Book of Days Tales

The fourth Monday in January is National Heroes Day in the Cayman Islands; it was proclaimed with the National Heroes Law, providing for the declaration of persons who have rendered exceptional service as national heroes. Here is Cayman Heavy Cake:

Ingredients:

2 14 oz cans coconut milk
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
¼ cup butter
2 cups light brown sugar
6 cups grated cassava

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350º F/175º C.

Put all the ingredients except the cassava into a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the mixture starts to separate.

At this point there should be foam forming on the surface–skim the foam off the top of the mixture and save it.

Add the grated cassava and pour the mixture into an 8 x 15 inch greased baking pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until the cake is no longer jiggly in the center, which should take about 20 minutes.

Using a pastry brush, spread about half of the foam you reserved from that earlier step over the top of the cake. Now return it to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes, then remove and repeat.

When the top is brown and the edges of the cake start to pull away from the pan, it’s ready.

Note: Don’t store this cake in the refrigerator, because refrigeration will ruin the texture. Instead let it sit out for a day without covering (to prevent sweating), then you can keep it at room temperature for about five days.