We Tried Everything Ube At Paris Baguette

If you already love the sweet, earthy flavors of orange and golden yams, but always secretly wished they were just, well, incredibly, like, violently purple, we’d like to introduce you to ube. Actually, considering its recent rise in stateside popularity, you’ve probably already been introduced to (again exquisitely, vibrantly, naturally purple) ube in some form or other. In practice, it’s a marvelously simple thing: a yam originally grown in Southeast Asia and the Philippines, yam-shaped, very yam-flavored, with majestic or Mardi Gras purple coloring (the color difference, by the way, does impact the flavor). 

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And ube has recently made an appearance on the summer menu at Paris Baguette. Although you’ll see a bit more ube incorporated into any local Filipino spots, it’s definitely a ubiquitous southeast Asian ingredient, so it makes perfect sense for the South Korean-born (and rapidly US-expanding) bakery cafe, Paris Baguette. Naturally, we had to try it. Okay, let’s go get a purple tongue, shall we? 

Iced Ube Latte & Ube Sweet Cream-Topped Lemonade

Pros: The colors are fantastic. FYI, the Iced Ube Latte doesn’t come with espresso (you can ask for it, but I didn’t). The resulting color is gorgeous, like, McDonald’s Grimace-purple, and the flavor is ube-forward but with the yam’s kind of humble, restrained sweetness. Whatever they put in that Ube Sweet Cream to stabilize it must be industrial strength―I’ve had my iced medium bev on the table for like, 20-ish minutes, and you can still see where two-and-a-half fingers of thick periwinkle cream topping ends and icy lemonade begins.  

Cons: Even though it’s ube-centric (or über-ube, if you will) the flavor of the iced latte is a tad forgettable, if not unpleasant. A distinct con for some might be the texture. I’m guessing the ube concentrate is unfiltered because while I expected a thicker drink, there was a certain… delicate but definite graininess. If you like horchata or any other drink with some texture to it, this won’t phase you. But it’s definitely thicker than your average iced latte. 

Despite its showstopper appearance, it’s kind of logistically impossible to drink. I tried the strawless cap option and waited, definitely far too long, for the lemonade to sort of push through the sweet cream. That cream is just Fort Knox level fortified. But even when I went at it with a spoon, mixing up some lemonade, the flavor of both Ube Sweet Cream and lemonade were somehow bland and clashing. The cream was almost buttery with a purple whisper of ube. The lemonade was decently tart but tasted like it was confused to be in the same cup with this… suffocating puffy purple cream topping. 

Ube Cruffin & Ube Mochi Donut

Pros: Almost don’t have to say (because everything at Paris Baguette is softly beautiful, meticulously consistent, and magical looking) but visuals are excellent for both the cruffin and donut. The “cruffin” (croissant dough molded into a muffin tin) is filled with ube cream and topped with a thick purple glaze (the color somewhere between Lilac and Concord Grape). The mochi donut is done similarly―no filling but each lightly coated with the same almost ganache-thick glaze. Another pro for the Ube Cruffin: the lighter croissant texture is a good relief to the overly thick ganache. And while the glaze is too sweet, the Ube Cruffin filling is perfect: just slightly sweet, delicately yammy, and not at all heavy. 

Cons: Despite its cuteness, the Ube Mochi Donut didn’t have a ton to recommend it. The fluffy chew of the mochi donut style suffered because oil seeped out and gave the whole thing a fried dough carnival type vibe (not always a bad thing, just not quite in line with the whimsy and geometric aesthetic of Paris Baguette). But mostly, the glaze on both pastries was just. Too. Thick. And. Sweet. 

FINAL VERDICT:

For a franchise that might have a better grasp of ube’s specific subtlety, everything was a bit heavy-handed. The only two applications of ube that worked: the iced latte (because not too sweet, though if I get it again, I’m adding two shots of espresso), and the ube cream inside the Ube Cruffin. Otherwise, between (beautiful) over-sweet purple ube ganache on the pastries and that indomitably thick and yet flabby, flavorless Ube Sweet Cream suffocating even the tartest of citrus drinks, it seems like a very pretty, but very definite, pass.