Ube Ensaymada

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, and salt. If using fresh yeast, you may need to crumble them using your clean hand.

2. In another bowl, mix warm milk, egg, oil, and butter. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, mix everything until well combined.
3. Attach the bowl to your stand mixer and using a dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer starting from the lowest speed. Increase the speed after a minute or so.

4. Knead the dough until smooth or if the dough detaches from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball or if it is not sticking to your finger anymore. The time of kneading varies from dough to dough – it may take 7 to 10 minutes or more. In my case, when the dough is not ready after 7 or 10 minutes of kneading, I add 1-2 tbsp of flour and let the mixer continue its job. Sometimes, the dough is so stubborn it doesn’t pull away from the edges of the bowl, though it is ready coz it is not sticking to my finger anymore. When this happens, I don’t wait for the dough to form a ball or detach from the sides of the bowl because I am afraid of over kneading; I just check if the dough is not sticking to my fingers when I touch it and then I rub my palm with little oil and pull out the dough from the bowl.

5. When the dough is ready, form it into a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and brush the top of the dough with oil. Cover the bowl with cling film and keep in a warm place to rise for one hour or until doubled in size.

6. Meanwhile, prepare the ube-butter filling. If your ube jam is not in a spreadable consistency, you may need to heat it in a microwave for few seconds. When it’s spreadable, add the butter and mix. Set aside at room temperature until ready to use.

7. When the dough has doubled in size, punch down the dough to remove the air. Transfer it to a lightly floured surface or to a silicone mat.

8. Divide the dough, weighing about 55 grams each. I always use a food scale so I would have almost the same sizes of little dough.

9. Flatten each with a rolling pin until you form a long cylindrical shape (about 7-8 inches long). Place ube jam-butter mixture (like you are making cinnamon rolls) and roll from the long part of the dough until you form a rope. Seal the edges by pinching them together. Shape your rope into coils, making sure to tuck the end underneath.

10. Place them to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel and let them rise again for 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.

11. Meanwhile, make sure to preheat your oven to 375 F.

12. When doubled in size, bake them in a preheated oven at 375 F for 15 minutes or until the top is brown.

13. Let the ensaymada cool down a bit then transfer to a wire rack to cool further.

For the topping:

1. In a bowl, spacious enough to fit the ensaymada, add sugar.

2. Brush the cooled ensaymada with softened butter (or margarine) and dunk the top on the white sugar to coat the top. You can also sprinkle the white sugar instead.

3. Please note that the if adding the margarine or butter while the ensaymada is still warm, the margarine or butter will melt. I like adding margarine when the ensaymada has cooled completely.