On a recent road trip home to Germany, cafe owner April Schoengen spotted a purple pastry at a gas station bakery.

"It was ube, just as I suspected," she said, surprised at finding a Filipino-flavored dessert at a European gas station.

Schoengen sells ube-flavored cakes and drinks at her Filipino-themed cafe, "Ube de Oro" in Bonn. When she opened two years ago, the cafe catered to a mostly Filipino clientele.

Now, she's seeing more and more people from different backgrounds come in, intrigued by the lilac-colored treats.

What is ube?