Deliciously easy cassava pone recipe
15.2.22
| Recipe by Renz
You will want a slice or a few of this Caribbean delicacy. This simple cassava
pone recipe is grated cassava baked in coconut milk and spices. It's the sweet
dessert you will not be able to stop eating.
Man, Caribbean desserts! It's just this comforting thing. Everything I can think of to eat takes me back to a memory of either eating them or being in the kitchen making.
We have a lot of delicious treats. But pone, pone is a stand-out winner. It is one of our traditional recipes enjoyed across the Caribbean region.
This gooey treat is popular across all the islands. Some actually also call it pudding. It is usually some kind of ground provision, steamed in liquid and spices till golden brown.
Today's recipe of cassava pone is a simple yet delicious recipe that comes together easily. And there's usually a little fuss over the eating of the inside of pone versus being a crusty edge lover. But for me, I am all places of pone lover.
I don't know what we would do without cassava in our food vocabulary? We just about use it for so much. Check out some other cassava recipes: From dumplings, salads, cassava cake, and even cassava curry.
Oh if you never had pone then you need to just go ahead and grab this recipe.
It's basically a yuca cake.
It's like a dense pudding that is the perfect balance of sweet and spice. It has a gummy texture.
It is a gooey but firm Caribbean favorite that is usually made from root vegetables. It can be simple with one vegetable like corn, dasheen, or cassava.
Or a mix of a few like my Caribbean pone recipe that has cassava, grated pumpkin, and sweet potato.
Cassava is a ground provision popular in the Caribbean, African, and Latin American food diaspora.
It is a starchy root that is long in shape. We eat in soups, mash it like potatoes, make salads, use it to make flour to use in bread. We make cassava dumplings and chips.
It can look like a sweet potato or even look like yam but the skin is much thicker.
Cassava's flavor is simple and light.
It is also known as yuca.
Cassava root has its benefits. It has high vitamin C which is an antioxidant that supports collagen production and also enhances immunity. It is also great for energy production metabolism and a host of other benefits you can read about on Healthline.
Cassava can be found fresh in most Caribbean supermarkets. It can also easily be found frozen there or in regular chain ones that have an "International" aisle.
Cassava should not be eaten raw. It has naturally occurring cyanide in it when is very toxic when ingested. Cooking kills these compounds. So make sure you properly prepare cassava before eating it.
This sweet treat is a simple recipe. And I love that about it. It takes no effort to make with simple ingredients.
Equipment
Ovenproof baking dish
Mixing bowl
Grater or food processor
Traditionally, people would sit behind a box grater and grate all the root vegetables. I am thankful for technology and for using my nice and quick food processor.
After peeling the cassava, cut down the center to remove the core. Then cup the cassava into cubes that can fit best in your processor.
Grind till fine. Like you want it to get almost to a mushy texture. Well, you can leave it bigger pieces but know that you might need to add more liquid because you want the cassava to cook in the milk. If the pieces are too big you can get hard pieces in the pone.
Do the same for the coconut. Half a coconut is good. Again blend coconut flesh till it's fine.
Take the grated coconut mixture, and the grated cassava and combine them in a large bowl. Combine your other dry ingredients (sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg).
In a separate bowl, melt your butter then combine it with your other wet ingredients: coconut milk, and essence.
Then add them to the cassava mixture. Combine these well. You don't want a stiff mixture. You want to have some movement with liquid. But you also don't want it too wet. Too much liquid means that you will need to leave it in the oven longer, and can overcook the cassava.
You need to make sure you grease your dish well. Pone is usually made in a rectangular pyrex dish. People love to get eat crunchy edges. When I was testing this out I made them in a round cake pan and it just wasn't the same.
In your prepared baking dish, add your mixture. As I mentioned make sure there's liquid in the mixture. Not too much but does need to have so that it steams.
Using the middle rack, place in preheated oven for about an hour.
When you have a hot, golden-brown cassava pone staring back at you, take it out. The sides should be leaving the pan. Especially the corners should be crusty. And when inserted a knife comes out clean.
