Puna Yam Cake
Try making this deliciously moist West African Puna Yam Cake from The Groundnut Cookbook, using yams, coconut milk and condensed milk.
Introduction
Folayemi: Growing up all I knew were boiled yam discs, but this recipe transforms the tuber into an exceptional cake. Considering there’s no flour it has a beautiful crumb texture. And it’s subtly sweet from the little sugar combined with condensed milk, which in turn helps keep the cake surprisingly moist.
For this recipe to work well you’ll need a mature puna yam tuber. They wither with age as the skin and flesh inside dehydrate in tandem.
Ingredients
| 450g | fresh puna yam (peeled weight) |
| 2 | small eggs |
| 50g | golden caster sugar |
| ¼ tsp | salt |
| 100ml | condensed milk |
| 150ml | coconut milk |
| 50g | coconut oil (plus extra for oiling) |
| 50g | unsweetened desiccated coconut (to garnish) |
Essential kit
You will need a 1lb loaf tin, or a circular tin with 9-inch diameter.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4.
Peel the fresh yam, then finely grate it. Whisk the eggs, then set aside. Melt the coconut oil (if solid). Add the sugar and whisk well together. Combine all the ingredients (except for the desiccated coconut) and mix well.
Thoroughly oil a 1lb loaf tin, or a circular tin with 9-inch diameter. Add the mixture and then bake on the central shelf for 1 hour.
Leave the cake to cool, then garnish it with the desiccated coconut.
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