Cassava Pone (cookbook recipes)

Cassava Pone is a classic Caribbean dessert.  How do I describe pone - it's not cake, not bread, not pudding - it's somewhere in between pudding and halvah - very moist but yet still solid.  It's just one of those things unless you have had it, it is difficult to describe the consistency.

Most of you will probably know cassava as yuca - whether you call it yuca, cassava or manioc, it is the same root vegetable which makes this a fiber rich dessert. You must first peel the vegetable and then grate it for this dessert.

This recipe comes from Ramin Ganeshram's Sweet Hands. This is her Trinidadian version of it.

2 cups grated cassava
1 cup grated coconut
1 cup sugar
1/2 stick melted butter
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground vanilla essence
1 teaspoon mixed essence (no mixed essence was on hand so I combined 1/4 teaspoon banana essence, 1/4 teaspoon lemon essence and 1/2 teaspoon orange essence.). Almond will also work wonderfully as this is a traditional ingredient in Caribbean desserts, as common if not more so, than vanilla.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter a 9-inch square pan.
Mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined.  Pour into dish and bake for 1 hour, until golden brown and an inserted knife comes out clean.

I found this recipe was tasty, but not great.  First of all the cooking time was off, so add an extra 20 minutes or so, for the middle to be cooked through, but the consistency just wasn't quite right.  Even after the extra cooking time, it still was too wet and not as homogenous as it is supposed to be.  However, flavor wise, it was delicious.  While I have always had pone in cake slices, I like the idea of using a square dish.  This makes it easier to cut into small pieces, to exercise portion control.  However, using the square dish might have let to the consistency problems.  Will have to try the same recipe in a cake pan and see what happens then...Will keep you updated of if anyone wants to try it first, I would appreciate your feedback on how it worked.

Until I find or develop a better recipe, I suggest going to Allan's Bakery or Culpepper's (if you live in Brooklyn) for some delicious pone!

Chef Mireille
Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
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