Give your morning a sweet Filipino twist with these vegan ube rolls. Filled with sweet ube halaya and topped with a delicious ube cream cheese frosting. It’s literally an ube dessert bomb! Change up your holiday dessert with these rolls, I guarantee they’ll be a hit with everyone.
Look, I love cinnamon rolls as much as the next person, but sometimes I just want to switch things up. How did I do that? By adding a bit of Filipino flare to this recipe of course! I wanted to make a different version of cinnamon rolls for the holidays, however, in my opinion, cinnamon and ube don’t mix very well. So, I made this an all-ube recipe, and one of my best recipes is my vegan ube cheese pandesal, which is what this recipe is based on. It’s just so delicious and so sweet, so it’s perfect for the ube lover in your life!
Ingredient notes
Bread flour – Bread flour is a high-protein flour that is designed for baking yeasted bread. The high protein content means that bread flour has more gluten in it, which makes for a more elastic and light dough, which results in a chewy and airy texture when baked.
Instant yeast – For this recipe, to keep it simple I like to use instant yeast. Why? Because you don’t need to activate/bloom it before you use it.
Ube Extract – This is one of the main ingredients I like to use in any ube bread recipe. Not only does it give a boost of ube flavor but it gives it its vibrant purple color.
Ube Halaya (Ube Jam) – I used my homemade ube halaya recipe to fill up these rolls with, but you can use store-bought ube halaya, just make sure they are vegan-friendly.
Soy milk – Personally, I like to use soy milk because it has the same consistency and protein as regular dairy milk. Also, it gives me the best results compared to other dairy-free milk.
Vegan Butter – The best kind of butter to use is the ones that come in stick form. Unfortunately, the butter in the tubs is used for spreads, and not for baking. I also find them to be greasy.
Vegan Cream Cheese – In my opinion, the best brand for making vegan cream cheese frosting is Kite Hill. Their texture and flavor are just so close to their dairy counterparts. I use it in all my baked goods!
What is Ube?
Pronounced as: “OO-BEH”, ube is a purple yam and is a staple ingredient for Filipino desserts. Boiled, mashed, and often used as jams or to color sweet treats. It has a mild and sweet flavor, which some have said is a cross between vanilla and pistachio. Another thing, most people confuse it with taro, and the short answer is, no, they are not the same. While taro is for savory cooking, and ube is used for sweets.
How to make vegan ube rolls
In a bowl, combine the hot water and dehydrated ube powder. Allow the ube powder to rehydrate for 30 minutes.
Place rehydrated ube in a small saucepan over medium heat, and stir the mixture until the water has evaporated and you get a paste-like texture. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool until ready to use.
Using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, combine the salt, bread flour, granulated sugar, and instant yeast.
Combine the non-dairy milk and ube extract together, and add the dry ingredients along with the softened butter, and the rehydrated ube.
Set your mixer on “stir” or the lowest setting to gently mix all the ingredients together.
Once a shaggy dough has formed, increase the mixer speed to 2 and continue to knead the dough for another 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with a bowl cover or plastic wrap. Place it in the fridge for up to 4 hours or overnight (8-12 hours). Alternatively, you can let the dough rise in a warm spot for 1 hour.
Remove the dough from the fridge and tug at the edges to form a rough rectangle. Roll it out into a 12×15-inch rectangle.
Spread the filling evenly over the surface, leaving about 2-inches at the top untouched. Starting from the long side closest to you, roll up the dough into a tight spiral and let it rest seam-side down on the surface.
Carefully transfer the rolled dough onto a small baking sheet, and place it in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes. This is to help it cut easier! When ready, use a serrated/sharp knife to trim off about a ½-inch thick slice from each end to reveal the swirl. Then cut 9 even pieces, and place them on the prepared baking pan.
Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and let the buns rise at room temp until they have expanded at 50%, around 30-40 minutes.
Bake the rolls in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown on the surface. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 15 minutes or so before transferring it to a wire cooling rack. Do not add icing until the rolls are slightly warm.
While you wait, make the frosting by combining all the ingredients together using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer.
Spread onto the ube rolls while they are still slightly warm. Serve and enjoy!
Top tips
Measure your flour properly. I test my recipes, 100% in grams. A common reason baked goods fail is incorrectly measured flour. I always recommend using a scale for accuracy when baking. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessens room for error.
If you’re measuring by cups, avoid scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour. This tends to pack the flour into the cup, resulting in too much flour and a very dense or gummy finished product. Instead, aerate your flour (fluff it with a fork or spoon) and then spoon it into your measuring cups, leveling it with your finger or the back of a butter knife. Keep in mind though, that this method is not guaranteed to be accurate.
Using the fridge will be your best friend. This is a really soft dough, and working with it at room temperature will make it slightly difficult. So allowing the dough to do the first rise in the fridge will not only make it easier to handle but will also make it easier to cut into pieces.
