Soft Ube Chiffon-Style Sheet Cake

This soft ube sheet cake is light, springy and tender, with the airy, moist crumb you love in a chiffon cake, but without separating eggs or folding in meringue. One bowl, one 9x13-inch pan, and a choice of cream cheese or whipped frosting.

The ube flavor is gentle and warm: think vanilla, a little nutty, a hint of toasted coconut. The color is a natural, muted lavender rather than the electric purple of bakery cakes that rely on dyed extract. We think it's prettier that way.

It's a perfect birthday cake, potluck cake or "just because it's Sunday" cake. Let's bake.

Serves: 15–18 squares · Prep: 20 minutes · Cook: 28–35 minutes (plus cooling) · Difficulty: Easy · Diet: Vegetarian

Why this recipe works

• Whipped whole eggs give chiffon-style lift. Beating the eggs and sugar until thick and pale traps air, so the cake rises high and stays fluffy without separating eggs.
• Oil keeps it moist. Like a classic chiffon, this cake uses oil instead of butter. Oil stays liquid at room temperature, so the crumb stays soft for days, even straight from the fridge.
• Ube replaces some flour. We swap 30 g of flour for ube powder. That adds color and flavor without throwing off the structure of the cake.
• Baking powder, not baking soda. Ube's natural pigment is sensitive to pH. Baking soda makes batters alkaline, which can turn ube blue, grey or even greenish. Baking powder keeps the batter closer to neutral and the color lavender.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 240 g (1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 30 g (about 1/4 cup) Pure Ube Latte Powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons (10 g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 250 g (1 1/4 cups) granulated sugar
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable
• 240 ml (1 cup) whole milk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the cream cheese frosting

• 225 g (8 oz) full-fat block cream cheese, softened
• 115 g (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 240 g (2 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 to 2 teaspoons ube powder, optional, for a pale lavender tint
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and a pinch of salt

Or, for the whipped cream frosting

• 360 ml (1 1/2 cups) cold heavy cream
• 40 g (1/3 cup) powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon ube powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Notes on key ingredients

• Ube powder: Pure purple yam powder with no added sugar or dyes. It behaves a bit like flour, which is why we measure it by weight and subtract it from the flour. New to ube? Here's what ube is and how it tastes.
• Eggs: Room-temperature eggs whip up to nearly double the volume of cold ones. Set them in a bowl of warm tap water for 10 minutes if you forgot to take them out.
• Flour: All-purpose flour gives a sturdy-but-tender sheet cake. If you have cake flour, use 240 g of it for an even finer crumb.

Easy substitutions

• Coconut milk: Swap the whole milk for well-stirred canned coconut milk (thinned with a splash of water) for a richer, tropical flavor.
• Buttermilk: You can use buttermilk instead of milk. Its mild acidity actually helps keep the color purple. Do not add baking soda.
• Smaller cake: Halve the recipe and bake in an 8x8-inch (20 cm) square pan for 25–30 minutes.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Prep the oven and pan. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the center. Grease a 9x13-inch (23x33 cm) metal pan and line the bottom with parchment, leaving a little overhang on the long sides for lifting.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl or on a sheet of parchment, whisk the flour, ube powder, baking powder and salt until the color is even, with no streaks of purple. Set aside.
3. Whip the eggs and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with a hand or stand mixer on medium-high for 4 to 5 minutes. The mixture should turn pale, roughly double in volume, and fall from the beaters in a thick ribbon that sits on the surface for a second before sinking.
4. Stream in the oil. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the oil and vanilla. Mix just until blended, about 20 seconds.
5. Add dry and wet in turns. On low speed, add about a third of the flour mixture, then half the milk, then another third of the flour, the rest of the milk, and finally the last of the flour. Mix only until no dry streaks remain. Finish by folding with a spatula, scraping the bottom of the bowl.
6. Bake. Pour the batter into the pan and tap it on the counter twice to pop large bubbles. Bake for 28 to 35 minutes. The cake is done when the top springs back when lightly pressed, the edges just start to pull from the pan, and a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
7. Cool completely. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then lift it out using the parchment and cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. Frosting a warm cake will melt the frosting.
8. Make the cream cheese frosting. Beat the softened cream cheese and butter on medium for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar, ube powder (if using), vanilla and salt, and beat on low until combined, then on medium for 1 minute until fluffy. Don't overbeat, or it can turn loose.
9. Or make the whipped frosting. Whisk the powdered sugar and ube powder together first to prevent lumps. Add to the cold cream with the vanilla and whip on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes until medium-stiff peaks form.
10. Frost and serve. Spread the frosting over the top of the cooled cake in swoops. Cut into squares with a sharp knife wiped clean between cuts.

