When the pandemic officially began, I took refuge at my childhood home in the Southern Outer Banks of North Carolina. In a matter of weeks, banana bread was in the midst of a resurgence. Everyone was baking it and everyone was talking about it. Cooking has long been my form of coping with uncertain times and I remember opening my mom’s fridge to grab milk and eggs when I saw a jar of ube halaya (purple yam jam) hiding behind a repurposed plastic container. I plucked it from the shelf and swirled it into my batter. Slicing into the baked loaf revealed marbled streaks of purple. It was tender and creamy, the mellow honeyed flavor of banana merging with the sweet earthy flavor of ube. My husband, Miles, and my mom joined in a chorus of praise. I was happy with it, too. Later that night, when I couldn’t sleep, I found myself ruminating about the bread I’d made that afternoon. This is the recipe that sparked the idea for this book—reinterpretations of Filipino American desserts and flavors, and the beginning of my personal renaissance.

MAKES ONE 23 × 13 CM LOAF

2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

113g unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup (150g) caster sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1½ cups/ 360g)

¾ cup (190g) ube halaya

¼ cup (60g) whole milk

1½ tsp ube paste

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 23 × 13 cm loaf pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper so there is overhang on both the long sides.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the mashed bananas.

Add the flour mixture in two additions, beating on low speed until mostly combined but not quite. Finish mixing with a rubber spatula.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the ube halaya, milk, and ube paste until smooth. Add 1½ cups (360g) of the banana batter and fold until just combined.

In alternating dollops, add the two batters to the prepared pan (I usually do about 3 tablespoons per dollop). Using a butter knife, swirl the batter to create a marbled pattern. Tap the pan firmly against the counter a few times to level out the batter and release any air bubbles.

Transfer the loaf pan onto a sheet pan and bake until golden and a long skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes. (If you see a few stray crumbs, that’s okay. But there shouldn’t be any sign of raw batter). Cover loosely with foil for the last 30 minutes to prevent over-browning. 

Transfer the loaf pan to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Using the parchment overhang as handles, lift the bread onto the wire rack. Discard the parchment and let the bread cool completely.  

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