The Philippines Cultural Cookbook: Ube Bibingka Custard Buns

By Odassey Cavanaugh, Kamau Clark, and Isaac Chavez

(Ube bibingka custard with caramel topping)

Imagine walking into a warm, familiar kitchen. The kitchen, where many meals have been prepared and served. The scent of something sweet and doughy fills your nose. You notice the oven is on and are quick to wonder what could be within. A timer goes off in the near background, and you know whatever is causing this sweet aroma is done baking. You grab an oven mitt and open the oven, immediately blasted by the oven's heat. Within lie round golden buns, similarly resembling a donut. You place them on the stove to cool, only for them to shine in the light, and the room fills with an even sweeter scent of these buns. They aren’t done yet. You grab the nearby liquid brown caramel to lightly cover the top of the buns. One by one, you quickly give them their caramel glaze to prevent the loss of their comforting warmth. They each have their imperfections visually, but knowing they will have the perfect taste. You reject using a plate and grab a bun. You rip it apart and feel the warmth of the buns hit your nose. The light purple of the yam custard blends harmoniously with the yellow dough. You take a bite, and a soft and sweet combination of dough, caramel, and purple yams fills your taste buds. The flavor is to die for, bringing warmth with every bite. Before you know it, all you're left with is the stickiness of the caramel left on your fingers. You lick each finger one by one, trying to enjoy every ounce of the flavor. You realize that there is no shortage of buns, that there is still plenty to enjoy.

Walking through the streets of the Philippines, I imagine feeling the dirt between my toes and the warmth of the afternoon sun on the back of my neck. Small shops line the road, and I hear a mix of chatter, distant music, and kids playing nearby. My dad rides beside me on his bike, and I chase after him before giving up and running to play basketball with my friends. After the game, tired but excited, I walk toward my grandmother’s house, passing the familiar scent of fresh fruit and food cooking in nearby homes. When I arrive, I am welcomed by my grandmother and my cousins who are gathered inside. Today is my older cousin’s birthday, and that means we get to make a special treat! I drag my younger cousin into the kitchen, and I focus on making the rice cake while she gathers the banana leaves. This will be my first time making it.

That’s not what really happened; what really happened is this. One day, I was scrolling in bed, thinking about how I could celebrate my friend Sam, who is Filipino. He sent me a TikTok recipe while reminiscing about the sweet treats he grew up with, and I knew what I had to do. My cousin and I were in Cincinnati, Ohio, with limited supplies, but we worked with what we had and made our own version of the Ube Bibingka Custard Bun. Our recipe is a spin-off of the Ube Bibingka Bun created by Justin Gaspar, who blended Filipino flavors with his love of bread and pastry to develop the original Ube Bibingka Custard. When Sam tried the bibingka, I had never seen him happier. He said, “This dessert reminds me of the desserts I ate in the Philippines!” Making it for his birthday reminded him of his culture and meant a lot to him. Now you can join his tradition and celebrate Filipino culture with the Ube Bibingka Custard too.

The recipe for Ube Custard Buns reflects a convergence of geography, culture, and historical evolution within the Philippines. This dish, in the context of the archipelago’s environment and cultural history, can be an evaluation of how ingredients, techniques, and culinary symbolism intersect. It cannot be assumed that the recipe is purely traditional or wholly modern. Rather, it likely represents an adaptive expression of Filipino food identity shaped by the country’s tropical environment, colonial history, and global culinary exchanges.

The first and most geographically grounded element is ube, or purple yam. As a native root crop, ube grows abundantly in the Philippines due to its tropical climate and volcanic soil. Archaeological findings suggest that yam cultivation in the region predates colonial contact, indicating a deep agricultural heritage. The claim that ube reflects indigenous foodways appears logically sound given its ecological fit with the Philippines’ volcanic terrain and moist soil conditions. However, the degree to which modern ube-based pastries resemble pre-colonial uses of the crop requires scrutiny. Today’s ube extract and powders are often industrially processed, raising the question of whether the use of ube in these buns continues an unbroken cultural tradition or instead symbolizes a modern reinterpretation of heritage. The distinction matters because it influences how authenticity is perceived within Filipino cuisine, both domestically and abroad. Bread, the structural foundation of this recipe, introduces another layer of historical and cultural complexity. Yeast-raised sweet breads were not native to the Philippines but were introduced during Spanish colonization. Wheat, the grain essential for such doughs, does not grow naturally in the islands’ climate and must be imported. This makes the existence of bread itself a legacy of colonial trade networks rather than a product of indigenous agriculture. Yet over centuries, Filipinos integrated these foreign ingredients and techniques into local culinary identity, producing hybrids such as pandesal and ensaymada. The Ube Custard Bun continues that trajectory, merging local flavors with imported baking structures. While this fusion demonstrates adaptability, it also raises the question of dependency on imported food systems, a pattern that has persisted in the Philippines since colonization.

