Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare the cake pan: Spray the pan with a generous coating of nonstick spray. Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of your cake pan. It’s ok if it goes up the sides slightly. Press the cut parchment onto the sprayed pan. Set aside.

With the sifter over your large mixing bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. Mix in the salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the butter and vanilla bean paste. When fully combined, add the ube extract and gently whisk til fully combined. Set aside.

With the spatula, scrape the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Using a hand-mixer on low, beat just until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl, until no dry ingredients can be seen.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and slide pan into the center of a hot oven. Set timer for 35 minutes. (The more shallow the pan, the less time it will need.)

Test the center of the cake with a toothpick or butterknife. It should come out with no batter clinging. For a 9x9 glass pan or 10-in round pan, it will probably take 40 minutes, but since ovens may vary, keep checking. It takes as long as it takes, and the center should be done before removing from the oven to cool.

Let cool completely before removing from pan. Then turn out onto a serving plate and right it. Ensure the cake is cool before applying any icing.

Start with clean beaters on the hand mixer.

Ensure the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature, so for best results remove from the refrigerator at least two hours before ready to use.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the room soft (but not melted) butter and cream cheese together until combined and creamy with soft peaks. 

Add the salt, vanilla, heavy cream and ½ c of the powdered sugar at a time beating on low, until all the powdered sugar has been used. If needed to get desired consistency, add a bit more powdered sugar (if too loose) or cream (if too thick).

Using an offset spatula or butter knife, smooth the icing over the completely cooled cake.

You can apply the icing in a loose fashion as I did, leaving the bottom of the cake un-iced for a “wintry” effect.

For a bit of purple accent icing, before frosting the cake, transfer ½ c of icing into a bowl and add 5 or 6 drops of ube extract. Mix to evaluate the color and continue adding drops of ube extract until desired purple color is reached. (As shown was a full teaspoon of extract.)