If you like ube and mochi, you will LOVE this ube mochi cake recipe. The mochi cake is soft and chewy with a wonderful ube aroma and a striking purple colour. Perfect served with a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk.
What is ube?
Ube is purple yam and it’s very popular in Filipino cuisine, especially in desserts. It can be found in many different forms too such as ube halaya (jam), ube paste and ube extract. I used ube extract in this mochi cake which can be difficult to find, but I was able to get a Filipino friend to source it for me from a Filipino convenience store! You can probably also find it online, but I trusted my Filipino friend more ;).
What is mochi cake?
Mochi cake, also known as nian gao 年糕 in Chinese, is a soft, chewy, mochi-like cake that is often enjoyed during Chinese New Year (CNY)! Usually, nian gao is actually steamed and not baked, but I prefer the baked version as it creates a wonderful crust on top. With CNY coming up soon on Feb.12th, I decided to try making it at home myself!
The original mochi cake recipe I used here is actually from my mother-in-law (MIL). My MIL makes several batches of this delicious treat every year around CNY. Of course, my Chinese MIL doesn’t put ube in her mochi cake. Instead, she prefers it plain with a sprinkle of toasted coconut on top. Sometimes, she will even put a layer of sweet red bean paste in the middle. I opted to go non-traditional and made this strikingly purple mochi cake flavoured with ube instead!
Let me tell you…when my MIL saw what I had concocted in the kitchen she low key freaked! However, once I explained what it was and she had a taste, she was hooked. My MIL loves purple yam and the subtle, but aromatic addition of the ube made this mochi cake so special. My hubby suggested drizzling condensed milk over top as the cake is not overly sweet and OMG…I will not eat it any other way from now on. The condensed milk adds the perfect touch of sweetness and creaminess to the mochi cake. Just perfect.
Ube Mochi Cake (Nian Gao)
12
servings15
minutes40
minutes55
minutesSoft, chewy mochi cake with a wonderful ube aroma and a striking purple colour. Perfect served with a drizzle of condensed milk.
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Ingredients
400 g glutinous rice flour (1 bag)
398 mL coconut milk (1 can)
3 large eggs
2/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ube extract
1 can condensed milk (to serve)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush a 9 inch spring form baking pan with oil.
- Add flour, sugar, and baking powder to a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. In another large bowl, add eggs, oil, and coconut milk. Whisk to combine.
- Add in flour mixture to egg mixture and whisk until incorporated. Whisk in ube extract until evenly distributed.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Tap gently to remove any trapped air bubbles.
- Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with a drizzle of condensed milk.
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I made this today and it was a hit! I did a couple things differently. I used a 10 inch spring form pan (it’s the only spring form pan I have), used 1/3 cup canola oil + 1/3 cup melted coconut oil (ran out of canola but thought the coconut oil would add to the flavour, added an extra tsp of ube extract because I wanted more colour. Baked it at 350 for 45 mins. Flavour was lovely, texture was soft and chewy but more chewy at the edges than the center. The center was set and soft but next time I’ll extend the cooking time to see if it’ll make the middle firmer and chewier. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Samantha! Thank you for your comment, I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Can you use cows milk instead of coconut milk? And regular ube instead of the extract? Thank you!
I think cows milk should work, but you might just miss some of the flavour that the coconut milk adds. By regular ube, do you mean the actual vegetable? Like purple sweet potato? I haven’t tried, but it might not have as strong of a flavour nor colour. It might also change the texture cause it’s more fibrous. Hope this helps! Let me know if you still have questions.
Can i use olive oil/butter instead of canola oil?
I haven’t tried with either, but you probably could. Olive oil might give it a weird taste though. I would go with melted butter to get something like butter mochi.