Culinary Travel: Suriname

You get the best of both worlds here: a city that's chock-full of restaurants, shopping venues and night spots and an untamed jungle utterly away from modern development. It's not easy to get around this river-heavy, forest-dense country, and the mix of languages can make it hard to communicate, sometimes even for Dutch speakers. Don't forget that a meeting of culinary traditions means the food here is as spicy and rich as the country itself.

Bojo Cake - Coconut and Cassava Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes  Cook Time: 60 minutes  Total Time: 80 minutes

Bojo is a rich flour less cake made from grated coconut and cassava. Cassava is a starchy root plant, also known as manioc and yuca. Bojo is flavored with rum and cinnamon, and as is typical of many South American desserts, it's both European and tropical at the same time.

This cake can be baked in a round or square pan.  You can find peeled frozen cassava root at Latin food stores.

Ingredients
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup rum
1/2 pound peeled manioc root (with woody center removed)
2 cups grated coconut ((fresh or dried)
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons almond extract
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
Graham cracker pie crust (optional)

Directions
Soak the raisins in the rum (overnight if possible). 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. 

Butter a 9 inch round cake pan, or 9 inch square brownie pan, and line bottom of pan with wax paper or parchment.

Finely grate the manioc root (easily done in a food processor). Stir the coconut and grated manioc root together with the cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, vanilla, almond extract, and salt. 

Stir the liquid ingredients into the coconut mixture. Stir in the melted butter. Stir in the raisins and the rum. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan (or graham cracker crust if using).

Bake for 1 hour, until golden brown on top. 

Run a knife around the edge of the pan while the cake is still warm, then let cool in the pan. 

Cut into small squares or slices and serve. This cake is delicious warm or cold, with a dollop of whipped cream.

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