Plate 10 of 10

Bojo

Name: Bojo
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 12 to 16 squares, from a 23 by 33 cm dish
Cuisine: Suriname
Ingredients: 1 kg Fresh cassava, peeled, cored and finely grated, lightly pressed of free liquid; 400 g Freshly grated mature coconut; 300 g Dark brown sugar; 150 g Unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus more for the dish; 350 ml Evaporated whole milk; 120 ml Full-fat coconut milk; 120 g Dark seedless raisins; 30 ml Aged dark rum, for the raisins; 10 ml Pure almond extract; 10 ml Pure vanilla extract; 4 g Ground cinnamon; 2 g Freshly grated nutmeg; 4 g Fine sea salt; 30 g Multi-coloured sugar sprinkles, to finish

The national cake, flourless and unleavened, born of Jewish planters who needed a Passover cake and African cooks who knew cassava and coconut. Grated cassava and fresh coconut with evaporated and coconut milk, brown sugar, butter, almond and vanilla extracts, cinnamon and rum-soaked raisins, baked to a dense, fudgy slab with caramelised edges and finished with coloured sprinkles.

Prep: 35 min
Cook: 1 hr 15 min
Serves: 12 to 16 squares, from a 23 by 33 cm dish
Difficulty: Easy

Researched · Kitchen testing pending

Squares of bojo, a dense cassava and coconut cake with a crisp golden-brown top studded with raisins, on a plate.

Bojo is Suriname’s national cake, an extraordinary gluten-free confection born in the eighteenth century from Jewish-Surinamese and Afro-Surinamese collaboration. Sephardic planters needed a flourless, unleavened cake for Passover; enslaved African women knew everything about cassava root and coastal coconut.

The cake needs no flour, no raising agent and no creaming. Grated cassava and fresh coconut are mixed with evaporated milk, butter, brown sugar, almond and vanilla, cinnamon and plump raisins, and baked until dense, fudgy and caramelised at the edges, finished with a brush of butter and a scatter of coloured sprinkles.

Ingredients

1 kgFresh cassava, peeled, cored and finely grated, lightly pressed of free liquidor thawed frozen grated cassava
400 gFreshly grated mature coconutor frozen unsweetened grated coconut
300 gDark brown sugar
150 gUnsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus more for the dish
350 mlEvaporated whole milk
120 mlFull-fat coconut milk
120 gDark seedless raisins
30 mlAged dark rum, for the raisinsor warm water
10 mlPure almond extractthe signature aroma
10 mlPure vanilla extract
4 gGround cinnamon
2 gFreshly grated nutmeg
4 gFine sea salt
30 gMulti-coloured sugar sprinkles, to finish

No gluten, no leavening

Cassava is about eighty percent amylopectin. Baked with milk, butter and coconut fat at 175 °C it gelatinises around 65 to 70 °C, and with no gluten to build a crumb, the gel traps the fats into a dense, chewy, custard-like structure.

Press, do not squeeze

Freshly grated cassava sheds starchy water. Pressing off the free dripping liquid stops a soggy cake. Squeezing it dry makes a fibrous one.

The almond is the Jewish fingerprint

Almond extract carries the marzipan and almond-pastry tradition of Western Europe into a cake made of tropical roots.

The five tastes on this plate

Salt sharpens the coconut and tempers the sugar. Fat is butter, coconut oil and evaporated milk. Acid is the faint edge of molasses sugar and soaked raisins. Heat is cinnamon, nutmeg and almond. Umami is the caramelised coconut-cassava crust and milk solids.

Equipment

23 by 33 cm ceramic or heavy metal baking dish
Box grater
Large mixing bowl and wooden spoon
Offset spatula
Wire rack

A generously buttered ceramic ovenschaal is traditional. A heavy metal pan lined with parchment gives slightly crisper edges.

