How to Use Ube Powder?
Ube powder is a little magic ingredient: one spoonful is enough to colour and flavour.
You just need to know how to dose and mix it in. Here's everything to know, from latte to baking.
The right dose
No need to use much: ube is powerful.
Count about one teaspoon per drink. For a more intense colour or a stronger taste, add a little more. For a softer shade, use less.
Start small: you can always add more. The other way round is much harder.
The key move: always dissolve first
This is the secret to a successful preparation.
Before adding the milk or batter, mix the powder with a little hot liquid to form a smooth paste. You avoid lumps, and the colour is fully released.
Heat helps the powder dissolve and reveal all its purple. A very simple step, but one that changes the result.
In drinks
This is ube's flagship use.
For a latte, dissolve one teaspoon in a little hot water, then top up with 200 ml of milk. For a smoothie or a milkshake, add the powder directly to the other ingredients in the blender: blending dissolves everything.
For a photogenic iced latte, pour cold milk over ice, on top of the ube base. The purple gradient forms on its own.
Purple always makes an impressionIn baking
This is where ube reveals its full visual potential.
Count one to two teaspoons for a cake or a batch of cookies. Mix the powder in with the dry ingredients, or dissolved in a little warm milk before adding it to the batter.
The colour holds well when baked: cheesecakes, madeleines and creams take on a spectacular natural purple.
As a frozen dessert
This is the form in which ube is most loved in the Philippines.
Add the powder to your sweet base (cream, condensed milk, yoghurt) before churning or freezing. One to two spoonfuls are enough for a deep colour and a vanilla aroma.
Ube ice cream is an absolute classic of the archipelago. A flavour you absolutely must try.
Mistakes to avoid
Four classic pitfalls with ube powder.
How to store it
A good ube powder keeps for a long time, as long as you protect it.
Keep it dry, away from light and moisture, in its well-resealed packaging or an airtight jar. Avoid the fridge, a source of moisture. Rely on the date shown on the pack.
- About one teaspoon per drink, one to two for baking.
- Always dissolve in a little hot liquid.
- Store dry, away from light.
Get practical: the ube latte recipe and all our ube recipes.
Over to you.
One powder, a thousand possibilities. Also available as a capsule ready in 30 seconds.
Your questions about the powder.
How much ube powder should you use?
About one teaspoon per drink, one to two for baking, adjusted to the colour and taste you want.
How do you avoid lumps?
Always dissolve the powder in a little hot liquid before adding the milk or batter.
How much powder for a cake?
One to two teaspoons depending on the intensity you want, mixed with the dry ingredients or dissolved in a little milk.
Can you bake ube in the oven?
Yes: the colour holds well when baked. Simply mix the powder into the batter.
Does ube powder dissolve in cold milk?
It dissolves better with a little hot liquid first; then you can mix it into cold milk.
Can you put ube in a smoothie?
Yes, very easily: add the powder straight into the blender with the other ingredients.
How is ube powder stored?
Dry, away from light and moisture, well resealed. Refer to the date shown on the packaging.