Friday, June 09, 2006

Ube Doobee Doo Purple Yam Mousse

La Vida Dulce sometimes gets carried away with a new product discovery. Thanks to Annie, we have the ube, pronounced ooh-beh, the Filipino purple yam delicacy. The Hawaiian Market in San Gabriel carries ube jam. It also is available in Filipino markets in a powdered form. Taste? Think of a delicate baked sweet potato with a smoother texture, not at all stringy, and no sugar or marshmallows added. Color? A beautiful mix of violet and lavender, the natural color of the ube is amazing. It is used in ice creams, cakes, frostings, and a little goes a long way. This mousse formula is such a pretty lavender shade, Annie graciously gave me a sample of cooked ube, a packet of the powdered ube, and also a lovely molded pudding. They are delicious. So I decided to have some fun and made an ube mousse filling for a jelly roll cake. I am still working out the ube cake formula, having tried a couple of times with less than stellar results. Ube deserves the very best. But this ube mousse filling, oh wow, it makes a beautiful dessert all on its own. The cake formula will be posted later. Ube doobee doo!

Ube Purple Yam Mousse - adapted from Chocolatier Recipe Collection
by Lisa Morley
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
4 oz. water
1 jar ube jam
2.5 oz. by weight or 1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar* see note
16 oz. manufacturing or heavy whipping cream
4 oz. sour cream
Place mixer bowl and beater/whip attachment in freezer. Sift confectioner's sugar onto a sheet of waxed paper and set aside. In a heat-proof cup add water and sprinkle gelatin, let stand for 5 min. to soften. Place cup into a saucepan with enough water to come halfway up the side of the cup. Heat gelatin in hot, not simmering water. Stir gelatin frequently, 2-3 min., until granules dissolve and becomes clear. Remove from heat, leave in hot water to keep warm until ready to use. In a medium bowl combine ube jam and gelatin, whisk till blended. Remove bowl and whip from freezer and beat heavy cream, sour cream on low speed, slowly adding the confectioner's sugar to combine. Look out, don't increase the speed or the sugar will fly everywhere. When incorporated, increase mixer speed and beat until cream mixture forms soft peaks. Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the ube to lighten. Gently fold into remaining cream. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours. *Note: Depending upon the sweetness of the ube, add up to another 2.5 oz or 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar to cream if desired.

6 comments:

Deborah Eley De Bono said...

Photos, we need photos especially if it's lavendar. =)

Anonymous said...

The mousse sounds divine! My daughter brought me a package of powdered purple yam from Uwajimaya in Seattle. I assume that I can just reconstitute the powder to replace the jam? Have you tried it?

La Vida Dulce said...

Eve, follow the directions on the package, the one I use is from Giron Foods. It works the same as the jam, which has little bits of the ube yam throughout. There are two recipes on the 4.06 oz. package. The first one is way too sweet for me. I have used recipe #2, which calls for 1 cup or one package powdered ube, 4 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Simmer in a saucepan until rehydrated. Cool and mix in. It is very light and has such a pretty color!

chelsea said...

This is awesome!!! I've got to ask though how many grams or ounce of ube jam in a jar is needed? please...thank you =)

Anonymous said...

Let me check the market this weekend. I prefer the dried powder. - Chef Diva

chelsea said...

Ok..thank you =)