Monday, February 7, 2011

BOJO Cake


"I love you like a fat kid love cake." 
50 cent



Bojo is a rich flourless cake made from grated coconut and cassava. Cassava is a starchy root plant, also known as manioc and yuca. Bojo is flavored with rum and cinnamon, and as is typical of many South American desserts - it's both European and tropical at the same time. Dutch settlers in Suriname most likely learned to use local ingredients like cassava to make favorite foods from home.
This cake can be baked in a round or square pan.  You can find peeled frozen cassava root at Latin food stores. http://www.about.com/


  BOJO Cake- from about.com

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1/3 cup rum
  • 1/2 pound peeled manioc/yuca root 
  • (veggie peeler works well)
  • 2 cups grated coconut ((fresh or dried)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

  1. Soak the raisins in the rum (overnight if possible).
  2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  3. Butter a 9 inch round cake pan, or 9 inch square brownie pan, and line bottom of pan with wax paper or parchment.
  4. Finely grate the manioc root (easily done in a food processor). Stir the coconut and grated manioc root together with the cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl.
  5. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, vanilla, almond extract, and salt.
  6. Stir the liquid ingredients into the coconut mixture. Stir in the melted butter. Stir in the raisins and the rum.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan
  8. Bake for 1 hour, until golden brown on top.
  9. Run a knife around the edge of the pan while the cake is still warm, then let cool in the pan.
  10. Cut into small squares or slices and serve. This cake is delicious warm or cold, with dollop of whipped cream.
I have never baked anything with Yuca.  I have only eaten it once prepared like mashed potatoes . I stumbled across this recipe like I do all them, via the Internet. Baking with an ingredient you have never worked with has it's challenges. How is the texture? The taste? and preparation? Shredded really fine? or chopped?

I figured how bad could it be?/ Coconut, butter, spices and a strange root. Gotta make for something palatable. I got out my Ginzu knives..and went to work.
 Almonds give it a nice crunch

Sorry....... I do not own Ginzu-----but wish I did have some Japanese knives.
The taste of this cake has some Caribbean accents with the coconut, raisins and rum. I tasted it the day I made it, and the day after, The whole cake is soft and chewy.  The yuca was a bit fibrous ( on day one) . That texture decreased on day 2. I believe it is because  the Yuca  was not thin enough. I chopped it in the processor. ( small cubes) I should have shredded it with the wheel, box grater or peeler. Very thin strips would have made it more velvety. Same process for the coconut.  ( this is a guess of course)
The whipped cream topping seems almost out of place?? ( In my opinion), but  the almonds give it a "snap" 
I am sure there are bakers out there who are more familiar with this root and baking with it. I would love more info, if you can share?? 
I am going to dedicate more posts to something "unconventional" in baking. ( However, these will all be experiments and I do not claim to be an expert ) ..but maybe someone reading my blog will chime in :)
Hope you will join me :)

5 comments:

  1. i've only cooked with yuka flour, never with the root itself. the cake sounds good, love the coconut-raising combo, indeed it takes to to Caribbean islands.
    thanks for sharing, hope you'll have a wonderful day

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  2. if yucca is also cassava then we have a cassava cake here in the Philippines that is really delicious, it's one of my favorite native desserts :)

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  3. Thanks Little bit and Chef..!

    Chef- i have seen a recipe for the Philippines cassava cake. The one i found looked very complex and timely!... but delicious! I don't think i could master it with out someone who has already baked it.

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  4. I was smiling reading the first post from Asthe. First of all, please buy grated Cassave for the cake of take your time to grateit yourself very fine. I make this cake often, using the an old family recipe and my cake is never chewy or soft and just a little sticky. Cook it slow and it will take a while before it's ready (approx 1,5 / 2 hours) and brown is the ready color.

    There are some ingerdients to make the cake even better:
    1 theesp grated nutmeg
    1 cup regular milk
    3 theespoons of pineapple.

    Before starting chop the pineapple in very small pieces and cook it with sugar and a little of its juice until it's gold/lichtbrown and sticky. Add 3theesp to the cake.

    Enjoy it.

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    Replies
    1. Annelies..Thank u so much for this info! as u can see i was way off.. When i find time to bake it again, i def. will use ur tricks/tips :) I learning about international desserts and would love a bakery to share them with the little po-dunk town i live in :)

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