Years ago the flour section of local supermarkets was rather limited. I was lucky when I could grab a bag of bread flour. How things have changed! This Cassava Flour (Tapioca) Pudding is born out of this variety.
Nowadays a couple of dozen options are available, from the lowly all-purpose flour, to plátano (plantain flour), going through seemingly anything that can be turned into powder. Out of curiosity I am slowly testing some of these non-traditional “flours” and finding out what can be made with them.
Sometimes the results are disappointing, sometimes something great comes out of it.
I bought a bag of cativía (cassava flour) because I wanted to work on a recipe for Cativía Empanadas, but somehow I ended up trying to make a dessert with it. The result is a chewy, spiced, rich pudding that I really liked. It is also very easy to make, and it requires no special gadget.
Cassava flour is also known as tapioca, and used in Latin America and Asia for a variety of dishes, from soft pudding, to candies, to bread.
Have you tried cooking with these non-traditional flours? What has been your experience?
Buen provecho,
Aunt Clara
- 6 tablespoons of butter , at room temperature, divided
- 1/2 cup + 4 tablespoons of brown sugar , divided
- 1 1/4 cup of tapioca (cassava flour)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup of oil (peanut, soy or corn)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of clove powder
- 1/2 tablespoon of ginger powder
-
Heat the oven to 250 ºF [120 ºC].
-
Grease a 9" [22 cm] baking pan with 2 tablespoons of butter, covering the bottom very well. Cover the bottom of the pan with the 4 tablespoons of brown sugar. Set aside.
-
In a bowl mix the remaining butter, brown sugar, tapioca, milk, oil, egg, salt, cinnamon, clove and ginger. Whisk until it is mixed thoroughly. Pour carefully into the pan, making sure not to disturb the sugar layer.
-
Bake for 20 mins, or until you poke it with a skewer and it comes out clean. Cool to room temperature and chill. Loosen the edges with a knife, cover with a plate that can hold the syrup and turn. Serve at room temperature.
Sweet Potato Dumplings
I tried making this dish, but the temperature 250 °for 20min didn’t seem to be high enough
I tested several times, using more than one thermometer (nearly all ovens get the temperature wrong after some time). You may need to get an oven thermometer to double check the temperature of yours. Mine is quite expensive and is off by 20 degrees!
Can we use real yuca for this recipe? I was not able to find the one that you are asking for unless i can use the Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour?
also, for the Cassava Pasties, mine turn out to be too sticky to the point where I could not form the patties
Thank you
I haven’t tested the recipe with that substitution. I have no idea how it might work. 🙁