Cassava Pone (Guyanese Cassava Cake/Pudding)

  • Total time - 1 hour 45 minutes
  • Prep and Grating - 25 minutes
  • Baking - 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Servings: 10
  • Country: Guyana
A dense, dark brown Cassava Pone, cut into squares, with a chewy centre.

The key to a perfect Pone is using fresh or quality defrosted cassava and freshly grated coconut. The cassava should be finely grated.

Cassava Pone has a different texture than a regular cake; the cassava makes the interior sticky, chewy, and dense. It must be completely cooled before slicing and eating.

Ingredients

Base

  • 4 cups fresh or frozen cassava (yuca), peeled and grated
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen grated coconut
  • 1 cup brown sugar (Demerara or dark)
  • 1 cup coconut milk (full-fat)
  • 0.5 cups butter, melted
  • 0.5 cups evaporated milk or condensed milk (optional)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract

Spices

  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp ground cloves (optional)
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground (essential for authentic flavour)
  • 0.5 tsp salt

Instructions

Step 1: Prep Cassava and Mix Dry Ingredients

Preheat the oven to 175 °C (350 °F). Grease a baking dish (e.g., 23x33 cm / 9x13 inch) with butter.

Peel and finely grate the cassava (you can use a food processor with a fine grating disc). If using frozen, let it fully thaw and drain off excess water.

In a large bowl, mix the grated cassava, grated coconut, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and salt.

Step 2: Incorporate Wet Ingredients

In a smaller bowl, combine the melted butter, coconut milk, evaporated/condensed milk (if using), vanilla, and almond extracts.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Stir until everything is well combined and a thick, but pourable batter forms. The consistency should be similar to a thick mash.

Step 3: Baking

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth the surface with a spatula. For a traditional crispy crust, you can dot the top with a few small pieces of butter.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. The Pone is done when the surface is deep golden-brown/dark and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out mostly clean (the pone will still be slightly sticky).

Step 4: Cooling and Serving

Remove the Pone from the oven and let it cool completely in the baking dish. Ideally, several hours or overnight. Slicing warm pone will cause it to crumble.

Cut into squares and serve as a snack or dessert, often with tea.