Plate 10 of 10

Cassava Pone

Name: Cassava Pone
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 12 to 16 squares
Cuisine: Guyana
Ingredients: 700 g Sweet cassava, peeled, core removed, finely grated on a box grater; 250 g Fresh brown coconut, finely grated; 200 g Calabaza pumpkin, peeled and finely grated; 300 g Demerara sugar; 115 g Unsalted butter, melted and cooled; 350 ml Evaporated milk; 15 ml Pure vanilla extract; 6 g Ground Ceylon cinnamon; 3 g Freshly grated nutmeg; 1 g Ground cloves; 4 g Fine sea salt; 15 g Butter, for the pan

Neither cake nor pudding. Raw sweet cassava, fresh coconut and calabaza pumpkin grated fine and mixed with Demerara sugar, butter, evaporated milk, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove, baked in a shallow layer until the starch sets into a dense, chewy, translucent slab with dark caramelised corners.

Prep: 35 min
Cook: 1 hr 15 min
Serves: 12 to 16 squares
Difficulty: Medium

Researched · Kitchen testing pending

Three squares of cassava pone with crisp orange-brown tops and a dense golden coconut crumb, stacked on a plate.

Cassava pone honours the ancient Amerindian root of Guyana, sweetened by Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese hands. Found in home kitchens and bakeries from Georgetown to Berbice, it is neither a cake nor a pudding but a dense, chewy, moist confection with caramelised edges and a glossy, gelatinous centre.

It is made from freshly grated raw sweet cassava, fresh coconut and orange calabaza pumpkin, bound with evaporated milk, Demerara sugar, butter and vanilla, and spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon and clove. A slow oven sets the starches into a chewy golden slab with dark, sticky corners.

Ingredients

700 gSweet cassava, peeled, core removed, finely grated on a box grater
250 gFresh brown coconut, finely gratedor unsweetened desiccated coconut
200 gCalabaza pumpkin, peeled and finely grated
300 gDemerara sugar
115 gUnsalted butter, melted and cooled
350 mlEvaporated milkor rich coconut milk
15 mlPure vanilla extract
6 gGround Ceylon cinnamon
3 gFreshly grated nutmeg
1 gGround cloves
4 gFine sea salt
15 gButter, for the pan

Starch, not flour

Raw cassava is about a third starch. Grating ruptures the cells and releases the granules into the batter; at 95 °C in the oven they absorb the milk and pumpkin moisture, swell, burst and set into a continuous chewy gel. Sugar and butter between the starch chains keep it from turning to rock as it cools.

Keep the juice

The natural moisture of the grated root is what the starch needs. Squeeze it out and the pone comes out dry and chalky.

Pumpkin for colour and moisture

Without the calabaza the pone is greyish-white and drier. It gives the amber hue and a natural sweetness.

The five tastes on this plate

Salt lifts the sweetness and cuts the starch and butterfat. Fat is butter, evaporated milk and coconut. Acid is the faint edge of unrefined Demerara and pumpkin. Heat is nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. Umami is slow-baked cassava and caramelised milk solids.

Equipment

23 by 33 cm metal baking pan
Box grater
Large mixing bowl and a sturdy wooden spoon
Offset spatula
Wire rack

Use metal. A metal pan gives far crisper caramelised edges than glass. In Guyana it is a heavy cast-aluminium pan, sometimes in a coal-pot oven.

