Trini Cassava Pone

Cassava Pone Slice garnished with Coconut and Cinnamon

My dad emerged from the back yard today carrying a large cassava root he had just dug up! One word, actually two words popped into my head; Cassava Pone.

Cassava pone; sweet gooey, who knew cassava could taste this good! I normally don't care much about cassava but when it's made into this I can't get enough. It's quite an unusual desert, not quite light and spongy like a cake but dense and moist. For those of you who've never had this, its quite a desert and very simple to make, and very hard to get wrong. 

The only problem in the making of this is the cassava itself. It spoils easily so as soon as the cassava was peeled, cut up and washed I took a portion to make my Pone and the rest was chucked into a plastic bag and put into the freezer. My cassava was white but if your cassava is black please discard it as it will be poisonous. This was my first attempt at pone making with the help from my mum and dad and the result was very close to my agee's (grandmother).

Cuisine: Trinidadian

Type: Dessert 

Time: 2 1/2 hrs
Serves: 16

Skill:  Easy

Kid Participation: None

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb        cassava (3 c grated fine)
1/4 tsp         cinnamon
1/8 tsp         cardamon (elichee) optional

1/2 lb            pumpkin (1 1/2 c grated fine)

2 c                grated coconut

2 c                brown sugar
3tb                butter

                     Water (less than 1c)

Procedure

1. Peel and wash cassava. Grate as fine as possible or alternately you can cut into chunks to put into a blender.  

   

     2.   Repeat step 1 with the pumpkin. Put the cassava, pumpkin, coconut, cinnamon, cardamon, butter, sugar and some water in a   bowl or blender and mix. You need to add just enough water to bind everything. (Less than 1c)

     3.   Grease and flour two circular pans and pour the cassava mixture to about 1" depth in pan. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 1 1/2 hours till golden on top.  

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