Viral Ube Cloud Bread

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

Ube cloud bread is a viral four-ingredient dessert made by whipping egg whites, sugar, and cornstarch into a glossy meringue, tinting it purple with ube extract, and baking one big dome at 300F for about 25 minutes. It comes out impossibly light and airy, somewhere between cotton candy and angel food cake, with a gentle vanilla-nutty ube sweetness.

I’m usually the person rolling my eyes at “miracle” TikTok recipes, so I fully expected this one to flop. It didn’t. The first time I pulled this purple cloud out of the oven and tore off a piece, it practically melted on my tongue, and I got why the internet lost it over cloud bread. Turning it ube was my move, because that soft violet color makes it look like a little edible cloud at sunset.

Fair warning from my own kitchen: eat it fast. This is a make-it-and-devour-it situation, not a bake-ahead one. If ube is your love language, you’re in good company here, because I put it in just about everything from ube blended baked oats to a three-ingredient batch of ube croissants.

Get Recipe Ingredients

View this reel on Instagram

It’s also part of my 36 Easy Asian Desserts, if you want more delicious inspo.

What Makes Ube Cloud Bread So Good

The texture is the whole show. Whipped egg whites give it that squishy, marshmallowy pull, and because there is no flour and no butter, it feels like eating a sweet little cloud instead of a dense cake. It is light enough that you don’t feel sick after, which is dangerous, because you’ll want to keep tearing off pieces.

Ube extract does the flavor heavy lifting. It brings a soft, vanilla-meets-pistachio sweetness and that unreal purple color with just one teaspoon. If you love that airy, jiggly dessert energy, it’s a cousin to my ube cheesecake made in a rice cooker, just faster and even lighter.

What Is Cloud Bread Made Of?

Cloud bread is made of just egg whites, a little sugar, and a starch (here, cornstarch) whipped into a meringue and baked until set. That’s the entire base. My ube version adds one teaspoon of ube extract for color and flavor, so you go from four pantry basics to a purple showstopper. There is no flour, no yeast, and no butter, which is why it bakes up so airy and why it is naturally gluten free.

What Does Ube Cloud Bread Taste Like?

Ube cloud bread tastes like a barely-sweet marshmallow crossed with angel food cake, with ube’s signature vanilla-and-nutty note running through it. The sweetness is mild, so it never feels cloying, and the inside stays soft and squishy while the outside sets to a delicate shell. If you’ve never cooked with ube, it’s a purple yam from the Philippines, and The Kitchn has a great primer on what ube is and how it tastes.

Is Cloud Bread Actually Healthy?

Cloud bread is light on calories because it is mostly whipped egg whites, with no flour and very little sugar, so it is lower in carbs than most baked treats and happens to be gluten free. I wouldn’t call it health food, but as far as viral desserts go, a couple pieces of this is a pretty guilt-free way to satisfy a sweet craving. Just don’t expect it to keep you full, since it is basically sweetened air.

Tips for Making Ube Cloud Bread

1. Whip to stiff, glossy peaks

This is the make-or-break step. Beat the egg whites until you see large bubbles, add the sugar and ube extract, then add the cornstarch and keep going until the meringue holds stiff peaks that stand straight up when you lift the beaters. Underwhipped meringue won’t hold its dome and bakes flat. King Arthur has a solid guide to baking with ube if you want more background on the extract.

2. Use clean, grease-free bowls

Any fat, oil, or stray yolk in the bowl will stop the whites from whipping up properly. Wipe your mixing bowl and beaters dry before you start, and separate your eggs carefully. Cold eggs separate more cleanly, but room-temperature whites whip to more volume, so separate cold and let them sit out a few minutes.

3. Shape a tall dome and do not overbake

Pile the meringue onto parchment and shape it into a tall dome with a spatula, since it will spread and settle a little as it bakes. Bake at 300F for about 25 minutes until the outside is set and lightly springy. When I doubled the batch once, it tasted eggy, and I think it just needed a few more minutes, so give a bigger cloud extra time.

4. Add ube extract, not ube halaya

For this recipe you want ube extract, the concentrated liquid flavoring, not ube halaya jam. Extract keeps the meringue from getting weighed down or wet, which is what you need for that cloud-like lift. A single teaspoon is plenty for both color and flavor.

Storage and Leftovers

Really, there is no good way to store this one. Ube cloud bread starts deflating within minutes of leaving the oven, and by the next day it collapses and turns rubbery, so this is a make-it-and-eat-it treat. If you want that fresh-baked wow factor, whip and bake right before you plan to eat, and share it while it’s still puffed. If you’re after a similar ube fix that actually keeps, my ube rice krispie treats hold up for days, and a batch of ube banana milk is a great way to use up leftover ube extract.

For a frozen ube treat that also keeps well, the Homemade Ube Oreo Ice Cream uses that same ube extract alongside coconut milk and ube halaya to make a creamy, Oreo-packed ice cream in about 20 minutes.

Equipment

• Hand mixer
• Mixing bowls
• Spatula
• Baking pan
• Parchment paper

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• 2.5 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ube extract
• 1 tbsp corn starch

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 300F.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, add the egg whites and use a hand mixer to beat them until large bubbles start to form.
3. Add the granulated sugar and ube extract, and mix until small bubbles start to form.
4. Add the corn starch and mix until you reach stiff, glossy peaks.
5. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Use a spatula to pile the meringue into a mound and shape it into a tall dome.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the outside is set and lightly springy.
7. Let it cool just until you can handle it, then dig in right away. It will start deflating quickly, so this one is best eaten fresh.

If you make this ube cloud bread, please leave a star rating on the recipe card below and drop a comment to let me know how your purple cloud turned out. It really helps other people find the recipe, and I love hearing how yours came out. For more fluffy, whipped-egg magic, try my Japanese souffle pancakes next.

Print

Print