Regular cinnamon rolls look nice, but they all taste the same. These don't. The purple swirl gets people curious before they even take a bite, then the ube halaya filling and cream cheese frosting do the rest.
Here's the trick that keeps them soft for days: warm heavy cream, poured right over the rolls before they go in the oven. Most recipes skip this step. The dough just soaks it up and comes out tender.
I use my ube halaya jam for the filling, but store-bought works fine too. Same dough as my Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, if you want to switch it up next time.
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What is Ube
Ube (pronounced ooh-beh) is a naturally sweet Filipino purple yam with a mild, slightly nutty, vanilla-like flavor. It's been a staple in Filipino desserts forever - think ube ice cream, ube pandesal, ube halaya. In this recipe, it shows up twice: extract in the dough for color and ube halaya in the filling for real flavor.
New to baking with it? My ube guide is a good place to start.
What Does Ube Taste Like?
Mildly sweet, slightly nutty, and naturally creamy. Think vanilla with a hint of pistachio. It's mellow but distinct, which is why it works so well in milk breads, rolls, and frostings. Once you bake with it, you'll understand why it ended up in everything from ube pandesal to cheesecake to crinkle cookies.
What You'll Need
Let's kick things off with what makes these rolls extra special – the Ube Dough. Gather these kitchen staples for a comforting baking experience:
For the Ube Dough
- Lukewarm milk: warm enough to activate yeast, not hot
- Active dry yeast: helps the dough rise and gives the rolls their soft texture
- Eggs (room temp): for richness and structure
- Softened salted butter: adds tenderness and flavor
- Granulated sugar: sweetens the dough
- Ube extract: for color and flavor, amount depends on brand strength
- Salt: balances the sweetness
- All-purpose flour: the base of the dough
For the Fillings
- Ube halaya or store-bought ube jam: thick and sweet, the main flavor in the filling
- Brown sugar: adds caramel sweetness against the ube
- Cinnamon powder: adds warmth to the filling
- Heavy whipping cream: poured over the rolls before baking for extra softness
For Cream Cheese Frosting (Cinnabon-Style)
- Confectioners' sugar: sweetens the frosting
- Softened butter: for a smooth texture
- Softened cream cheese: the classic tangy base
- Vanilla extract: adds depth
- Pinch of salt: keeps it from tasting overly sweet
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Mix warm milk, yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar. It is very important that your milk is not too hot or it will kill the yeast. Set it aside for 5 minutes and wait until it bubbles then add the ube extract. Ube extract varies so feel free to add more at this point before you add this yeast mixture with the dry ingredients.
- Combine yeast mixture with eggs, softened butter, sugar, extract, salt, and flour. Knead until smooth and elastic.
- Cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down and knead again. Set the bowl in a warm place and let it rise until it's doubled in size. Punch down and knead briefly.
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 20 x 10 inches.
- Spread the ube halaya evenly over the dough.
- Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top.
- Roll it up into a log. Use dental floss instead of a knife to cut it into slices, this keeps the spiral intact, and nestle the pieces into a baking pan.
- Let the rolls rise again for about 30 minutes, until they're puffed and touching each other. This can take longer depending on the season, closer to an hour in a cold kitchen.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Drizzle ½ cup of warm heavy cream over the rolls, warm, not hot or cold. The dough absorbs it completely, it won't make the rolls soggy.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and puffed. Internal temperature should read 180-190°F.
- For the frosting, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, softened butter, softened cream cheese, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth. Spread over the rolls while they're still warm.
What to Serve with Ube Cinnamon Rolls
- Hot chocolate or coffee, something to cut through the sweetness
- Fresh fruit on the side for balance
- A scoop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if you want it extra indulgent
- Halo-halo or banana con yelo for a full Filipino dessert spread
Make-Ahead Options
Night-before method: Make the dough through the first rise, then cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, take it out and let it come to room temperature for 30–45 minutes before rolling and shaping. Cut, arrange in the pan, and do the second rise at room temperature (about 1 hour from cold). Then bake as usual.
Freeze unbaked: After cutting and arranging the rolls in the pan, freeze uncovered for 1–2 hours until firm, then transfer to a zip bag. When ready to bake, thaw overnight in the fridge and do the second rise at room temperature before baking.
Freeze baked: Baked rolls (without frosting) freeze well for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight and warm in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes, covered with foil. Frost after warming.
Variations
- Ube-only, no cinnamon: Skip the brown sugar and cinnamon for a filling that's just pure ube halaya. More subtle, and closer to how ube desserts are usually done in the Philippines.
- Ube coconut filling: Mix a few tablespoons of toasted desiccated coconut into the ube halaya before spreading. Adds texture and a bit more sweetness.
- Ube cream cheese frosting: Add 1-2 tablespoons of ube halaya and a small amount of ube extract to the frosting for a fully purple finish.
- Smaller rolls: Cut the log into 12 pieces instead of 8. Reduce bake time by about 5 minutes and check doneness earlier.
How to Store
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. If storing in the fridge, hold off on frosting individual portions until you're ready to eat - the frosting can weep slightly in the cold.
To reheat: microwave a single roll covered with a damp paper towel for 20–30 seconds. The damp towel keeps the roll from drying out. For a full pan, cover with foil and warm in a 300°F oven for 10–12 minutes.
