Last year I started experimenting with Filipino flavors in my favorite American desserts. I created a solid Ube Coconut Cream Pie that you can see here, but I wanted to make it better. I loved the layer of soft yellow of the coconut cream layered with a muted purple of the ube layer, but it wasn’t the signature purple that Filipinos so often associate with the ube yam. The purple of ube coconut cream pie version one was light like that of a taro boba drink. This version gives your the deep purple that will have you “ooo and ahhh” with curiosity and excitement.

If you’re like me, I often question the legitimacy of the ube in many contemporary Filipino sweets — heavy on the red and blue dye, itty bitty ube content. My struggle with UCCP v.1 (that’s not gonna stick) was that it had the ube halal (jam) flavor that I wanted, but not the purple color. And I didn’t want to go heavy on the halal to get the purple color and make a creamy light pie filling, well, heavy. It was a struggle getting the color, texture and flavor just right. When my Asian market finally stocked Butterfly’s Ube Extract, I thought I’d give it a try. I got the purple color, the earthy ube flavor, and a creamy coconut milk filling. So here’s the updated recipe. You can refer to the older version for process photos and use this recipe to make your own ube halaya. You can also watch the process here on my Instagram.

This pie was a hit with my family at Thanksgiving. A cousin went home with several pie slices (I made four different pies because that’s what I do) and Lola ended up eating her Ube slice and asked for more. I hope you enjoy making this pie and that it’s a hit with your family!

Ube Coconut Cream Filling Ingredients:

This pie filling fills a 9 inch pie pan

• 1 cup Coconut Flakes toasted, 3 tbs reserved for topping

• 2 cup of Chaokoh Unsweetened Canned Coconut Milk

• 1/4 cup Sugar

• 1 Whole Egg

• 3 Egg Yolks

• 4 tbs. Cornstarch

• 3 tbs. Butter

• 1/2 teaspoon Ube Extract

• 1/4 cup Ube Halaya — see recipe here

METHOD

Toasted Coconut Flakes:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle coconut flakes evenly on the baking sheet.

• Toast coconut flakes for 4-5 minutes.

• Remove from oven and let cool. Reserve 3 tbs. coconut flakes for topping.

Ube Coconut Cream Filling:

• In a mixing bowl, whisk whole egg and egg yolks.

• Sift cornstarch and sugar into the eggs and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

• In a saucepan, whisk together coconut milk, and sugar to dissolve. Whisk constantly as to not scorch milk. Use your food thermometer to bring milk to a boiling point. Boiling point of coconut milk is 150 degrees degrees Fahrenheit.

• Now you’ll be tempering the eggs (and testing your ambidextrous skills). Slowly pour the sugar and milk mixture into the egg mixture while stirring together.

• Return the mixture to the saucepan, put on medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. The mixture comes together quickly, thickening within 5 minutes. So do not leave its side and do not stop stirring or else you’ll end up with a lumpy and/or scorch filling. I removed the pot from heat as soon as my whisk slows its roll in the mixture. It will continue to thicken as it cools.

• Remove the saucepan from heat (as in don’t leave it on the burner that’s still hot after you turn it off — it needs to stop cooking completely) and mix in butter and ube extract.

• Stir in the ube halaya. Once the mixture is smooth, stir in the toasted coconut flakes.

• Fill your pie shell, smoothing out the filling. Refrigerate for up to 8 hours.

• Serve with soft whipped cream (my new favorite) and reserved toasted coconut flakes

Other Info:

• Cracks may appear on the top as the filling sets. My prediction is that this happens to cream pies because it’s a thick layer of filling. I have a shallow pie pan and when I make a cream pie in it, no cracks appear.

• Store this pie in the refrigerator with a plastic film covering the filling to prevent the top from drying out.

• I used Claire Saffitz’s pie dough recipe from Dessert Person.

• I found this natural Ube Flavoring and will be trying it next time.