Chikondamoyo

Ingredients

Dry

• 400 gmaize flour
• 150 gplain flour
• 200 gsugar
• 2 teaspoonsbaking powder
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• 1 teaspoonground cinnamon, optional

Wet

• 100 gbutter or margarine, melted
• 2eggs
• about 400 ml warm water
• or 400 ml milk
• 1 teaspoonvanilla, optional

Sometimes added

• 100 ggrated coconut
• 100 graisins
• 1mashed banana

Equipment

• a heavy pot with a tight lid
• or a cake tin and an oven
• charcoal or wood embers

Directions

1. Put the maize flour and plain flour in a bowl. Add the sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the cinnamon if you are using it. Whisk it all together thoroughly. Melt the butter and let it cool a little.
2. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Combining it needs a light hand. Add the melted butter to the eggs. Pour that into the dry ingredients. Add the warm water in gradually.
3. Stir it in steadily as you pour. Stop as soon as it comes together. Let it stand for five minutes and check again. Add more water if it has stiffened up. Add the coconut or raisins now if using them.
4. Grease a heavy pot generously. That leaf stops the bottom scorching. Pour the batter in and level the top. Baking it over coals takes judgement.
5. Set the covered pot directly on them. Cover the whole lid with a layer of them. Let it bake for about fifty minutes. The heat must be steady rather than fierce.
6. Heat the oven to 180C before baking. Butter and line a round cake tin. Bake it for about fifty minutes. Judging when it is done takes a skewer. Let it sit in the tin for fifteen minutes. It is fragile while hot and breaks easily.
7. Let it cool at least to warm before cutting. Serving it is done warm or cold. Cut it into squares or thick wedges. It keeps three days if wrapped.

Technique

• The name means love of life in Chichewa, and the cake is baked for church gatherings and sold in slices at roadsides.
• Most rural Malawian kitchens have no oven, so a heavy pot with coals both underneath and on the lid does the same job.

Substitutions

• Milk in place of water gives a richer cake.
• Maize flour alone can be used, giving a crumblier and more fragile result.

Variations

• Some households add grated coconut, raisins or mashed banana.
• A version with more sugar is baked for celebrations.
• Similar pot-baked maize breads are made across southern Africa.

History

Its name means love of life; Malawian women bake it for church gatherings and sell slices at roadsides.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chikondamoyo?

Chikondamoyo is a bread & pastry from Malawi: sweet maize flour cake baked in a covered pot over coals. Its name means love of life; Malawian women bake it for church gatherings and sell slices at roadsides.

How long does Chikondamoyo take to make?

Chikondamoyo takes 20 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes one cake, 12 pieces. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Chikondamoyo?

Yes, within limits. Milk in place of water gives a richer cake. Maize flour alone can be used, giving a crumblier and more fragile result.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chikondamoyo?

Set the covered pot directly on them. Cover the whole lid with a layer of them. Let it bake for about fifty minutes. The heat must be steady rather than fierce.