The use of coconut milk in the dough and glaze introduces a distinctly tropical dimension that reconnects the dish to the land. Coconut palms thrive across much of the archipelago, especially in coastal regions, and coconut-based products are central to Filipino cooking. The substitution of heavy cream with coconut milk in the caramel glaze can therefore be interpreted as an environmental adaptation and a gesture toward local authenticity. Still, the custard and caramel components reflect European pastry traditions, suggesting that the recipe is not an indigenous continuity but a modern synthesis shaped by the Philippines’ layered cultural influences. The balance between local adaptation and global borrowing is thus not merely aesthetic but emblematic of broader tensions in Filipino identity, which often blends indigenous, Asian, and Western elements into a cohesive yet complex cultural fabric. Modern Filipino desserts frequently combine these influences in ways that blur distinctions between traditional and globalized food practices. Ube pandesal, ube cheesecakes, and other hybrid pastries have become popular across urban bakeries, particularly in Manila and Cebu. These creations point to an evolving food culture where innovation serves both as an act of pride and as a means of engaging with global culinary markets. However, one might question whether the widespread commercialization of ube risks reducing it to a visual trend, emphasizing its vibrant purple color over its cultural meaning. International fascination with ube-flavored sweets has contributed to its popularity, yet it has also spurred debates about cultural appropriation and authenticity. Whether such global attention empowers Filipino culinary identity or dilutes its historical context remains an open question requiring ongoing analysis.

From a geographic perspective, the Philippines’ position as an archipelago of over seven thousand islands has fostered a diverse range of crops and food traditions. Volcanic soils and tropical rainfall patterns allow for the growth of yams, coconuts, sugarcane, and tropical fruits, all of which contribute to the Filipino palate’s characteristic sweetness and richness. The environmental abundance may explain why desserts like ube halaya and bibingka became central to cultural celebrations. Nevertheless, the spread of bread-based desserts, reliant on imported wheat, reveals a disjunction between ecological resources and culinary practice. This contradiction illustrates how geography and global trade interact to shape food identity, revealing that Filipino cuisine cannot be understood solely through its natural environment but also through its historical entanglement with global systems.

Culturally, the Ube Custard Bun functions as both a preservation of and departure from tradition. Its flavor profile is really rooted in native crops and tropical ingredients—links it to local heritage, while its structure and presentation express the Philippines’ long-standing openness to outside influence. The emotional resonance of ube itself, often associated with family gatherings and nostalgia, contributes to its symbolic value as a unifying ingredient across regions and generations. Yet that emotional weight coexists with modern reinterpretations that cater to aesthetic appeal and exportability. The dish thus becomes a microcosm of Filipino identity: historically layered, geographically grounded, and continuously negotiated between local authenticity and global adaptation.

So in sum, the Ube Custard Bun is not merely a recipe but an edible reflection of the Philippines’ environmental diversity, colonial past, and cultural hybridity. Its reliance on ube ties it to the land and indigenous practices, while its bread structure reveals colonial and modern global influences. Its coconut milk glaze and caramel sweetness exemplify both tropical abundance and cross-cultural exchange. The logical conclusion is that this dish embodies the dynamic tension between continuity and transformation that defines much of Filipino culture. However, the balance between cultural preservation and adaptation remains delicate, and further examination should address how such recipes contribute to or complicate the narrative of Filipino culinary identity in an increasingly globalized world.

Ube Custard Buns with Caramel Glaze Recipe

Origin: Philippines
Recipe Type: Yeast-Raised Filled Bread
Inspired by: King Arthur Baking’s Ube Bibingka Custard Buns and How to Make Pastry Cream

Description

These soft, golden buns are filled with a rich, creamy ube custard and topped with a shiny caramel glaze. Inspired by Filipino bibingka and ube pandesal, this recipe blends traditional island flavors with classic baking techniques. The bread is light and buttery, balancing the sweet, vibrant purple ube filling inside.

Ingredients

For the Sweet Dough:

• 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur Baking recommended)
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2¼ tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ cup warm milk (about 110°F)
• ¼ cup coconut milk
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 large egg

For the Ube Custard Filling (adapted from King Arthur Pastry Cream):

• 1 ½ cups whole milk
• 3 large egg yolks
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp butter
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp ube powder (rehydrated in 2 tbsp hot water) or ½ tsp ube extract

For the Caramel Glaze:

• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp heavy cream or coconut milk
• Pinch of salt
• Optional Topping:
• Toasted shredded coconut

Instructions

Make the Ube Custard Filling

1. Heat milk in a saucepan until steaming (not boiling).
2. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until pale and smooth.
3. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking constantly.
4. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat until thickened (2–3 minutes).
5. Remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla, and ube powder or extract.
6. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface and refrigerate until firm.

Make the Dough

1. In a large bowl, combine warm milk, coconut milk, sugar, and yeast. Let sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy.
2. Add softened butter, egg, and salt.
3. Mix in flour gradually until a soft dough forms.
4. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 8–10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
5. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Shape the Buns

1. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces.
2. Flatten each piece slightly and spoon 1–1½ teaspoons of chilled ube custard into the center.
3. Pinch edges tightly to seal and roll gently into a ball.
4. Place seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking pan.
5. Cover and let rise again for 30–40 minutes, until puffy.

Bake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Bake for 18–22 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden.
3. Cool for 5–10 minutes before glazing.

Make the Caramel Glaze

1. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Without stirring, cook until sugar turns amber.
3. Whisk in butter and cream carefully (it will bubble).
4. Stir until smooth, then add a pinch of salt.
5. Let cool slightly until thick but pourable.

Finish

1. Brush or drizzle caramel glaze over the warm buns.
2. Optionally, sprinkle toasted coconut for texture and garnish.
3. Serve warm to enjoy the soft bread and creamy ube center.

References

King Arthur Baking Company. (n.d.). “Ube Bibingka Custard Buns Recipe.”

King Arthur Baking Company. (n.d.). “How to Make Pastry Cream.”

YouTube & Facebook Sources (2024). “Ube Custard Bun Techniques.”