Dessert of The Week: Ube Cheesecake

The wonderful combination of ube halaya (purple yam jam) and cream cheese is the highlight of this rich, dense and velvety smooth cheesecake liberally topped with latik (coconut milk curd). This extra thick, creamy treat on a bed of toasted coconut cookie crust is not cloyingly sweet, but enough to give you a sugar rush.

This is one of chef Carol Tentativa-Lavin of Lavin Homebaked Traditions' most popular desserts since she introduced it in 2019. The award-winning chef has always highlighted Pinoy flavors in her desserts, such as Puto Bumbong Cheesecake, Bibingka Cheesecake and Sapin Sapin Cheesecake, to name a few.

"One of our core values is having close-knit family ties, and food is a good way for us to feel connected," says Tentativa-Lavin. "I remember my mother, who loved to bake and often made us various desserts and delicacies with fresh ingredients straight from our backyard. She's one of the main reasons behind my passion for baking and the inspiration for my Ube Cheesecake and all my other cakes as well."

While ube is a staple Filipino dessert, what she loves about making this dessert is that she can recreate the warmth and happiness she felt from her mom's creations and share it with others.

"For this ube cheesecake, I only use the best-quality ingredients," she says. "After careful testing and development, the result is a creamy, delectable cake that combines well with the nice crisp crust. I personally like it because it has just the right amount of sweetness, which makes it the ultimate Filipino comfort dessert."

Ube Cheesecake is available in six-inch round cake for P700 and eight-inch round cake for P1,500. Call Lavin Homebaked Traditions at 0998-5801568; FB and IG: @lavin.ph.