Cassava Cake (Vegan)

One of my very favorite things about Filipino cuisine is cassava cake. We would have it during the big Filipino get-togethers, especially during New Years' or Christmas. I didn't really make it growing up (I was a bookworm and not a big help to my mom, sorry, Mom!) so when I had moved away from home  and actually started cooking for myself, I emailed my mom for the recipe. The recipe she sent was so simple, I couldn't believe something so yummy was so easy. Since becoming vegan, I veganized it, which was relatively simple since only the topping was really what needed tweaking.

The cassava is a staple root crop in many parts of Africa, Asia, and South America. When my husband lived in Guyana, they used it for making a large flat bread that they then broke in pieces eat with a yummy leaf sauce with fish. In the countries I lived in Africa, they would use the flour in making fufu, their version of something like mashed potatoes but more like steamed dough, eaten by forming little balls with your hands, accompanied by different sauces. In the Philippines, it's eaten plain boiled or in desserts such as cassava cake. I have many memories of having boiled cassava as a snack mid-afternoon, sometimes with boiled kamote (sweet potato) and boiled plantain (the closest thing my mom could find to saba, the Filipino cooking banana, in west Africa where I grew up).

The first step is to get yourself some cassava and coconut milk. You can find cassava in the grocery section with the root vegetables or at the international produce section. I have an African friend who would break off the ends to make sure they were white (and fresh) before buying but I don't think the store folk are very thrilled about that. But if the ends are broken, you want the whiter fleshed ones for sure. I know in some parts of the US, especially with a high Latino population, they are sometimes referred to as yuca. If you are lucky to have a Chinatown nearby or a good Asian section in your local grocery store like here in the BC, you can also find packages of frozen and shredded cassava in the freezer section. Usually they're with the Filipino food stuff here.

I usually go with the fresh variety. Usually it's cheaper and I like to try to do things the traditional way sometimes because I feel we've lost our connection to our food by buying everything packaged. But if you want to make it's a lot easier to just buy the package if you don't have time.

I will update this post with pictures the next time I make cassava cake but this link will give you an idea of how to prepare the cassava for grating. http://latinfood.about.com/od/preptechniqueshowtos/ss/How-to-Prepare-Yuca-For-Cooking.htm#step-heading

Note: I find it a LOT easier to cut the yuca in 4-6 inch sections, cutting just the peel lengthwise on a section, then grabbing a corner of the peel and just pull the peel away. You can then cut the cassava in half and pull out the hard thread-like core.

You can then grate the cassava. You can get 2 cups from a medium section usually (just eyeball it), but I always get more because you never know how many bad spots there might be and you can always make more cassava cake or boil the extras for a snack.

My mom sent me the following recipe. My notes are in italics.

CASSAVA CAKE

2 cups grated cassava
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs beaten (optional) *I just omitted.
1/3 cup raisins (optional) *I thought this was strange, had never had cassava cake with raisins but I had a friend once that threw in some ripe jackfruit into her cake for a twist.
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients and pour in baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until done.

Topping: Mix enough condensed milk and coconut milk (approximately 1 cup total) and pour over top of baked cake. Bake 10 minutes more until the topping is brown.
*To replace the condensed milk I just added brown sugar to the coconut milk. I think I used about 1/2 C sugar and 1 C coconut milk. It may take a little longer than 10 minutes.

I also doubled the recipe to fill a 9x12 baking pan, if I remember correctly. Will update the next time I make cassava cake, but for the moment, this is for you, Tara :)