Fudgy Ube Brownies Recipe

Whether you like them chewy, fudgy, or cakey, you might agree that there's no sweet treat better than a freshly-baked brownie. A perfectly simple dessert that is known to please just about everyone, brownies are the ideal potluck item to bring to a social gathering or to a school class party. Of course, there are many variations, and these fudgy ube brownies might just take the cake for the most beautifully colorful. They boast a vibrant purple hue from a Filipino ingredient called ube halaya, which is actually made from a purple yam. Aside from being remarkably eye-catching, these brownies happen to be delicious: rich and chewy, with a satisfying fudgy texture. Melted butter and white chocolate create a brownie base with 2 types of sugar to add caramelized sweetness.

Recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe and says, "I am a huge fan of purple yams, and love the color they add when baking with them. The use of both ube jam and ube extract makes the color showstopping, and will definitely grab the attention of everyone around. Like all brownies, they are easy to make even for the novice cook."

To make this recipe, you'll need some baking basics like granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, and fine sea salt. The star ingredients of the recipe are the ube halaya and ube extract. These will provide the vibrant color purple, and the ube halaya will add sweetness and a creamy texture. Hit up the dairy aisle for unsalted butter and eggs, then grab some white chocolate chips and unsweetened cocoa powder. You can substitute cacao powder for the cocoa powder, if you have that on hand.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and white chocolate together, stirring for about 10 minutes until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and brown sugar.

Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine.

Slowly whisk the melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until fully combined.

Stir in the ube halaya and ube extract until evenly incorporated.

Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt, and stir until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs.

Let cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving.

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Ube halaya is a thick and smooth jam-like mixture that is made from mashed purple yams. One might think that purple yams are the same as purple sweet potatoes, but they actually are quite different. The two most notable differences lie in the texture and sweetness. Ube yams are quite a bit moister than their drier counterpart, and they are much sweeter in taste, with a hint of nuttiness. To make the ube halaya, once the boiled yams are mashed, they are slowly cooked with milk, butter, and sugar.

Ube halaya is commonly used in desserts and swapped out for other cake fillings to add the beautiful purple color and unique flavor. You can add ube halaya to vanilla frosting, it can be swirled into cheesecake, or folded into whipped cream as a dessert topper. Ube pudding and ube mousse are beautiful, and ube ice cream is a festive favorite. Ube halaya is also often used for fancy drinks like an ube latte, a purple milkshake, or an ube matcha drink.

Although this is a fairly simple recipe, we have several helpful tips for making sure the ube brownies come out perfect. When melting the chocolate and butter, once the two ingredients are fully combined, it is important to let the mixture sit and cool while you move on to the other recipe steps. If you add the eggs to the mixture when it is too hot, it can cook them, which will affect the texture of the brownies. 

It's best to measure the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup instead of scooping it directly from the bag or canister. We are going for fudgy here, and too much flour will make the brownies more like cake. Once you have added the flour, avoid overmixing. Just combine the ingredients until there are no white streaks. When baking the brownies, be careful not to overbake. Test with a toothpick at 30 minutes, since all ovens cook a little bit differently. You want the toothpick to come out with crumbs attached, not totally clean. Because we are not cooking these as long as a cake, they need to cool completely before slicing, so they are fully set.

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