springform pan to allow the cheesecake to set and keep shape.
After refrigeration overnight, remove from the refrigerator. Remove the springform pan mold carefully.
Add a layer of ube whipped cream to the top and decorate as desired.
NOTES:
Allow the cream cheese to become room temparature before using to allow for a smoother batter.
After adding the vanilla cheesecake batter to the ube batter, only fold 2 or 3 times to allow for the ube swirl.
How can you tell if a cheesecake is done baking in the oven? Jiggle it. Seriously! Jiggle it! Open the oven, pull the cheesecake pan out half way and gently shake the cheesecake. If the cheesecake looks nearly set and only a small circle in the center jiggles slightly, it's done. If the cheesecake completely jiggles or you see ripples as you gently shake it, it is not ready. We add an additional 10 minutes each time, after doing the "jiggle test" and it is still not done. Ours was completely done around 1 hour and 20 minutes.
An additional tip during the actual baking, if the cheesecake top starts to brown too quickly, gently tent a piece of foil over the top (being sure the foil does not touch the cheesecake) to prevent the top from burning.
Allow the cheesecake to become firm in the refrigerator before removing the springform pan mold. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or even overnight to allow the cheesecake to firm up.
Enjoy!
XoXo
Ali & Marissa