Leave it to cool. If I want to it cut really clean, I leave it overnight. This allows it to cool in shape. Once cooled, cut into pieces.
If I can't wait for this tasty treat (meaning I don't have to take pics), I make it cool for about 10 minutes.
This is important. Since we are using fresh ingredients and coconut milk this needs to be stored properly quickly.
Once cooled, I slice them up into nice thick pieces and store them in either an airtight container or a Ziploc bag.
It can stay on the counter overnight, but it is best to get it to the fridge as quickly as possible. This will allow it to last for up to a week.
You can eat it straight from the fridge or left out to get to room temperature. You can also give it a little time in the toaster oven to get those edges warmed.
You sure can. Once the pone is done baking, let it cool all the way down. Wrap it in cling wrap well so that no air gets in. Then place it into a freezer bag.
You can cut it into smaller pieces so that when you are ready to take a piece out, you can just get one piece at a time.
When ready to use, remove from the freezer into the lower fridge and let it defrost at least overnight. You can then eat it straight from the fridge, or warm it up quickly in the microwave or in the toaster oven.
You can use either frozen cassava or fresh cassava. If using frozen, you need to take them out of the freezer and defrost them. You can do this in the fridge overnight or just submerge them into water.
It does not have to be unsalted butter. If you do use salted butter, just make sure you think of the sodium level. I would omit that "pinch" of salt. It's there to help elevate the flavor of the cassava.
If you don't have mixed essence, vanilla extract can be used.
You can also use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar. This will slightly affect the color of the pone. Some people actually prefer to use brown.
Desiccated coconut can be used to replace grated coconut. Use the unsweetened kind and would run it through the processor quickly to chip them up some more.
I don't really like raisins in this cassava pone, but if you want to include put about 1/4 cup raisins to 1/2 cup.
Some people like to add ginger.
Man, Caribbean desserts! It's just this comforting thing. Everything I can think of to eat takes me back to a memory of either eating them or being in the kitchen making.
We have a lot of delicious treats. But pone, pone is a stand-out winner. It is one of our traditional recipes enjoyed across the Caribbean region.
This gooey treat is popular across all the islands. Some actually also call it pudding. It is usually some kind of ground provision, steamed in liquid and spices till golden brown.
Today's recipe of cassava pone is a simple yet delicious recipe that comes together easily. And there's usually a little fuss over the eating of the inside of pone versus being a crusty edge lover. But for me, I am all places of pone lover.
I don't know what we would do without cassava in our food vocabulary? We just about use it for so much. Check out some other cassava recipes: From dumplings, salads, cassava cake, and even cassava curry.
What is pone?
Oh if you never had pone then you need to just go ahead and grab this recipe.
It's basically a yuca cake.
It's like a dense pudding that is the perfect balance of sweet and spice. It has a gummy texture.
It is a gooey but firm Caribbean favorite that is usually made from root vegetables. It can be simple with one vegetable like corn, dasheen, or cassava.
Or a mix of a few like my Caribbean pone recipe that has cassava, grated pumpkin, and sweet potato.
What is cassava?
Cassava is a ground provision popular in the Caribbean, African, and Latin American food diaspora.
It is a starchy root that is long in shape. We eat in soups, mash it like potatoes, make salads, use it to make flour to use in bread. We make cassava dumplings and chips.
It can look like a sweet potato or even look like yam but the skin is much thicker.
Cassava's flavor is simple and light.
It is also known as yuca.
Cassava root has its benefits. It has high vitamin C which is an antioxidant that supports collagen production and also enhances immunity. It is also great for energy production metabolism and a host of other benefits you can read about on Healthline.
Cassava can be found fresh in most Caribbean supermarkets. It can also easily be found frozen there or in regular chain ones that have an "International" aisle.
Cassava should not be eaten raw. It has naturally occurring cyanide in it when is very toxic when ingested. Cooking kills these compounds. So make sure you properly prepare cassava before eating it.
Ingredients for cassava pone
This sweet treat is a simple recipe. And I love that about it. It takes no effort to make with simple ingredients.
- Cassava - you can use fresh cassava or frozen cassava
- Coconut milk - canned milk is fine or you can make your own from scratch.
