Ube is nutty, earthy, sweet and, yes, very purple. You've probably spotted it weaved into everything from cakes and cheesecakes to mochi and tiramisu, with a vivid colour that probably made you pause mid-scroll. In reality, ube is far from an Insta-friendly fad. Firstly, that vibrant hue is most definitely natural, but, more importantly, it has a complex and delicate flavour which sits somewhere between sweet and savoury – you might be drawn in by how it looks, but it’s certainly not a one-off order. And while today it's found in all sorts of desserts, and increasingly in savoury dishes, ube has found a particularly sweet spot in ice cream.

Before we delve into that, let's look at the basics. Ube is a purple yam which comes from the Philippines. While they share similarities, it shouldn't be mistaken for purple sweet potatoes – ube is generally nuttier, with a thicker, bark-like skin – or taro, which is earthier and more savoury. Meaning tuber in Tagalog (a native Filipino language), ube has a sweet, slightly nutty flavour that often draws comparisons with vanilla, pistachio and chestnut. It's long been a staple in the Filipino kitchen, used in both sweet and savoury dishes. For chef Florence Mae Maglanoc, or Mae, who is behind modern Filipino restaurant Donia, ice cream parlour Mamasons and bakery Panadera, it’s one of the first ingredients that springs to mind when thinking of the cuisine. ‘It's a huge part of the Filipino food identity,’ she explains. ‘You'll find it in so many of our traditional desserts, like ube halaya (a sweet, creamy jam) and halo-halo (a mixture of goodies in a dessert). The bright purple colour and unique taste of ube are super nostalgic for many of us, reminding us of home and our rich agricultural roots.’

Unsurprisingly, ube features on the menus of all her brands. At Donia, there's the rich ube choux (you can see the recipe for that below) as well as ube ice cream, while at Panadera it's used in everything from lattes to tarts. At Filipino ice cream parlour Mamasons, there's ube doughnuts, ice cream-topped brownies, and also Mae's now-famous ube bilogs (toasted pandesal ice cream sandwiches), which are pictured above.

Despite its long-cherished place in Filipino cooking, ube's popularity in Western countries has gained momentum in the last year. Though it's rarely spotted here in its raw form, powdered and extract forms are now commonly found in dessert menus. After all, while Mae is definitely leading London's introduction to ube, she's not alone – chefs like Jeremy Villanueva at Kasa & Kin is serving it in ube cheesecake (you can his recipe for that here), ube pound cake, ube rocky road sundae, ube soft serve and much more. Ice cream has become ube's most common home in the UK, with its 'vibrant colour, aroma and natural sweetness' making it the 'perfect partner' for frozen treats, Mae says – you can try in our ice cream sandwich recipe here.