Why only 50% for the second rise? These rolls will gain a ton of volume as they bake, so if you let the rolls expand to double their size they will actually be over-proofed. If they bake at that size, they’ll just expand way too much for the pan.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use all-purpose flour? Yes, however, because it has a lower protein content compared to bread flour, it will result in a wetter dough. Simply add a few more tablespoons of flour if this happens.
Can I make this gluten-free? I have not tried baking gluten-free bread, so I can’t say it’ll work out the same.
Do I have to use ube extract? No, but highly suggest you do because it just gives the bread a boost of ube flavor and the purple color. The dehydrated ube powder alone doesn’t give it any flavor or color. So, if you omit it, the bread just won’t be as vibrant in color and won’t taste anything like ube.
How do I store these vegan ube rolls? Store any leftover rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. They can also be stored frosted or unfrosted. Rewarm in the microwave before serving.
If you enjoyed this vegan ube rolls recipe, check these out
So, if you tried this recipe let me know in the comments below! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @flouredframe for more delicious recipes. While you’re at it, don’t forget to tag me whenever you recreate my recipes! Happy baking!
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Make the dough (You can do this the night before):
In a bowl, combine the hot water and dehydrated ube powder. Allow the ube powder to rehydrate for 30 minutes.
This next step is optional, blend the water and rehydrated ube in a high-speed blender. Blending helps the mixture become smoother.
Place rehydrated ube in a small saucepan over medium heat, and stir the mixture until the water has evaporated and you get a paste-like texture. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool until ready to use.
Using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, combine the salt, bread flour, granulated sugar, and instant yeast.
Combine the non-dairy milk and ube extract together, and add the dry ingredients along with the softened butter, and the rehydrated ube.
Set your mixer on “stir” or the lowest setting to gently mix all the ingredients together.
Once a shaggy dough has formed, increase the mixer speed to 2 and continue to knead the dough for another 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with a bowl cover or plastic wrap. Place it in the fridge for up to 4 hours or overnight (8-12 hours). Alternatively, you can let the dough rise in a warm spot for 1 hour. See notes
Assembly and baking:
Line a square baking pan (9”x9”) with parchment paper. If your ube jam has been in the fridge, warm it up in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften it up. Set aside until ready to use.
Remove the dough from the fridge and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press down on the dough with the heel of your hand to de-gas the dough.
Tug at the edges to form four corners and stretch the dough to shape it into an even, rectangular shape. Dust the top and underside of the dough with more flour and roll it out, dusting with more flour as needed, into a 1/4-inch-thick rectangle, about 12 x 15 inches.
Spread the ube jam evenly over the surface, leaving about 2 inches at the top edge untouched. This is so that the dough can seal adequately when you roll it up.
Starting from the long side closest to you, roll up the dough into a tight spiral and let it rest seam-side down on the surface.
Carefully transfer the rolled dough onto a small baking sheet, and place it in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes. This is to help it cut easier!
When ready, use a serrated/sharp knife to trim off about a ½-inch thick slice from each end to reveal the swirl. Then cut 9 even pieces, and place them on the prepared baking pan.
Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and let the buns rise at room temp until they have expanded at 50%, around 40-50 minutes. See notes
While you wait, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown on the surface. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 15 minutes or so before transferring it to a wire cooling rack. Do not add icing until the rolls are slightly warm.
Ube Cream Cheese Frosting:
Whip the softened vegan cream cheese with an electric hand mixer, until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, ube jam, and vanilla extract to the bowl, and mix on low until well combined. If the frosting seems too stiff, add 1 tablespoon of non-dairy milk and mix it in.
Spread onto the ube rolls while they are slightly warm. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Measure your flour properly. I test my recipes, 100% in grams. A common reason baked goods fail is incorrectly measured flour. I always recommend using a scale for accuracy when baking. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessens room for error.
If you’re measuring by cups, avoid scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour. This tends to pack the flour into the cup, resulting in too much flour and a very dense or gummy finished product. Instead, aerate your flour (fluff it with a fork or spoon) and then spoon it into your measuring cups, leveling it with your finger or the back of a butter knife. Keep in mind though, that this method is not guaranteed to be accurate.
Using the fridge will be your best friend. This is a really soft dough, and working with it at room temperature will make it slightly difficult. So allowing the dough to do the first rise in the fridge will not only make it easier to handle but will also make it easier to cut into pieces.
Why only 50% for the second rise? These rolls will gain a ton of volume as they bake, so if you let the rolls expand to double their size they will actually be over-proofed. If they bake at that size, they’ll just expand way too much for the pan.
Can I use all-purpose flour? Yes, however, because it has a lower protein content compared to bread flour, it will result in a wetter dough. Simply add a few more tablespoons of flour if this happens.
Can I make this gluten-free? I have not tried baking gluten-free bread, so I can’t say it’ll work out the same.
How do I store these vegan ube rolls? Store any leftover rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. They can also be stored frosted or unfrosted. Rewarm in the microwave before serving.
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