Purple Ube Pandesal: Soft Filipino Yam Breakfast Rolls with Melty Cheese for Halloween

Stir the warm milk, yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar together in a large bowl and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm whole milk (about 110F / 43C)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (1 packet)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 3 1/4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 cup ube halaya (purple yam jam)
• 1 teaspoon ube extract
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 16 small cubes (about 6 oz / 170g) mild cheese such as Edam, cheddar or quick-melt cheese
• 1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs, for coating

Instructions

1. Stir the warm milk, yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar together in a large bowl and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy.
2. Add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, ube halaya, ube extract and egg, then whisk until smooth and evenly purple.
3. Add the bread flour and salt and mix into a shaggy dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 8 to 10 minutes, working in the softened butter during the last few minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic and only slightly tacky.
4. Shape into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm spot for 60 to 90 minutes, until doubled.
5. Punch the dough down and divide it into 16 equal pieces (about 50g each). Flatten each piece, tuck a cube of cheese inside, pinch the seams closed and roll into a smooth ball.
6. Roll each ball in the breadcrumbs and arrange them 1 inch apart on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover loosely and let rise again for 30 to 45 minutes until puffy.
7. Heat the oven to 350F (175C). Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the rolls are set and the breadcrumb coating is lightly golden; the purple color stays vivid underneath.
8. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm so the cheese pulls in gooey strands, with coffee or hot chocolate alongside.
9. Pandesal, the slightly sweet bread roll that anchors Filipino breakfasts, gets its ghoulish purple glow here from ube, the purple yam beloved across the islands. The ube-cheese combination is a modern bakery classic in Manila and in Filipino communities abroad, where the sweet-salty contrast sells out by mid-morning. The eerie violet crumb makes these a natural fit for a Halloween breakfast table, though Filipinos would happily eat them any day of the year, dunked in strong kapeng barako coffee.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 340 kcal
• Protein: 12g
• Fat: 10g
• Carbohydrates: 50g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 12g
• Sodium: 420mg