Ube Hopia
Ube Hopia will make your afternoon snacks truly satisfying. A bite of this flaky pastry filled with creamy purple yam will keep you coming back for more. Learn to make homemade hopia with our easy step by step instructions!
My sister-in-law back home in the Philippines would always buy as a box or two of these yummy pastries to bring back to France. Our favorite are the ones from Eng Bee Tin from Manila that offer a wide range of Chinese delicacies. Its so easy to indulge in these treats. Flaky pastry filled with ube halaya or ube jam that gets better with every bite especially with a cup of coffee or your favorite tea. Make your own homemade ube hopia with this step-by-step recipe.
Two ways to make it
No oven? Don’t let this stop you from making your homemade hopia. Another way of going about making this is by using a frying pan and that’s it. After filling the pastry with ube and shaping it round and nice, Heat up a pan over low heat and cook the hopia for 10 minutes on each side or until slightly purplish-brown in color.
Or, bake them in a pre-heated oven at 180°C / 356°F for 15 – 25 minutes. Do not forget to apply egg wash whether your using a pan or an oven. The egg wash acts an adhesive to keep the pastry from cracking. Whichever way you choose to do it you’ll still get the same delicious taste.
Where to get ube halaya for filling?
For the filling, luckily I made some ube halaya where you can try and make. If you can’t get your hands on ube halaya, you can use ube jam which you can buy at Asian stores.
Other variations of hopia
Hopiang mungo – is hopia filled with mung bean paste. This is probably the most common hopia. The filling is made by boiling mung beans until soft then mashed until it turns to paste. Sugar and condensed milk is then added to make it sweet.
Hopiang baboy – filled with candied winter melon (kundol) and pork fat. My version uses onion as an alternative to kundol.
Azuki bean hopia – as the name suggest, are filled with azuki beans. Usually formed into small cubes and cooked in a griddle one side at a time.
Tips for Ube Hopia
For flaky crust I suggest doing a minimum of 2 folds for optimal results but you can do it 3 to 5 times more.
An easier way to make the crust is the process I used in making hopiang baboy which you can find here.
The purplish color is achieved by adding ube extract to the dough. If you fancy the traditional color of light brown, you can remove the ube extract from the ingredients.
The secret ingredient is always LOVE
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Ube Hopia
Ingredients
For 1st dough
- 1 ⅓ cup bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
- ½ cup and 1 ½ tbsp cake flour (or all-purpose flour)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tbsp ube extract (add more if you prefer)
- ½ cup vegetable shortening (or ½ cup vegetable oil)
For 2nd dough
- 1 ½ cup cake flour (or all-purpose flour)
- ¾ cup vegetable shortening
For filling
- 2 cups ube halaya (or ube jam)
For egg wash
- 1 egg + 1 tsp water (water and egg mixed and beaten )
Instructions
Making the 1st dough
- In a bowl, add bread flour, cake flour (or all-purpose flour), sugar, and salt. Give a quick whisk then add water and ube extract.
- Mix using a spatula the tip in vegetable shortening. Knead by hand until dough forms. Cover with cling film and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Making the 2nd dough
- Prepare 2 sheets of parchment paper approximately 12 in. X 12 in. Set aside
- In a different bowl, Add cake flour (all-purpose flour) and vegetable shortening. Knead until well incorporated and dough forms.
- Place 1 sheet of parchment paper on a flat surface then place the 2nd dough in the center. Cover dough with the other parchment paper then flatten the dough with a rolling pin until a rough square is formed.
- Fold the sides of the parchment paper to seal. Set aside.
Making the ube hopia
- Pre heat oven at 180°C / 356°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Lightly dust work surface with flour and place the first dough on top. Flatten with a rolling pin to make a rough square shape (17×17 cm.). Place the 2nd dough in the center of the 1st dough then fold the top and bottom edge.
- Turn 90° and flatten with rolling pin to make a rough rectangle shape (17×9 cm.). Fold the dough in thirds. (First folding)
- Turn 90° again, and roll the dough to make a rough rectangle shape (17×9 cm.). Fold the dough in thirds. (2nd folding). Wrap in cling film and rest for 15 minutes.
- Dust surface with flour and place dough on top. Stretch dough a bit with a rolling pin then cut in half. Take half of dough and flatten dough until thin (approx 18 in. in length). Roll the dough into a log and evenly cut into 12 pieces.
- Take a piece of dough from the pieces that have been cut and flatten with a rolling pin until a circle is formed. Place 1 ½ tbsp of ube halaya or jam in the center then seal by gathering the sides of the dough towards the middle.
- Using a cookie cutter, place the dough inside and lightly press the top to shape it into a hopia. Arrange in baking sheet then apply egg wash and bake for 15 – 25 minutes or until crust turns purplish brown.
- For no-bake hopia, place shaped dough in a flat frying pan and cook each side for 10 minutes at low heat. Bon appetit.
I had a delicious snack. This dish is tasty and nutritious. The way to make this dish is also simple thanks to your instrutions. May I ask, is it ok if I add more butter ingredients?
Nice perfect dessert menu thank you
Hi Ketzli,
Thank you!