Violet Velvet

Made with ube. The purple yam gives this cheesecake its soft violet center and a warm, vanilla-like sweetness, with the same barely-set creaminess as the original. Familiar to some, a discovery for everyone else.

Ube is a purple yam, and across the Philippines it is the flavor dessert is built on. We fold it into Abuela's Original — our grandmother's cheesecake, the one everything here is built on — so the color and the flavor come from the batter itself, not from anything added on top.

Under the deep, caramelized crust the interior turns a soft violet, and the flavor is gentle and warm, closer to vanilla than to anything sharp, and less sweet than people expect. The center stays creamy and barely set, exactly as it should be. Anyone who grew up with ube will recognize it immediately. Everyone else remembers it.

Serve it 30 minutes out of the fridge, when the center is at its creamiest. Cut with a warm, dry knife.