Ingredients
Base
- 800 gcassava, peeled and finely grated
- 300 gfresh grated coconut
- 200 gpumpkin, grated, optional
Also
- 250 gbrown sugar
- 150 gbutter, melted
- 300 mlcoconut milk
- 2eggs, optional
- 1 tbspgrated nutmeg
- 1 tspground cinnamon
- 1 tspmixed essence or vanilla
- a pinch of salt
- 100 graisins, optional
To serve
- cut in squares, at room temperature, with tea
Directions
- Peel it thickly, removing the whole pinkish layer under the brown skin, since that layer holds most of them. Cut out the woody central core, which is fibrous and inedible. Never taste the raw batter, and never eat cassava raw. Grate the peeled cassava finely on the fine side of a box grater, or blend it briefly.
- Grate it finely rather than coarsely, since coarse shreds give a stringy pone. It produces a wet, sticky, slightly slimy mass, which is correct. Squeeze the grated cassava lightly to remove some of the liquid. Remove some water but not all of it, since the natural stickiness is what binds the pone. A completely dry mixture gives a crumbly result.
- Discard the squeezed liquid rather than using it, since it carries the cyanogenic compounds. If using desiccated, soak it in warm coconut milk for twenty minutes first.
- Grate it fresh, since pre-ground nutmeg loses almost all its aroma within weeks. Combine the grated cassava, coconut, pumpkin, sugar, melted butter, coconut milk and spices. The mixture will be thick, wet and heavy, which is correct.
- Butter and line a deep tin thoroughly, since the sugar and cassava stick badly. Spread the mixture out and level the top. Bake at 175°C for an hour to an hour and a quarter. It needs a long moderate bake rather than a fast hot one, since the mixture is dense and wet.
- Cover it loosely with foil if the top browns before the middle is set. Now judging when the pone is done. Let it cool completely in the tin before cutting. It is very fragile while warm and it firms up considerably as it cools.
- Cut it into squares and serve it at room temperature with tea. It keeps four or five days covered and it does not need refrigerating in cool weather.
Technique
- It descends from Amerindian cassava cooking, adapted after colonisation.
- Cassava must be peeled thickly and thoroughly cooked, and never tasted raw.
- Properly baked pone is chewy and sticky rather than cakey.
Substitutions
- Frozen grated cassava, sold ready-prepared.
- Desiccated coconut soaked in coconut milk.
Variations
- With pumpkin, which is standard in Barbados.
- With raisins through it.
- Made with sweet potato instead of cassava.
History
Descends from Amerindian cassava cooking, adapted with sugar, coconut and nutmeg after colonisation.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cassava pone?
Cassava pone is a dessert from Barbados: dense baked pudding of grated cassava, coconut and spices, cut in squares. Descends from Amerindian cassava cooking, adapted with sugar, coconut and nutmeg after colonisation.
How long does Cassava pone take to make?
Cassava pone takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 squares. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Cassava pone?
Yes, within limits. Frozen grated cassava, sold ready-prepared. Desiccated coconut soaked in coconut milk.
What is the most important thing to get right in Cassava pone?
Peel it thickly, removing the whole pinkish layer under the brown skin, since that layer holds most of them. Cut out the woody central core, which is fibrous and inedible. Never taste the raw batter, and never eat cassava raw. Grate the peeled cassava finely on the fine side of a box grater, or blend it briefly.
