Mané Pelado

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •9 by 13 inch baking pan
• •Box grater or food processor with grating disk
• •Clean kitchen towel
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Sturdy spoon or silicone spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Prep the pan

   Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking pan and dust it with flour or sugar. The butter keeps the edges from sticking, and the dusting helps the cake release instead of tearing when you cut it. This cake is tender, not a brick.

2. 2

   Grate the cassava

   Split the peeled cassava lengthwise and pull out the tough woody cord from the center if you see one. Grate the cassava on the fine holes of a box grater or in a food processor until it looks wet and shaggy. Fine grating matters because the cassava has to cook into the batter, not sit there in hard little splinters.

   Use sweet cassava sold for cooking. Don't use bitter cassava, and don't taste raw cassava. It belongs cooked, fully and properly.
3. 3

   Squeeze it lightly

   Put the grated cassava in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze once or twice over the sink. Stop when it is damp but not dripping. Too much liquid makes the cake heavy and wet in the wrong way; too much squeezing makes it dry. A gente quer moist, not soggy.

4. 4

   Mix the wet base

   In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth, then whisk in the condensed milk, whole milk, melted butter, sugar, and salt. Mix until the butter disappears into the liquid. This even base is what keeps you from biting into one corner that's too sweet and another that tastes like scrambled egg.

5. 5

   Add body

   Stir in the grated cassava, coconut, and cheese. Fold with a sturdy spoon until everything is evenly spread through the bowl. The batter should be thick, loose, and textured, almost like a very wet spoon cake. If the cassava clumps, break it up now, because the oven won't fix a lazy mix.

6. 6

   Finish the batter

   Stir in the baking powder and fennel seeds, if using, just until you can't see dry spots. Add the baking powder last because it starts working once it gets wet. Mix forever and you waste its lift, then wonder why the cake sits there looking offended.

7. 7

   Bake until golden

   Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is deeply golden, the edges pull slightly from the pan, and the center is set with a gentle wobble, not a slosh. A knife inserted near the center should come out moist with a few crumbs, not wet batter. That's the ponto.

8. 8

   Cool and cut

   Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before cutting. Warm cassava cake is soft and dramatic, and it will crumble if you rush it. Give it time to settle, then cut into squares and serve plain, because plain is not the same thing as poor.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh or frozen grated cassava is the honest Tuesday shortcut. It saves your knuckles and still keeps the dish itself. Cassava flour, tapioca starch, or a cake mix won't give you Mané Pelado. That's another thing wearing the wrong name.
• •Use unsweetened coconut. The condensed milk already brings plenty of sweetness, and sweetened coconut can push the cake into candy when what you want is cassava, coconut, and cheese all speaking.
• •The cheese should have salt and character. Queijo meia cura is lovely here. If you can't find it, use a mild parmesan and keep moving. Technique first, every time.
• •Fennel seed is common in some home versions and absent in others. Use it if that taste says festa to you. Leave it out if it doesn't. The cake still works.
• •Store covered at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for up to 4 days. The texture firms when cold; warm a square gently if you want it softer again.

Advance Preparation

• •The cassava can be peeled and kept covered in water in the fridge for up to 24 hours before grating.
• •Frozen grated cassava can be thawed overnight in the fridge, then squeezed lightly before mixing.
• •The baked cake can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely, cover, and keep at room temperature if your kitchen is cool, or refrigerate in warm weather.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 160g)