- Coconut - you can use fresh coconut or pre-packaged coconut flakes.
- Sugar
- Ground nutmeg
- Salt
- Ground cinnamon
- Butter
- Mixed essence or almond extract or vanilla extract
Equipment
Ovenproof baking dish
Mixing bowl
Grater or food processor
Preparation
Traditionally, people would sit behind a box grater and grate all the root vegetables. I am thankful for technology and for using my nice and quick food processor.
After peeling the cassava, cut down the center to remove the core. Then cup the cassava into cubes that can fit best in your processor.
Grind till fine. Like you want it to get almost to a mushy texture. Well, you can leave it bigger pieces but know that you might need to add more liquid because you want the cassava to cook in the milk. If the pieces are too big you can get hard pieces in the pone.
Do the same for the coconut. Half a coconut is good. Again blend coconut flesh till it's fine.
Take the grated coconut mixture, and the grated cassava and combine them in a large bowl. Combine your other dry ingredients (sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg).
In a separate bowl, melt your butter then combine it with your other wet ingredients: coconut milk, and essence.
Then add them to the cassava mixture. Combine these well. You don't want a stiff mixture. You want to have some movement with liquid. But you also don't want it too wet. Too much liquid means that you will need to leave it in the oven longer, and can overcook the cassava.
You need to make sure you grease your dish well. Pone is usually made in a rectangular pyrex dish. People love to get eat crunchy edges. When I was testing this out I made them in a round cake pan and it just wasn't the same.
In your prepared baking dish, add your mixture. As I mentioned make sure there's liquid in the mixture. Not too much but does need to have so that it steams.
Using the middle rack, place in preheated oven for about an hour.
When you have a hot, golden-brown cassava pone staring back at you, take it out. The sides should be leaving the pan. Especially the corners should be crusty. And when inserted a knife comes out clean.
Leave it to cool. If I want to it cut really clean, I leave it overnight. This allows it to cool in shape. Once cooled, cut into pieces.
If I can't wait for this tasty treat (meaning I don't have to take pics), I make it cool for about 10 minutes.
Storage
This is important. Since we are using fresh ingredients and coconut milk this needs to be stored properly quickly.
Once cooled, I slice them up into nice thick pieces and store them in either an airtight container or a Ziploc bag.
It can stay on the counter overnight, but it is best to get it to the fridge as quickly as possible. This will allow it to last for up to a week.
You can eat it straight from the fridge or left out to get to room temperature. You can also give it a little time in the toaster oven to get those edges warmed.
Can you freeze pone?
You sure can. Once the pone is done baking, let it cool all the way down. Wrap it in cling wrap well so that no air gets in. Then place it into a freezer bag.
You can cut it into smaller pieces so that when you are ready to take a piece out, you can just get one piece at a time.
When ready to use, remove from the freezer into the lower fridge and let it defrost at least overnight. You can then eat it straight from the fridge, or warm it up quickly in the microwave or in the toaster oven.
Substitutions
You can use either frozen cassava or fresh cassava. If using frozen, you need to take them out of the freezer and defrost them. You can do this in the fridge overnight or just submerge them into water.
It does not have to be unsalted butter. If you do use salted butter, just make sure you think of the sodium level. I would omit that "pinch" of salt. It's there to help elevate the flavor of the cassava.
If you don't have mixed essence, vanilla extract can be used.
You can also use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar. This will slightly affect the color of the pone. Some people actually prefer to use brown.
Desiccated coconut can be used to replace grated coconut. Use the unsweetened kind and would run it through the processor quickly to chip them up some more.
I don't really like raisins in this cassava pone, but if you want to include put about 1/4 cup raisins to 1/2 cup.
Some people like to add ginger.
Notes
- If you would like some cassava chunks in there, you can not blend it too fine. But know that it won't be the smooth texture you get.
- Baking time can vary depending on how thick you make and your oven. It should be about 45 mins to 1 hour and 15 mins. I used an 8 * 8 baking dish.
- Black pepper gives it a nice little spice at the end of the bite. I think this addition might be a Trini thing. You can omit it.
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