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Cafunga
Banana coconut cake in leaves
Cafunga: banana and coconut cake baked in banana leaves, from eastern Venezuela
Cafunga belongs to Venezuela's eastern coast, in Sucre and the Afro-Venezuelan villages of Barlovento, where ripe bananas, coconut and panela are wrapped in banana leaves and baked until fragrant. It comes out dense and moist, somewhere between a pudding and a cake, and is sold in its leaf at fiestas and village markets. The common mistake is not softening the leaves first, so they crack and leak. Chef's tip: pass each leaf over a gas flame or dip it in boiling water until it turns glossy and pliable.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 6 very ripe bananasabout 700 g peeled
- 7 oz fresh grated coconutor 150 g desiccated
- 5 ½ oz panelagrated
- 5 ½ oz pre-cooked yellow cornmeal
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp aniseed
- 1 pinch salt
- 4 banana leaves30 cm squares
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What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (2)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Wipe 4 banana leaves and pass them over a flame or dip in boiling water until soft and shiny.
5 minStep 2: Mash 6 very ripe bananas smoothly, then mix in 7 oz fresh grated coconut, 5 ½ oz panela, 5 ½ oz pre-cooked yellow cornmeal, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves, ½ tsp aniseed and 1 pinch salt into a thick, sticky batter. Rest for 10 minutes so the cornmeal swells.
15 minStep 3: Heat the oven to 350°F. Spoon a quarter of the batter onto each leaf, fold into a flat parcel about 3 cm thick and tie with string or a strip of leaf. Set seam-side down on a tray.
8 minStep 4: Bake for 45–50 minutes, until the parcels feel firm and a skewer pushed in comes out clean.
50 minStep 5: Cool for 15 minutes, then open and cut into slices.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does cafunga take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 55 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of very ripe bananas?
- 120g (½ cup) apple sauce per banana (less banana flavour).
- What can I use instead of ground cinnamon?
- A cinnamon stick, ground: about ½ tsp per stick.
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