Cassava was one of my favourite tubers growing up, I have delicious memories of the savoury curries and all the sweet desserts my mum would make. I have neglected to use this amazing little tuber in my kitchen once I moved out of home. Now that I’m living in the land of cassava (Vietnam) with homegrown cassava at my mum’s country house I’m going to be making a few cassava recipes with my all time favourite Vietnamese Cassava Cake (bánh khoai mì) first.
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| Vietnamese Cassava Cake (bánh khoai mì) |
Vietnamese Cassava cake is traditionally already grain free but uses sweetened condensed milk, so I have replaced this with coconut milk and coconut sugar or you can use honey instead. The coconut sugar makes the cake darker than the traditional version but still tastes great! The consistency of this cassava cake is kind of soft with a firm gooey, chewy texture and a sweet nutty flavour.
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| Vietnamese Cassava Cake (Grain, Egg and Dairy Free) |
Cassava is also known as manioc root or yuca and I have often used tapioca starch in my recipes which is made from cassava, this recipe uses the whole tuber in its natural state. On researching more information on cassava I was really excited to read about all the wonderful benefits. Cassava has a low glycemic index which is great for diabetics and is full of B vitamins and various minerals including zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and manganese which are all vital to assist the body’s functions.
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| Harvesting some Cassava, although the leaves can be used for cooking and medicinal use it’s often discarded along with the stem. |
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| The harvested cassava root in it’s natural state with a thick bark like skin |
Vietnamese Cassava Cake (Grain, Egg, Nut and Dairy Free)
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| Vietnamese Cassava Cake (bánh khoai mì) – Grain, Egg, Nut and Dairy Free |
- 450 grams finely grated cassava root (about 600 grams whole & unpeeled cassava)
- 100ml coconut milk
- 1/2 cup / 75 grams coconut sugar (buy from iherb or amazon) (or honey – buy on iherb or amazon))
- 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (buy from iherb or amazon)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (buy on iherb or amazon)
- Preheat the oven to 180 C degrees / 356 F
- Trim the ends of the cassava and make a slit lengthways to peel off the outer skin
- Peel the cassava
- Using a hand held box grater or food processor on the smallest grater, grate the cassava, if using a food processor, you will need to then use the main blade and process the cassava further. It should be fine not coarse (this is the food processor I use here and it takes about 2 minutes) – do not use the main blades without finely shredding first, as the consistency will remain too coarse
- Mix the cassava with coconut milk and coconut sugar
- Grease a 15cm spring form cake tin with 1 tbsp of coconut oil
- Pour the cassava mixture in the cake pan and smooth the top out with the back of a spoon
- Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds on top
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| Smooth the mixture with the back of a spoon and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top (I doubled the quantity for this slice tin) |
- Bake for 30 minutes, the cake is ready when it is slightly firm to touch on top and an inserted skewer comes out clean
- Allow to cool then refrigerate before serving, lasts about a week in the fridge
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| and a funny pic to end the post, here’s a behind the scene shot with my 4yo always wanting to be in the photo… |
Hope you enjoy!
- 450 grams finely grated cassava root (about 600 grams whole & unpeeled cassava)
- 100ml coconut milk
- ½ cup / 75 grams coconut sugar (buy from iherb or amazon) (or honey - buy on iherb or amazon))
- ½ tbsp toasted sesame seeds (buy from iherb or amazon)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (buy on iherb or amazon)
- Preheat the oven to 180 C degrees / 356 F
- Trim the ends of the cassava and make a slit lengthways to peel off the outer skin
- Peel the cassava
- Using a hand held box grater or food processor on the smallest grater, grate the cassava, if using a food processor, you will need to then use the main blade and process the cassava further. It should be fine not coarse (this is the food processor I use here and it takes about 2 minutes) - do not use the main blades without finely shredding first, as the consistency will remain too coarse
- Mix the cassava with coconut milk and coconut sugar
- Grease a 15cm spring form cake tin with 1 tbsp of coconut oil
- Pour the cassava mixture in the cake pan and smooth the top out with the back of a spoon
- Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds on top
- Bake for 30 minutes, the cake is ready when it is slightly firm to touch on top and an inserted skewer comes out clean
- Allow to cool then refrigerate before serving, lasts about a week in the fridge
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