Purple Sweet Potato Buns

Name: Purple Sweet Potato Buns
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 16 min
Total time: 151 min
Ingredients: 155 g cooked mashed purple sweet potato/yam; 2 Tbsp granulated sugar; 3 Tbsp avocado oil (or unsalted butter); 185 ml whole milk (warm); 6 g active dry yeast; 370 g all-purpose flour; 1 large egg; pinch of salt

Published: Sep 21, 2020 by Michelle · 52 Comments

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These soft and fluffy Purple Sweet Potato Buns are naturally-hued, made with mashed purple sweet potato and are lightly sweetened. Enjoy them plain or with a slab of butter for breakfast!

When I posted my purple ube buns to Instagram, I didn't expect so many of you wanted the recipe.

I made a few variations to test out which would be the most accessible.

Originally, I made the buns with purple ube powder.

However, it can be difficult to find fresh ube, or even ube powder.

I've decided to make these Purple Sweet Potato Buns instead.

Why you'll love this recipe

This recipe consistently yields a soft and fluffy bun that stays soft at room temperature for a few days.

You can make this with purple sweet potato or regular sweet potato rather than ube, which can be difficult to find.

It's naturally-coloured, with no added colouring.

What is ube?

Ube is a purple yam that is commonly found in the Philippines.

There are many Filipino desserts that contain the purple yam such as:

ube halaya (jam)
ube cake
halo-halo

Where to find it?

It is very difficult to find fresh ube purple yam in North America since most "purple yam" found in the grocery stores are actually purple sweet potato.

You may be able to find frozen purple yam, ube powder or ube extract in Asian and/or Filipino supermarkets.

Ube extract tends to have added purple food colouring.

Is ube the same as Okinawan purple sweet potato?

No, they're commonly mistaken for each other, but they are actually from 2 different plants.

Okinawan purple sweet potatoes are from the morning glory family.

Ube has a brown exterior with a pinkish/purple interior and is grown on a vine.

Okinawan purple sweet potatoes have a beige exterior with a violet interior.

Alternatives you can use

For simplicity of this recipe, you can use fresh purple sweet potato if you can find it in absence of fresh ube.

Or, you can even use regular orange sweet potato. (Obviously, orange sweet potato will yield an orange-coloured bun).

[If you have access to ube powder, frozen ube, or ube extract, then you can use that, but you'll need to make adjustments to the recipe.]

Note: Depending on which type of sweet potato/yam you use, you will notice a difference in moisture content.

Regular/orange sweet potato and purple sweet potato have a higher moisture content than Okinawan purple sweet potato, which tends to be drier and starchier.

For all intents and purposes, I used only Okinawan purple sweet potato for this recipe with no powders or extracts.

3 ways to cook the purple sweet potato

Microwave:

By far the easiest and fastest way to do this is to cut the sweet potato in half, place it into a microwave-safe bowl.

Add about ¼ C of water to the bowl and cover with a lid.

Microwave on high power for 5-6 minutes, until the sweet potato is soft and mashable. Mash with a fork until it's smooth.

Steam:

Alternatively, you can place the sweet potato on a steaming rack over simmering water, cover with a lid and steam for 30 minutes, until softened. Mash with a fork until smooth.

Boil:

Cut the sweet potato into cubes.

Fill a large pot with water, bring to a boil, and cook the sweet potato for about 30 minutes, until soft. Again, mash with a fork until smooth.

Once cooked, the purple sweet potato takes on a darker and deeper hue.

How to make the buns

Regardless of which method you use to cook the purple sweet potato, you want a consistency of soft, mashed potato.

If the mashed sweet potato is dry, add a little water to help moisten the mixture.

While the mashed sweet potato is still warm, add in the granulated sugar and oil.

Heat the milk up to just lukewarm and add in the yeast. Give it a stir and leave it for a few minutes until bubbly.

Next, add all the ingredients, including the mashed purple sweet potato to a stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook and knead until the dough comes together. Check to see if the dough is dry -- if it is, add in a little more milk (about a 1 teaspoon) at a time.

You may need to adjust for the moisture content in the mashed sweet potato and the amount of liquid to add to the dough. If the dough seems dry, add a little more liquid. Conversely, if the seems wet, add a little more flour until you attain a slightly tacky (not too sticky) dough.

Continue kneading until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let it double in size in a warm location. As this dough is slightly heavier than regular dough, it may take a bit longer to double in size.

Once doubled in size, punch down the dough.

Divide and shape the dough into 12 even balls.

Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Cover and proof until slightly puffy.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the buns reach an internal temperature of 190F.

Note: Midway through baking, cover the tops of the buns with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning.

Variations in colour

These Purple Sweet Potato Buns are soft, fluffy and naturally purple.

The purple sweet potato not only provides colour, but it also adds moisture, (fibre!) and an earthy sweet flavour to the buns.

If you use ube extract, it will give the buns an even more vibrant purple colour.

Experiment and play around with these buns.

Try a different variety of sweet potato and you will attain a different colour. See the photo below!

That's the fun of baking! 🙂

How to store the buns

Store the Purple Sweet Potato Buns in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

You can freeze the buns for up to 3 months.

How to reheat the buns

You can easily reheat the buns in the microwave for approximately 30 seconds, until they are soft and fluffy again.

Alternatively, you can steam the buns to reheat.

Other recipes you may like

If you enjoyed these Purple Sweet Potato Buns, you may also like:

Matcha Yuzu Hot Cross Buns

Hojicha Chestnut Flower Buns

Braided Pork Floss Green Onion Buns

Steamed Red Bean Paste Buns

Let me know if you try out this recipe for my Purple Sweet Potato Buns. Tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below.

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5 from 24 votes