Made from grated yuca, or from cassava flour, this delightful pudín de pan (cassava flour cake) is a chewy, spiced dessert that combines one of our favorite ingredients with spices in an intriguing dish. Easy and well worth trying, this yuca cake is perfect for celiacs too.
Why we ❤️ it
Years ago the flour section of local supermarkets was somewhat limited. I was lucky when I could grab a bag of bread flour. How things have changed! Now there's cassava flour (cativía) on the shelves almost every time, great to make this dessert.
But if you have fresh yuca at hand, you don't need to search for cassava flour, because this cake can also be made with fresh yuca. 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.
What's cassava flour?
Cassava flour, also known as cativía (we have the cativía recipe here) is used in our cuisine mostly to make the namesake cativía empanadas.
In Latin America and Asia for a variety of dishes, from soft pudding to candies, to bread.
Cassava flour (tapioca) pudding .
Serving suggestions
This cassava cake is perfectly served with a steaming cup of Dominican coffee, or alongside any of our hot drinks as a snack. Or with any of our juices or batidas, and I loved it with this exotic cucumber lemon ginger water.
Top tips
- One very important thing to keep in mind is that this is made with pure yuca flour; some products labeled yuca flours are simply yuca starch; this would not work.
- Please check the fiber quantity in the nutrition label; if it's zero or very low (less than 10%), check another brand.
- This is a brand I have used [Amazon affiliate link] along with some local ones with good results.
How to make with fresh yuca
If you do not have cativía/yuca flour at hand, you can grate 2 pounds of yuca with the finest side of a box grater, and – using a cheesecloth or clean cotton tea towel – squeeze out as much liquid as you possibly can.
Spread the grated yuca on a tray and let it rest in the fridge for about 4 hours to dry out some more. You'll probably have leftover yuca flour. You can refrigerate it in an airtight jar.
About this recipe
While not a traditional Dominican recipe, nothing in this recipe is outside of our typical repertoire. All the ingredients and methods are borrowed from our culinary tradition, and I love using our ingredients in a novel way.
This recipe borrows a lot of inspiration from Dominican pan de batata, our sweet potato cake.
Recipe
This awesome free recipe contains Amazon affiliate links, we receive a small commission from any purchase you make at no extra cost to you. Thanks!
Pudín de Yuca Recipe | Cassava Flour Cake
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter , (salted), at room temperature, divided
- ½ cup brown sugar, + 4 tablespoons, divided
- 1 ¼ cup tapioca, (cassava flour, see notes!) [Amazon affiliate link]
- ¾ cup milk, (whole or skim)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg , (medium)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
- ½ teaspoon clove powder
- ½ tablespoon ginger powder
Instructions
1. Get ready
- Heat the oven to 300 ºF [150 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 4 tablespoons of brown sugar. Set aside.
2. Mix ingredient
- 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.
3. Bake
- Cook in preheated oven 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.
4. Serve
- Cool to room temperature before serving.
Tips and Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
More cassava recipes
Cassava is one of our most popular ancestral foods, and – unsurprisingly – we have many yuca recipes on our blog. Yuca can be served as boiled yuca, in yuca fritters, yuca casserole, yuca fries, yuca bread, yuca mash, and many more ways.