Method

Soak the raisins15 min
Soak the raisins in the rum 15 minutes until plump.
Soak the raisins in the rum 15 minutes until plump.
Grate the cassava and coconut20 min
Peel the cassava, remove the woody core, and grate it on the finest side of a box grater. Wrap it in a clean towel and squeeze gently to release the dripping liquid without drying it out. Grate the coconut finely.
Peel and core cassava; grate finely. Wrap in a clean towel and press gently to remove free dripping liquid without squeezing dry. Finely grate the coconut.
Mix the root base3 min
In a large bowl combine the cassava and coconut. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt thoroughly.
In a large bowl combine the cassava and coconut. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt thoroughly.
Add the wet ingredients3 min
Pour in the melted butter, evaporated milk, coconut milk, almond and vanilla extracts and stir hard to a thick, uniform, glossy batter. Fold in the raisins with their rum.
Pour in the melted butter, evaporated milk, coconut milk, almond and vanilla extracts and stir hard to a thick, uniform, glossy batter. Fold in the raisins with their rum.
Fill the dish3 min
Heat the oven to 175 °C. Butter the dish generously, pour in the batter, and level it with an offset spatula.
Heat the oven to 175 °C. Butter the dish generously, pour in the batter, and level it with an offset spatula.
Bake1 hr 15 min
Bake uncovered in the centre of the oven 1 hour 10 to 1 hour 20 minutes until the top is deep golden-brown, the edges pull from the sides, and the centre is set to the touch, about 92 °C.
Bake uncovered in the centre of the oven 1 hour 10 to 1 hour 20 minutes until the top is deep golden-brown, the edges pull from the sides, and the centre is set to the touch, about 92 °C.
Garnish1 min
Straight from the oven, brush the surface with a tablespoon of melted butter and scatter the sprinkles evenly over the hot top.
Straight from the oven, brush the surface with a tablespoon of melted butter and scatter the sprinkles evenly over the hot top.
Cool and slice2 hr
Cool completely on a rack, at least 2 hours, so the starch and coconut fat set. Cut into 16 squares and serve at room temperature or chilled.
Cool completely on a rack, at least 2 hours, so the starch and coconut fat set. Cut into 16 squares and serve at room temperature or chilled.
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Sensory cues of doneness
- Visual: a deep golden-brown, glistening slab with dark caramelised edges, dotted with coloured sprinkles, and a dense, moist ivory-yellow interior.
- Auditory: a gentle sizzle round the dish in the last 15 minutes as the coconut fat bubbles.
- Olfactory: toasted coconut, sweet almond, brown butter, cinnamon and caramelised sugar.
Look for a glossy deep golden-brown top with caramelised edges, sprinkles and a dense, moist ivory-yellow centre. Expect gentle sizzling in the last 15 minutes and toasted coconut, almond, browned butter, cinnamon and caramel aromas.

Storing it

Covered, it keeps 3 days at room temperature or a week in the fridge, and slices cleaner cold.

Troubleshooting

A soggy, wet cake.: Too much free starch water in the grated root. Press it lightly in a towel before measuring.
Dry, fibrous crumb.: Sweetened desiccated flakes from the baking aisle. Use fresh or frozen unsweetened coconut with its moisture and fat.
It crumbles when sliced.: Cut while hot. The starch and coconut fat need two hours to set firm.

Substitutions

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

Ingredient substitutions

Ingredient	Replace with	Culinary impact and technique adjustment
Fresh cassava	Frozen grated cassava, yuca rallada, thawed and drained	One-to-one
Fresh grated coconut	Frozen unsweetened grated coconut, or rehydrated unsweetened medium shred	One-to-one; never sweetened baking flakes
Dark rum	Vanilla extract or water	One-to-one for soaking

Scaling

Half

A 20 cm square ceramic dish, 55 to 60 minutes.

Double

Two separate 23 by 33 cm dishes for even heat.

What to serve it with

Strong dark Surinamese coffee or espresso
Homemade fermented ginger beer, gemberbier
Lightly sweetened whipped cream on the side

Questions

Is bojo gluten-free?

Yes. There is no wheat, grain or gluten-bearing starch in it at all, only cassava and coconut.

Can I use frozen grated cassava?

Yes. Thaw it completely and drain the excess liquid; it is sold as yuca rallada in Latin and Asian grocers.

Why almond extract?

It is the Sephardic Jewish signature on the cake, the marzipan tradition of Western Europe carried into a cassava batter.