Ube Cheese Pandesal is a Filipino purple bread roll made of ube or purple yam filled with quick melt cheese. Moist, soft and fluffy on the inside and has a crusty texture on the outside. Brushed with condensed milk and melted butter, then sprinkle with ground graham crackers.
These delicious and gorgeous purple bread rolls are perfect to serve for breakfast and snacks! Everyone will enjoy any time of the day!
This ube pandesal with cheese filling has been recently a popular bread roll in the Philippines. Adding the two ingredients, ube and cheese to the traditional pandesal recipe sure did hit to Filipino palate.
Although the original recipe is delicious, I made some twists on the original ube cheese Pandesal ingredients and method. I used real purple yam and boiled it with 1 1/2 cups of water until tender. I used the water from the boiled purple yam instead of regular liquid, like milk or water. It has the aroma of ube and purple colour that adds extra flavour to this ube bread roll. The starchy water from the ube gave additional elasticity to the texture of the dough.
Ingredients of Ube cheese Pandesal
For the dough
Flour– Bread flour is recommended but all-purpose flour is fine. I prefer to use bread flour for pandesal because it has more protein and produces more gluten that making the dough more elastic. It stays soft longer than the all-purpose flour. Since I don’t have bread flour on hand, all-purpose flour is also a good substitute. To substitute the ratio is the same 1:1.
Sugar– granulated white sugar or substitute with 1/4 cup condensed milk
Salt– Fine sea salt, to add flavour
Yeast – You can use active dry yeast or instant yeast.
Ube Water– liquid from boiled ube or purple yam
Powdered Milk– Skim milk or whole milk. To substitute with liquid milk, 1/4 cup evaporated milk or coconut milk, then reduce the ube water to 3/4 cup for this recipe.
Ube or Purple yam– I used frozen purple yam and then boiled it. You can find frozen purple yams in most Asian stores.
Ube Flavouring– or use a purple food colouring
Eggs– large at room temperature
Shortening– or substitute with softened butter
Cooking oil– for greasing
for the Filling
Cheese– Quick-melt processed cheese is recommended
For the Topping
Condensed milk– To sweeten, and help the crumbs to adhere
Butter– to add creaminess and browning of the crust
Ground Graham crackers– for a sweet delicious crusty texture, or substitute with ground Biscoff.
How to make Ube Cheese Pandesal
Prepare the yeast mixture
- Add the active dry yeast and sugar to the lukewarm ube starchy liquid. Whisk until the yeast and sugar dissolve. Set aside and wait until foamy for about 10 minutes. By proofing the yeast, you will know it’s still well and it will make the dough rise.
Prepare the ube mixture
- Peel and boil the ube with 1½ cups of water until fork tender. Save 1 cup of the ube starchy water and let it cool to lukewarm temperature.
- Mash the ube with a fork. Add the melted margarine and ube flavouring purple/dark violet colour. Mix until well blended. Set aside.
Prepare the dough
- In a stand mixer with the all-purpose flour, add salt, sugar, and powdered milk. With the dough attachment mix to blend. Add the yeast mixture, eggs, shortening, and ube mixture. Knead on medium-low speed in a stand mixer for 8 minutes, by hand for 10 minutes. You will know if the dough is ready by doing the “Dough Finger Poke Test”. Press the dough with your oiled index finger and if the indentation springs back, then you know it’s ready to rise.
- Lightly oil the bowl and the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for an hour in a warm place.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Apply canola oil on your hands and punch down the dough to deflate. Oiled the clean flat surface with canola oil and divide the dough into two. You can use a ruler as a guide to cut and divide the dough. Use a kitchen scale, or you can just eyeball it. Roll each dough to 12 inches long and cut into 12.
Filling the dough with cheese
- Flatten the dough with oiled fingers and place one cube of cheese in the middle. Gather all the edges to the middle and pinch to seal. With the sealed side down, cap the dough with your oiled hand, roll the dough and form it into a ball. Place on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Cover with the kitchen towel and let it rise for an hour or until it doubles in size. It will rise quicker in a warmer place.
for the topping
Brushing the dough with a mixture of condensed milk and melted butter, helps the bread crumbs to stick and give that more crusty texture.
Baking the dough. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 18 to 20 minutes in the middle rack. Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve hot
More Bread Rolls Recipes:
Traditional Pandesal Recipe / Filipino Bread Rolls
Ube Cheese Bread Rolls- Pandesal Style
Watch How to Make It
Equipment
- stand mixer
- 21"x15" baking sheet
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup powdered milk
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅓ cup shortening lard
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 2 tbsp canola oil for greasing
Yeast mixture ingredients:
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 cup ube water from boiled ube at lukewarm temperature 110°F
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
Ube mixture ingredients:
- ¾ cup mashed ube
- 1 to 2 tsp ube flavour purple/dark violet colour
- ¼ cup melted butter or margarine
For filling
- 165 g quick melt cheddar cheese 1 block cut into 24 slices
For Topping
- 2 tbsp condensed milk
- 1 tbsp butter or margarine melted
- 2 tbsp ground graham crackers 25g
Instructions
Prepare the ube mixture
- Peel and boil the ube with 1½ cups of water until fork tender. Save 1 cup of the ube starchy water and let it cool to lukewarm temperature.
- Mash the ube with a fork. Add the melted margarine and ube flavouring purple/dark violet colour. Mix until well blended. Set aside.
Prepare the yeast mixture
- Add the active dry yeast and sugar to the lukewarm ube starchy liquid. Whisk until the yeast and sugar dissolve. Set aside and wait until foamy for about 10 minutes.
Prepare the dough
- In a stand mixer with the all-purpose flour, add salt, sugar, and powdered milk. With the dough attachment mix to blend. Add the yeast mixture, eggs, shortening, and ube mixture. Knead on medium-low speed in a stand mixer for 8 minutes, by hand for 10 minutes. You will know if the dough is ready by doing the "Dough Finger Poke Test". Press the dough with your oiled index finger and if the indentation springs back, then you know it's ready to rise.
- Lightly oil the bowl and the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for an hour in a warm place.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Apply canola oil on your hands and punch down the dough to deflate. Oiled the clean flat surface with canola oil and divide the dough into two. You can use a ruler as a guide to cut and divide the dough. Use a kitchen scale, or you can just eyeball it. Roll each dough to 12 inches long and cut into 12.
Filling the dough with cheese
- Flatten the dough with oiled fingers and place one cube of cheese in the middle. Gather all the edges to the middle and pinch to seal. With the sealed side down, cap the dough with your oiled hand, roll the dough and form it into a ball. Place on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Cover with the kitchen towel and let it rise for an hour or until it doubles in size. It will rise quicker in a warmer place.
for the topping
- Mix melted butter and condensed milk in a small jar until well blended. Brush the top of each dough, then sprinkle the ground graham crackers.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 20 minutes in the middle rack. Serve hot.
Fabulous you make my day “Yummy”
thankyou! I am happy you like it : )