MANILA, Philippines – Is it Very Peri or is it…ube? The Pantone Color Institute has spoken, and 2022’s new Color of the Year is called Very Peri, described as a “dynamic periwinkle blue hue with a vivifying violet red undertone.” 

Must Read

Pantone introduces Very Peri as its Color of the Year for 2022

The new Pantone color, whose “dynamic novel presence encourages personal inventiveness and creativity,” is “the happiest and warmest of all the blue hues, introduces an empowering mix of newness,” Pantone said. To others, the beautiful blue-violet hue looks like the distinctly purple ARMY heart, and to hungrier others, it almost looks just like the famous Filipino purple yam.

If Pantone’s new Color of The Year has strangely gotten you craving for anything ube, u-bet we’ve got a yammy list of ube-flavored desserts, pastries, and treats for you, just in time to celebrate the arrival of Very Peri with!

Cakes and pies galore

If an ube leche flan cake sounds appetizing to you, check out Quezon City home bakery’s The Tartoise’s Leche Flan Ube Cheesecake – it’s a creamy New York-style tart cheesecake that’s flavored with real ube atop a graham crust, topped with homemade leche flan and a splash of light syrup. Another version comes from home baker Jasmin, who makes a mean Ube Leche Flan Cake, comprised of ube chiffon cake, vanilla custard, leche flan, toasted pinipig, and a whipped cream.

If you’re into ube and creme brûlée, try both merged into one dessert by CRVE By Cara, a home-based baker in QC whose best-seller is an Ube Creme Brûlée cake, made from ube chiffon cake, ube cream, and a torched crème brulée topping. Malia Home Bakery also makes their own simple but delectable take on the Ube Chiffon Cake, an ube-licious dessert made from chiffon cake flavored with real ube, a layer of ube halaya, and then another layer of ube whipping cream.

If you’re a fan of brazo de mercedes, you can also get it ube-style from Butternut MNL – the local bakeshop sells a towering Ube Brazo Cake, featuring light, chewy, ube meringue with a crisp exterior, packed between creamy layers of ube yema made with real ube halaya, and then lightly dusted with powdered sugar. There’s also a frozen brazo edition available from Bellefleur by Beatrix, a San Juan bakeshop that sells a Frozen Ube Brazo Cake – soft meringue, custard, powdered sugar, ube ice cream, and a graham crust.

Baguio City’s Tea House Restaurant and Bakeshop also sells an Ube Brazo Cake – graham crust, ube custard, ube sponge cake, yema custard, meringue, whipped cream, and ube custard – which you can get through Metro Manila food delivery service Love, Strawberry.

Enjoy buko pie with ube via Pampanga bakery Bread Inbox’s Ube Buko Pie – a homemade treat with a creamy buko-ube filling of young coconut strips and ube halaya. QC bakery Happy Coco also makes an Ube Coconut Cream Pie, topped with an addictive “cereal crunch” made from glazed cornflakes.

Ice cream, sticky rice, and more

If ice cream is more your thing, McDonald’s got you – they recently released a new Ube Pastillas Sundae flavor for the holidays, which is their vanilla soft-serve drenched in a sticky-sweet, ube-flavored syrup (they also have an iced coffee and frappuccino version).

Going vegan? Try Super Scoop’s dairy-free bright-purple Ube Bliss ice cream, a creamy, smooth plant-based alternative made with pure ube halaya and coconut milk.

Why not go ham on ube jam? Laguna Bakers’ homemade Ube Jalea, a thick, gloopy ube jam served in a jar, is a decent dupe to the Good Shepherd staple from Baguio City.

If you like the sweet Thai delicacy sticky rice, you can also get it in ube form by local biz Dream Foodie – they make platters of Ube Mango Sticky Rice – or from Man and Mangoes, a home-based shop that serves a three-in-one sticky rice platter of ube, coconut, and pandan flavors. – Rappler.com

In the mood for ube? Look for your next dessert on foodpanda using these coupon codes!