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If I had a dollar for
every time I’ve been asked for a cassava pone or “doubles” recipe, yuh boy
would be rich. No Joke! Though I’m still to come up with a good doubles recipe,
I’m very excited to share this tasty cassava pone recipe with you all. I’m sure
“bake and shark” will replace the requests for cassava pone now that I’ve
finally got around to getting this up.
As there are islands in the Caribbean, so too the
many recipes for making pone as it’s lovingly referred to at times. In this
recipe I’ve tried my best to cover all the basics to give you a mouth watering
slice of cassava pone, but you can certainly personalize it as you get better
at it. I do things a little different than my mom (who’s recipe I used as the
base for this), and dare I say my version is better than hers?
You’ll Need…
3 cups grated sweet cassava1 cup grated coconut
1 cup grated pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon grated ginger
½ cup raisins
Notes: Some work is required as far as the grating
of the cassava and pumpkin, but you can also use a food processor or purchase
the already grated cassava from your local (well stocked) grocery store and
those of us in North America, can certainly use pumpkin pie filling. I know
it’s not traditional, but sometimes convenience beats out on tradition. Same
can be said for using canned coconut milk and not worrying about grating dried
coconuts to get the milk out.
The first step is to peel, wash and grate the
cassava and pumpkin. The skin on both the pumpkin and cassava will be a bit
tough so you’ll need a sharp pairing knife or potato peeler. Now it’s just a
matter of grating both items. It will take a bit of labor and do watch out for
your fingers when the pieces get small as you grate away. At that point I
usually use a piece of paper towel to hold onto the small pieces so I have a
better grip. If you’re not in the Caribbean or somewhere tropical where cassava
is grown, you may notice that it’s skin may be waxy. I believe the cassava is dipped
in wax to help prolong it’s shelf life when it’s exported so don’t be alarmed.
I’ve been told that you can find already peel cassava in the frozen section of
the grocery store, which works well for this recipe. But I can’t confirm the
results when used as I’ve never personally used frozen cassava.
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Since every oven differs when it comes to
maintaining it’s heat and distribution, you’re aiming for 1 hour of baking.
However if you find that the middle of the cassava pone is still wet or not as
firm or golden brown as the edges, do allow it to bake for 10-20 minutes more.
I ended up leaving mine for an extra 15 minutes if memory serves me right. I
did the toothpick test.. stick a toothpick into the middle of the pone and if it
comes out clean it means it’s fully cooked.
It’s very important (and you’ll need to ignore the
temptation) that you allow the cassava pone to fully cool before slicing.
Your entire house will be blanketed with the lovely
aroma of baking goodness and don’t be surprised if your loved ones keep asking
“is it done yet?”. I purposely turned on the fan above our oven (vent) to pump
the enticing scent throughout the neighborhood. You could hear neighbors mutter
“what is he making now”, area dogs were barking hysterically and people on
their evening walk would pause as they walked by our house (with a quizzed
expression on their faces). Yea.. the wicked chef is at work again!
There is a bit of work involved if you choose to
grate your ingredients, but I assure it will be well worth the effort. If
you’re not from the Caribbean and you do have friends from the region make one
of these and surprise them. You’ll instantly get an island passport of choice
(smile)
Recipe by Chef: Chris De La Rosa
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