Ube cheese donuts
Ube cheese donuts. The holy triumvirate of words that are seldom combined, but when they are, an angel gets its wings in salted-egg flavor.
For the last two years, especially in the year that shall not be named (2020), food purveyors have grown in number while others have closed for good. For the bake shops that just opened or stayed open, from small mom & pops to large chains, they began purveying more and more ube pastries and desserts. For ube lovers with the means to pay for a delivery charge, the purple ambrosia had become even more accessible, and among the bakeries a burst of creativity using this “Pinoy na Pinoy” ingredient had begun. Mainly because to compete they needed to differentiate, but also because they simply wanted to bring purple joy to the world.
A few days after new year we took our face shields, face masks, and hand sanitizers to the local mall in an attempt to enjoy the Filipino tradition of “malling” before the new year crowds arrived for lunch. It was there that we heard the faint sound of an angel’s choir singing from one corner of the mall. After a few days of searching for the source of the heavenly budots melody, we followed a light that shown through the mall windows down to a tray of ube cheese donuts.
J. CO Donuts is a chain of 300 stores worldwide. Originally from Indonesia, they began springing up across Southeast Asia challenging other large chains spreading through the region like Krispy Kreme. One of their tenets is to create donuts that incorporate local flavors, which is why the ube cheese donut was added to their menu.
It’s light, and the ube seems legit, unlike other ube pastries that seem to be made of a synthesized ube flavoring or “fake ube” as I like to call it. What J. CO did was basically take an unglazed donut, cut it like a sandwich, and slathered ube creme in the middle. Then they closed it and sprinkled it with ube-flavored shavings and topped that off with a bit of shredded cheese. The cheese is a crucial touch, but it’s a bit much for my palette. I still favor most ube cheese pan de sal, especially the kind that I get at our local bakeshop for 5 pesos a piece. It just has a sliver of cheese inside, which I love biting through after dipping the pan de sal in hot chocolate. The ube cheese donut runs for under Php 50 or $1 dollar USD.
If you’re an ube lover, it’s a must try. But ube cheese pan de sal at the corner bakery satisfies my ube cravings just fine without hurting my pocket.