My parents always made sure to provide nice, balanced breakfasts for me throughout my childhood. Omelets, fruits, oatmeal, cereal and pancakes, and sometimes plantains, labouyi (porridge) and spaghetti. Meanwhile, I remember their breakfasts consisted mainly of coffee, cassava and peanut butter. That combination remains a go-to snack for them as well as for my grandma and many other relatives, and with good reason: The dried cassava cracker is a perfect dunkable vehicle for both accompaniments. Also known as yuca, cassava is a root vegetable eaten in various forms across many cultures. In Haiti, you can find dried cassava, sometimes with a coconut middle, to eat as you would any cracker. You can enjoy it with coffee and peanut butter, or a nice confiture or jam. You can also peel the tuber itself, boil it and serve it with your dinner. In honor of its flexibility, I decided to use cassava in this dessert tart and create a riff on the classic Haitian snack.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 9 hr |
| Active: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup grated fresh coconut
- 1 1/4 cups finely ground dried cassava
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Pinch salt
- Zest of 1 lime
- 1 1/4 cups peeled grated cassava (avoid grating the center, which is visibly more rigid)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 17 ounces coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg, or to taste
- Pinch salt
- Zest of 1 lime, optional
- 2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
- 6 ounces creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon coconut milk powder or 1/4 cup coconut cream, optional
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- Fresh grated coconut
- Lime caviar, from finger limes, optional
Instructions
- For the cassava tart shell: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and let it brown slightly. The butter should smell slightly nutty. Pour in the grated coconut and let it steep for 20 minutes. Strain. Reserve the butter and keep the coconut for another use.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the ground cassava, sugar, salt and lime zest in a bowl and pour the browned butter over top. Mix with your hands or a rubber spatula. When the mixture looks like wet sand, use it to evenly line the sides and bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with a removeable bottom. Freeze for 15 minutes. Bake the tart shell until it looks dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool.
- For the coconut layer: Place the grated cassava, sugar and coconut milk in a pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches the consistency of porridge, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla, nutmeg and salt and cook for 5 more minutes. Set aside to cool, then fold in the lime zest if using.
- Once your tart shell is cool, spoon in the coconut-cassava porridge until you have covered the tart bottom with a thin layer. You will have some left over (you can enjoy the leftover with some fresh fruits for breakfast!).
- For the peanut butter mousse: Bloom the gelatin by dissolving it in 1/4 cup of cold water and refrigerating it for 5 to 10 minutes. Place the peanut butter and cayenne in a medium bowl. Microwave 1/3 cup heavy cream with the coconut milk powder or coconut cream for about 1 minute. Add the gelatin and stir to melt it into the cream.
- Stir the cream and gelatin mixture into the peanut butter and blend by hand until incorporated. In another bowl, whisk the remaining 2/3 cup heavy cream with the sugar, vanilla and salt until it forms soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture and pour it over the coconut layer. Let the tart set up in the fridge; the coconut flavor comes out more after the tart rests overnight.
- For the topping: Pan-fry some grated coconut until golden brown and put as much as you’d like on top of the tart. You can also put some lime caviar across the top of the tart. Remove the tart ring, cut the tart into wedges and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 721 |
| Total Fat | 54 g |
| Saturated Fat | 33 g |
| Carbohydrates | 57 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 26 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 79 mg |
| Sodium | 89 mg |
Reviews
I love it Brigitte! It’s very tasty! Keep it up! Tatie Nounoune.