Pro tip: Whisk the ube powder into the flour before it touches anything wet. Ube powder is fine and slightly starchy, so it can clump if it hits liquid on its own. Blended with flour first, it disperses evenly and you'll get a uniform lavender crumb with no purple speckles.

Tips for success

• Weigh your flour. Too much flour is the number one cause of dry cake. A kitchen scale makes this recipe foolproof.
• Don't skip the ribbon stage. Well-whipped eggs are what make this cake chiffon-light. Set a timer for at least 4 minutes.
• Mix gently once the flour goes in. Overmixing deflates the eggs and develops gluten, both of which make the cake dense.
• Check early. Ovens vary. Start checking at 26 minutes. Overbaking dries the cake and dulls the purple color.

Common mistakes (and how to fix them)

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Cake is dense or flat	Eggs under-whipped, or batter overmixed	Whip eggs to a thick ribbon; fold in flour gently and stop as soon as it's combined
Cake turned grey-blue or greenish	Baking soda or another alkaline ingredient in the batter	Use only baking powder; a little buttermilk or yogurt keeps the batter slightly acidic
Cake sank in the middle	Underbaked, or oven door opened too early	Bake until the center springs back; don't open the oven in the first 20 minutes
Dry crumb	Too much flour or overbaked	Weigh flour; start checking at 26 minutes
Runny frosting	Tub cream cheese, warm cake or overbeating	Use block cream cheese, cool the cake fully, and chill frosting 20 minutes if soft

Variations

• Ube coconut cake: Use coconut milk in the batter and press toasted coconut flakes into the frosting.
• Layer cake: Divide the batter between two greased and lined 9-inch (23 cm) round pans and bake for 22 to 28 minutes. Double the cream cheese frosting.
• Ube tres leches: Poke the cooled cake all over and soak with a mix of evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and cream, then top with whipped frosting. Keep refrigerated.
• Ube latte cake: Brush the cooled cake with a few tablespoons of warm, lightly sweetened ube latte before frosting. Here's how to make an ube latte.

Make-ahead & storage

• Unfrosted cake: Wrap the cooled cake tightly and keep at room temperature for up to 2 days.
• Frosted cake: Both cream cheese and whipped cream frostings need the fridge. Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days (whipped cream is best within 2 days). Don't leave frosted cake at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
• Freezing: Wrap unfrosted cake (whole or in squares) in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the wrapping at room temperature, then frost.

What to serve with it

• A hot or iced ube latte, or our iced coconut ube latte for a full-on ube party
• Fresh berries, sliced mango or pineapple
• A scoop of vanilla, coconut or no-churn ube ice cream

FAQ

Is this a real chiffon cake?

Not exactly. A traditional chiffon cake uses separated eggs and whipped egg whites baked in a tube pan. This version gets a similar light, moist, oil-based texture by whipping whole eggs with sugar, so it's simpler and works in a sheet pan.

Why is my ube cake light purple instead of bright purple?

Pure ube powder gives a soft, natural lavender. Very vivid ube cakes usually use ube extract with added color. You can add up to 1 extra tablespoon of ube powder (and remove the same amount of flour) for a deeper shade.

Can I use baking soda in an ube cake?

We don't recommend it. Ube's natural pigment shifts toward blue, grey or green in alkaline batters, and baking soda is alkaline. Baking powder gives plenty of rise and keeps the color purple.

Can I add more ube powder for more flavor?

Yes, up to about 45 g total. Remove the same weight of flour so the batter stays balanced. Beyond that, the cake can turn dense and slightly gummy.

Ready to bake something beautiful? Pick up a pouch of our Pure Ube Latte Powder and give your next celebration a naturally purple centerpiece. Looking for more ideas? Browse all our ube recipes.