A moist, gluten-free cake made from mashed potatoes and ground cashew nuts, a unique Mozambican dessert named after a Maputo neighborhood.
Instructions
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1
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease a round cake tin with butter and a light dusting of ground cashew.
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2
Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about five minutes with a wooden spoon or electric mixer.
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3
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then stir in vanilla extract and orange zest.
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4
Fold in the mashed potato and ground cashews until the batter is smooth and evenly combined throughout.
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5
Pour into the prepared tin, smooth the top, and bake for forty to forty-five minutes until golden and set.
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6
Let cool in the tin for ten minutes, then turn out, dust with powdered sugar, and serve at room temperature.
Did You Know?
Bolo Polana is named after the upscale Polana neighborhood in Maputo where it was first created by colonial-era bakers.
The Story Behind Bolo Polana
Bolo Polana is perhaps the most famous dessert in Mozambique, a creative response to the scarcity of wheat flour in tropical East Africa. Using locally abundant cashew nuts and potatoes in place of flour, colonial-era bakers in Maputo's elegant Polana district created a cake that was both practical and luxurious. Today it remains the dessert of choice for celebrations and is served in every pastelaria across the country.
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