Ube chocolate: what is it and how can you make it yourself?

Ube chocolate is chocolate with ube incorporated, almost always white chocolate. That is no coincidence: white chocolate is light in color and flavor, so the purple color and vanilla-like taste of ube come out best in it. In milk chocolate or dark chocolate, both disappear.

Why does ube work with white chocolate?

White chocolate consists of cocoa butter, sugar, and milk powder, without cocoa mass. Because of this, it is creamy and sweet, without bitterness. Ube is lightly sweet and nutty with a vanilla undertone. Those two are close to each other in terms of flavor and enhance each other.

The color is the second argument. White chocolate is an almost neutral base, so ube colors it from lilac to deep purple. The more powder, the darker.

Make it yourself: ube chocolate in five steps

You need: 200 grams of white chocolate and 10 to 15 grams of ube powder.

1. Chop the chocolate finely and melt it au bain-marie, on low heat. Do not let any water get into the chocolate, otherwise it will seize.
2. Remove the bowl from the heat when two-thirds melted and stir the rest in with the residual heat.
3. Sift the ube powder over it and stir it in gradually. Sifting is important, otherwise you will get lumps.
4. Pour the mass into a mold or on baking paper and spread it out.
5. Let it set at room temperature, not in the refrigerator. In the refrigerator, white chocolate blooms faster.

More powder gives a deeper purple, but also a drier mouthfeel. Above 15 grams per 200 grams of chocolate, it becomes grainy.

Variations

• Ube bark: spread the mass thinly and sprinkle roasted coconut, pistachio, or sea salt over it.
• Filled bar: a layer of regular white chocolate, on top a layer of ube chocolate, then white again.
• Ube ganache: 100 grams of white chocolate with 50 ml of warm cream and 5 grams of ube powder. Suitable as a filling or as a glaze.
• Ube truffles: let the ganache set, roll into balls and roll through ube powder.

What to pay attention to

• Sift the powder. Ube powder clumps easily in fat.
• Not too hot. White chocolate burns faster than dark chocolate. Above 45 degrees it becomes grainy.
• No moisture. A drop of water makes the whole mass seize. Work with dry utensils.
• Color. Acid, for example from raspberries, makes the color pinker. That is normal.

Frequently asked questions

What is ube chocolate?

Chocolate with ube incorporated, usually white. Purple in color, lightly sweet and nutty with a vanilla undertone.

Does UBE.25 sell ube chocolate?

No. We sell ube powder, with which you make it yourself. A 100-gram bag is good for about seven bars.

Can it also be made with dark chocolate?

It can, but you won't see the color and you will barely taste the ube. The cocoa is too dominant.

Does ube chocolate contain caffeine?

Ube does not. White chocolate contains no cocoa mass and therefore almost no caffeine. If you use milk or dark chocolate, the caffeine comes from there.

How long does it stay good?

Stored cool and dry, sealed, about as long as the chocolate you use. Not in the refrigerator.

More baking with ube

Check out the ube cookies, the ube panna cotta or all ube recipes. Want to know how ube tastes first? Read what ube tastes like.