Bolo de macaxeira, coco e maracujá

My mum loves the combination of cassava (or macaxeira, as its known in the Northeast of Brazil), coconut and passion fruit and asks for this cake every year on her birthday. I adore its unique texture; it’s caramelised and crispy on the outside and chewy and springy on the inside, sort of like mochi, if you’ve tried that. It’s not overly sweet, which makes it the perfect mid morning or afternoon treat with a cup of coffee.

The only time consuming part of this recipe is peeling, grating and squeezing the cassava, after which all the ingredients come together very simply in a bowl. I tend to use frozen grated cassava (available online and in many Asian supermarkets) which makes the process a lot quicker. Use golden sweet potato if you can’t get hold of cassava.

Ingredients Serves 4

1kg cassava (or sweet potato) roots (or 500g shop-bought frozen grated cassava, defrosted)

8 passion fruits (or 100g passion fruit puree)

100g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

100g soft light brown sugar

4 tbsp demerara sugar

200g tinned coconut milk (at least 70% coconut extract)

100g condensed coconut milk (or regular condensed milk)

50g desiccated coconut

1 egg, whisked

2 tsp tangerine or orange zest (from 2 tangerines)

1½ tsp lime zest (from 2 limes)

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/4 tsp fine salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C fan.

Peel the cassava roots, removing the thick brown skin as well as the pinkish layer beneath it. Don’t use any part of the cassava that's black or soft. 

Finely grate the cassava using the smaller holes of a box grater- you should get 600g. Transfer the grated cassava to a colander and place in the sink. Squeeze the grated cassava vigorously to get rid of as much liquid as possible, you should end up with 500g squeezed cassava. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

Halve the passion fruits and scoop the flesh into a sieve set over the bowl of grated cassava. Push down on the flesh with a spoon to extract all the liquid. Discard the seeds.

Grease a 20cm non-stick cake tin with butter- make sure the tin is completely covered in butter. Add 2 tbsp of demerara sugar to the tin and shake to ensure the buttery sides and bottom are completely covered with the sugar. 

Melt 100g butter over a low until beginning to brown and smell caramelised, about 6 mins. Cool for a few minutes.

Add the browned butter, 100g light brown sugar, coconut milk, condensed milk, desiccated coconut, egg, tangerine zest, lime zest, vanilla and 1/4 tsp fine salt to the bowl with the grated cassava. Mix until thoroughly combined. 

Spoon into the tin, level the surface, then sprinkle 2 tbsp sugar evenly over to cover. Bake for 45 mins until the top is crisp and golden-brown, rotating the tin halfway so the cake colours evenly. Leave to cool for 30 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the cake to release it from the tin.

Place a rack over the tin, then flip the cake out onto the rack. The cake should end up on the plate but if not, carefully release it from the bottom (or top once flipped) of the tin with a knife or spatula. Leave to cool and set for at least 30 mins (this is very important!) then sprinkle with flaked salt. Use a sharp serrated knife to slice and enjoy with coffee.