Food for thought: Cassava Cake

Hello Everyone, today I will be sharing with you the recipe of one of the Filipino famous desserts, the Cassava Cake. If you have some Filipino friends or coworkers or have attended parties or gatherings hosted by Filipinos, for sure you have tasted this type of delicacy. Together with other of your favorite Filipino foods like Pancit or Chicken Adobo, Cassava Cake is always one of the prepared desserts.

• 

Cassava cultivation originated in El Salvador, where the oldest direct evidence of cassava cultivation comes from. Cassava is a starchy root crop and a staple food in Caribbean, South America and Latin America. Cassava is also known as Yuca or Manioc or we, Filipinos call it Kamoteng Kahoy in Philippines.

Cassava is prepared by removing the hard skin before shredding, or converting into flour or starch or cooking. However, I don’t recommend preparing the cassava from scratch. We’ll leave it to the experts as there is a special and specific way to prepare it. There are a few other ways to cook the cassava aside from baking cassava cake like boiling.

What I am about to share and publish is simply the cassava cake recipe. We will be using the pre-packed grated cassava which you can buy mostly from any of the following: Caribbean, Chinese or Filipino grocery stores. Yes, you may also find pre-packed grated cassava from regular stores that carry Asian or Caribbean products.

In this presentation, I used 5 small size baking dish with lids for personal size so I can stack them in the fridge for better space saving. However, if I am serving the cassava cake during dinner or gatherings, I use the 9″x13″ rectangular glass baking dish instead. So, you decide the size of your baking dish.

Ingredients:

• 2 pkgs grated cassava
• 1 can coconut milk (400 ml)
• 1 can evaporated milk (354 ml)
• 1/2 can condensed milk (150 ml)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs beaten
• 1 pkg of grated young coconut (optional)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Topping:

• 1 egg beaten
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/2 can condensed milk (150 ml)
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (optional)

Preparation: 1.5 hour

• Preheat oven at 350F
• In a big bowl mix the first set of ingredients well for cake batter
• Pour batter into a greased baking dish
• Bake for about 40 min
• Mix the second set of ingredients for topping and set aside
• Remove cassava cake from oven
• Make sure cake is hard enough for the topping
• Spread topping evenly and bake for another 15-20 min or until the topping is golden brown
• Insert toothpick to check if cake is ready
• Cool it down before serving

Tips:

• Baking dish recommended size: rectangular glass baking dish 9″x13″
• You may serve the cassava cake while it is warm but it is sweeter and tastier if served cold from fridge.

Enjoy!