Ube Cream Cheese Brownies
Our story
I spent months looking at multiple different grocery stores for ube extract and ube jam. I couldn’t find it anywhere. It was even sold out online and on amazon.ca. I really wanted to bake ube flavoured items, but it was just too difficult to source. I knew it had to be accessible somewhere, as local bakeries had ube flavoured items.
One day, I was at a small convenient store, and as I was waiting in line to pay, I just happened to be standing right beside a tray full of ube extract! It was a miracle!!! I was so excited that I could finally start to experiment with ube flavoured items. I even picked up a couple more ube extracts for a few of my baking friends. I paid about $3.75 CAD for a 25 mL bottle. If you can’t find this in store, you can find the McCornick ube flavouring on Amazon Canada! I specifically like this trusted brand of extract.
The ube jam was easier to find. I found it at my local TnT supermarket. I feel like ube items are easier to find now in larger Asian supermarkets. At the store, I paid about $3.75 CAD for this jar of ube jam. It’s quite a bit more on amazon, but if you don’t have any Asian supermarkets near you, this is a great option.
I really like using the 9×13 inch USA pan. Specifically the brand USA pans. I have so much bakeware from this brand and it really makes a difference when baking. My items always come out more evenly cooked, and I never have any issues with the bottoms burning. I would highly suggest investing in some good bakeware! This pan makes the perfect height for these brownies. I have tested the USA Pans vs other cheaper baking pans and just trust me, invest in a good pan! Another good option is the Fat Daddio pans.
Anyways, I love anything with cream cheese in it, so I thought why not have an ube brownie with a cream cheese topping. These turned out so delicious. I even got my brother (who is a very picky eater) to taste test it, and he approves! The brownie is a nice dense texture that is moist and flavourful. If you are also a big ube and cream cheese lover, check out my other recipe for delicious ube macarons with a cream cheese filling.
If you liked this recipe, check out the other recipes on the blog!
Ube Cream Cheese Brownie
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- medium-sized saucepan
- wooden spoon or rubber spatula
- Whisk
- 9x13 inch baking pan
- Parchment paper or aluminum foil
- Sharp knife for cutting the brownies
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup Flour
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ cup Butter melted
- 1 cup Sugar Can add an additional ½ cup sugar if you like it sweeter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp Ube extract
- ¼ cup Ube Jam (Ube halaya)
Cream cheese swirl
- 8 oz Cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, first combine melted butter and white sugar. Then add eggs and mix. Add ube extract and ube jam.
- Combine dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
- Set aside approximately ½ cup of this mixture for our swirl. Pour remaining batter into a 9 x 13 inch pan.
- For the swirl, combine all ingredients (cream cheese, white sugar, egg and vanilla extract).
- Spread cream cheese mixture evenly on top of Ube mixture, and then use the remaining ½ cup of batter to create drops sporadically on the top. Use a chopstick to create the swirl.
- Bake at 350 F for 30 - 40 minutes, or until the brownie is set.
I made it last night, great recipe.
I make my own Halaya thick the way it should be. I added 1 cup instead of 1/2. Also used less I’ve extract as I use a higher quality one. It was very thick so only baked it 20 minutes. It came out awesome. Thank you for the recipe.
So, do you use a 9″ square pan or 9″x13″?
Great question Donatella! 9 x 13 inch pan for a more flat brownie and 9 x 9 turns out more “cake like”. I personally like using a 9 x 13 inch pan for this specific recipe. I’ve updated the post!
Would the texture change drastically if I use less sugar? Say 3/4 cup instead of the full cup?
OH…MY…GAWD!!!!!! Run to the store right NOW and get your ingredients!!! SOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!! I made two itty-bitty changes. Instead of a large pan to bake I used an 8″ 8″ which made them come out nice and thick! I ended up baking at 350°, checked after 40 minutes, it was still jiggly. So I baked an additional 15 minutes and it turned out purr-fect!! Second, the batter IS really thick!! I found it too thick. So I added 4 oz. of whole milk. Like I said, purrr-fection! I will most DEFINITELY make this again!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you for sharing your recipe. It’s absolutely delicious! I’d like to try it with a more dense brownie texture. How much sugar would you suggest to add please?
It was easier than I thought! Luckily for me I had all the ingredients. It was raining all day so I decided to bake some brownies. I love anything with Ube in it, so I was happy to see this recipe. It turned out great if I may say so myself 😏 De-fricken-lish! 😋
Did you put 1 cup sugar or more? Just curious if I should add more sugar.
I’ve tried with 1 cup of sugar and also with 1 1/2 cups sugar. If you use more sugar it turns out more like a traditional brownie and very sweet.
These brownies are so good.