Ube ( Purple Yam ) Bread Rolls (2024)

These Ube rolls are soft milk bread filled with creamy purple yam filling. They are a perfect indulgent breakfast or snack to add sweetness to your day. The soft, melt in your mouth texture and the creamy, buttery ube filling will leave you wanting more.

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I love baking bread in our house because freshly baked bread make me look forward to waking up in the morning to have bread for breakfast. Well, I look forward to many good things each day but a batch of soft, fresh bread is another wonderful addition.

These ube rolls are a beautiful sight in the counter. Like the Brioche braid that I made a couple of weeks back, they are so addictive but by the time I have the last piece, I ask myself if it is really a good idea to keep baking carbs and make them so easy to reach for in this house.

But then, just thinking about the smell of bread baking in the oven or just even the sight of dough rising in the bowl makes me want to bake bread day after day, after day.

Ube makes these rolls so special because you are adding a creamy element to the bread. On its own, it is such a wonderful treat already. The earthy, starchy profile made creamy and decadent by the addition of coconut milk, condensed milk and butter is such a perfect combination for an addictive dessert.

But when you incorporate it into bread, there’s whole new story.

The thin layer of ube in between the sheets of rolled bread adds moisture, richness, and flavor to every bite, and these rolls are amazingly soft out of the oven. They are like delicate packets of clouds that pull apart very easily with spots of purple peeking through their thin skin as you expose their sides.

The bread was adapted from this milk bread recipe which is a simple recipe for a soft bread that uses the stand mixer to do the kneading. I just use half the dough and half the ube at a time. You can use the remaining portion of ube and dough for another time within the week to bake more ube rolls, or you can freeze the dough for future use and just eat the remaining ube as a dessert on its own.

The flavor gets better as they sit too. It gets more ube-y and bread-ythe next day. If your ube rolls last for more than two days, just re-heat them in the microwave for 15 seconds or so , and they are still amazingly soft and tasty. I store them in a covered container in the counter for a day, after that you might want to refrigerate them to preserve the ube.

Making the ube jam is a pretty straightforward process. You just melt butter with coconut milk and condensed milk over medium heat, then add the grated ube. Initially, the mixture is nowhere near the consistency of a jam or paste. It will be soupy and runny but as it cooks, the liquids get soaked up and you will yield a thick and sticky paste which is an indication that your ube is done.

I used frozen grated ube sold at Asian supermarket. They are labeled as grated purple yam and usually come in 454 grams packages. Thaw them before cooking. It is also important to note that that when cooking the purple yam with the milk mixture, you must stir it continuously especially when it gets thicker to avoid the jam from forming burnt crusts.

Then as a finishing touch, brush the baked rolls with the simple sugar glaze to add notes of sweetness and gloss on the surface.

Your rolls are ready to enjoy! For perfection, serve with cold and creamy coffee jelly.

Here are more yummy ube recipes:

• Ube Taisan
• Ube Chiffon cake
• Ube Cheesecake
• Ube Pie
• Ube Ensaymada
• Ube Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream
• Ube Cake with White Chocolate Coconut Cream

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