People can't stop Instagramming this stunning purple vegetable

Meet the ube—the purple tuber having a major dessert moment.

You may have noticed the influx of purple treats in your social feeds in recent months, growing stealthily like a delicious violet-hued ninja army.

But what you may not know about the sneaky purple dessert invasion is that the bulk of these sweet treats are made from a remarkably-coloured variety of tuber known as the ube—basically a purple-fleshed yam commonly used in Filipino cooking.

Although the vibrant vegetable has been known to parts of Asia for some time now, the Filipino staple has been increasingly embraced by the US thanks to a rise in demand for Filipino food. The cuisine's popularity has been gaining momentum in the west in recent years, spearheaded by pioneering top chefs like Paul Qui of Austin's Qui and Cristina Quackenbush of New Orleans' Milkfish.

Brooklyn's Purple Yam are among those credited for easing mainstream American onto Filipino fare, however neighbouring diner Manila Social Club has been a critical player in cementing the ube's Insta-fame  status, preaching the purple potato gospel with their galactic-looking, snap-worthy ube donuts and desserts.

"People sometimes think it is food colouring," Manila Social Club's chef Björn DelaCruz told GQ.com.

The #ubeicecreamsandwich.

The #ubeshake.

And the luscious looking #ubecake.

While fresh ubes aren't widely available in Australia, you can purchase ube flavour extracts and powders—and even ube-flavoured ice-cream—from many Asian grocers.