Rose's Top Tips
- Milk temperature is everything. 110–115°F activates the yeast reliably. Too cold and nothing happens; above 120°F and you kill it. A cheap instant-read thermometer takes all the guesswork out of this, worth having if you bake with yeast at all.
- Do the windowpane test before the first rise. Stretch a small piece of dough until it's thin enough for light to pass through without tearing. If it passes, your gluten is developed and your rolls will be fluffy. If it tears immediately, keep kneading for another 2–3 minutes.
- Don't rush either rise. Under-proofed dough makes rolls that are tight, dense, and don't spring open in the oven. The second rise especially, wait until the rolls are visibly puffed and touching each other before baking.
- Don't overfill the ube halaya. A thick even layer is good; a piled-on layer causes the filling to leak out the sides during baking and can make the bottom layer of rolls soggy. Spread it like you'd spread jam on toast.
- Use dental floss to cut, not a knife. A knife compresses the dough as it cuts and squishes the swirl. Dental floss cuts cleanly and keeps the spiral intact.
- The heavy cream is not optional. It's the difference between soft, bakery-style rolls and dry, forgettable ones. Pour it over warm, risen rolls -not cold, not hot. The dough absorbs it completely during baking.
- Frost over warm rolls, not hot. Let the rolls cool 10 minutes before frosting. Hot rolls make the frosting too runny; fully cooled rolls mean the frosting just sits on top without melting in. Warm is the sweet spot.
- Ube extract color varies by brand. McCormick and Butterfly are the most widely available and both work well. Adjust the amount before adding the yeast mixture to the flour — once it's in the dough it's very hard to correct.
Recipe FAQs
Most likely the milk was too hot and killed the yeast, or the yeast was old. Always proof your yeast first - if it doesn't bubble and foam within 5-10 minutes, start over with fresh yeast. Milk should be 110-115°F, not warmer.
Ube halaya (the thick jam) gives the most flavor in the filling. Ube extract adds color and a boost of flavor to the dough but doesn't work well as the sole filling - it's too thin. If you only have extract, the rolls will still be purple and flavorful, but the filling won't have that rich, jammy layer. Use both if you can.
Ube is Filipino. It's a purple yam native to the Philippines and has been used in Filipino desserts for generations. It's sometimes confused with taro or Japanese purple sweet potato, but ube is its own thing with a distinctly different flavor.
Usually one of two things: the ube halaya layer was spread too thickly, or the log wasn't rolled tightly enough. Spread a generous but not overloaded layer, roll snugly from the long edge, and tuck the seam side down when placing rolls in the pan.
Different brands of ube extract vary widely in color intensity. Add more extract at the yeast stage (before mixing into flour) until you get the hue you want. Once the dough is mixed, it's very difficult to add more.
Yes. Mix with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms, then knead by hand for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. It's a workout, but it works. Use the windowpane test to know when you're done.
More Ube Filipino Desserts to Try
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Ube Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 1 9x13 baking dish
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup warm milk 120 degrees Fahrenheit
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon white sugar for the yeast mixture
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon ube extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups All-purpose flour
Filling
- 1¾ cup Ube halaya/ Jam
- ½ cup brown sugar (optional)
- 1-2 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon powder
- ½ cup heavy cream (used only for pouring over the risen rolls) (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Mix warm milk, yeast, and sugar. Let sit 5 minutes until bubbly, then stir in the ube extract.1 cup warm milk, 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 tablespoon white sugar
- Combine the yeast mixture with eggs, softened butter, sugar, ube extract, salt, and flour. Knead until smooth and elastic.2 large eggs at room temperature, ½ cup salted butter softened, ½ cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoon ube extract, 1 teaspoon salt, 4 cups All-purpose flour
- Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1.5 hours. Punch down and knead briefly.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle.
- Spread the ube halaya evenly over the dough.1¾ cup Ube halaya/ Jam
- Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top.½ cup brown sugar, 1-2 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon powder
- Roll into a log. Cut into slices using dental floss and arrange in a baking pan.
- Let rise again for about 30 minutes, until puffed and touching each other.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Drizzle warm heavy cream over the rolls.½ cup heavy cream (used only for pouring over the risen rolls)
- Bake until golden and puffed. Internal temperature should read 180-190°F.
- Whisk together confectioners' sugar, softened butter, softened cream cheese, vanilla extract, and salt. Spread over the rolls while warm.1½ cups confectioners’ sugar, ¼ cup butter, 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
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Notes
- Make sure that the milk is not too hot when you are activating the yeast.
- If while kneading the dough and it appears very sticky. You can add few more flour. Added flour should not be more than ¼ cup.
- Use dental floss when cutting the dough instead of using a knife. This will make sure the dough is not squished while slicing.
- Make sure that the heavy cream is warm and not hot before pouring on top of the rolls.
Nathalie says
Hi. I tried to go over the recipe several times but there is no heavy cream written on it, could you please look at your recipe and update it. Thank you ☺️
Rose Sioson says
Hi there Nathalie! Thanks for letting me know! I wrote it in the instruction but I missed adding it n the ingredients list. I appreciate you! Hope it turned out perfect for you! 🙂
Julie says
Thank you for sharing our heavy cream trick! Your cinnamon rolls are gorgeous and that color!! 😍
Rose Sioson says
Thank you!!! That trick is genius!