Method

Heat the oven and grease the pan5 min
Heat the oven to 180 °C and butter the pan generously.
Heat the oven to 180 °C and butter the pan generously.
Grate20 min
On the fine side of a box grater, grate the cassava, coconut and pumpkin into a large bowl. Do not squeeze out any juice.
Use peeled sweet cassava with its core removed. Finely grate it with coconut and pumpkin into a large bowl; retain the juices.
Mix the spiced sugar2 min
Combine the Demerara sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.
Combine the Demerara sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.
Mix the batter5 min
Add the spiced sugar to the grated mixture and work it through with a spoon or your hands for 2 minutes until the sugar draws the juices out into a wet, shiny mass. Pour in the melted butter, evaporated milk and vanilla and stir hard to a thick, pourable, porridge-like batter.
Work spiced sugar into the grated mixture for 2 minutes until wet and shiny. Stir in melted butter, evaporated milk and vanilla vigorously to make a thick, pourable batter.
Fill the pan2 min
Pour into the pan and level it with an offset spatula to an even layer about 2.5 cm deep.
Pour into the pan and level it with an offset spatula to an even layer about 2.5 cm deep.
Bake1 hr 15 min
Bake uncovered in the centre of the oven 1 hour 15 minutes. It is done when the top is deep golden, the edges are dark and pulling from the sides, and a toothpick in the centre comes out clean but tacky, about 95 °C.
Bake uncovered in the oven centre 1 hour 15 minutes, until deep golden with dark edges pulling from the pan. A centre toothpick should emerge clean but tacky; the centre should reach about 95 °C.
Cool completely2 to 3 hr
Cool on a rack at room temperature at least 2 to 3 hours. Hot pone is too soft to cut clean.
Cool on a rack at room temperature at least 2 to 3 hours. Hot pone is too soft to cut clean.
Slice
Cut into 5 cm squares with a sharp knife wiped on a damp cloth between cuts. Serve at room temperature.
Cut into 5 cm squares with a sharp knife wiped on a damp cloth between cuts. Serve at room temperature.
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Sensory cues of doneness
- Visual: a glossy amber-brown slab with dark caramelised edges, and a moist, dense, translucent interior flecked with white coconut and orange pumpkin.
- Auditory: a gentle bubbling sizzle round the pan edges in the last 20 minutes as butter and sugar caramelise on the metal.
- Olfactory: toasted coconut, fresh nutmeg, melted butter, sweet cassava and vanilla.
Look for a glossy amber-brown top, dark caramelised edges and a moist, dense, translucent centre flecked with coconut and pumpkin. Expect gentle bubbling at the edges in the last 20 minutes and toasted coconut, nutmeg, butter and vanilla aromas.

Storing it

Wrapped in parchment and foil it keeps 3 days at room temperature or 2 weeks refrigerated. Warm 5 minutes in a 150 °C oven if you like.

Troubleshooting

A mushy, underbaked centre.: Too deep a dish. Spread the batter no more than 2.5 cm thick so the heat reaches through the dense starch.
Dry, chalky texture.: The cassava juice was squeezed out, or dry desiccated coconut was used without adjusting the liquid. The root's own moisture is essential.
It crumbles when cut.: Sliced hot. The starch gel has to cool fully to set into firm squares.

Substitutions

One-to-one swaps, with the technique change each one needs.

Ingredient substitutions

Ingredient	Replace with	Culinary impact and technique adjustment
Fresh cassava	Thawed frozen grated cassava, with its liquid	One-to-one. Keep the liquid in the bag
Calabaza pumpkin	Kabocha, butternut or sweet potato	One-to-one
Evaporated milk	Full-fat coconut milk	One-to-one, and makes the pone dairy-free

Scaling

Half

Halve everything in a 20 cm square metal pan, 55 to 60 minutes at 180 °C.

Double

Double the ingredients across two 23 by 33 cm pans. Never one deep pan; the centre stays raw.

What to serve it with

Hot black Guyanese coffee, or spiced cocoa tea
A scoop of vanilla ice cream
Aged Demerara rum such as El Dorado 15 neat, ginger beer, or cold milk

Questions

Can I use frozen grated cassava?

Yes, thawed, and keep whatever liquid is in the bag when you measure.

What does the pumpkin do?

Moisture, natural sweetness and the golden colour. Without it the pone is greyish and drier.

How long does it keep?

Three days at room temperature wrapped tight, or two weeks in the fridge.