Recipe updated on 12.8.19
Cassava Cake is a Filipino Delicacy in the Philippines. It is rich, creamy, custard-like, and coconutty with a little texture from the grated cassava and it’s gluten-free!
Love Filipino snacks? Try reader favorites Buko Pandan (Coconut Pand in Pearls), Mango Float, Binignit (Dessert Coconut Soup), or Cassava Bibingka.
When I actually started to enjoy eating Filipino Desserts, Cassava Cake was one of the first dishes I came to love and enjoy. There are so many different Cassava Cake versions out there, but this is an easy one to start with. Let me know how it goes!
What is Cassava Cake?
It is a very popular dessert in the Philippines made from yuca or tapioca plant. Since the Philippines has wide farmlands, Filipinos plant tapioca as one of their root crops. Tapioca is popularly called Kamoteng Kahoy in the Philippines which means “camote tree” or “tapioca tree”.
Cassava cake is a dessert that is very easy to prepare. It can be baked, steamed, or broiled. It just needs some basic mixing skills and you are good to go! The only hard thing to do when making cassava cake is the waiting time since it takes an hour or more to make.
But the waiting is always worth it! When you take a bite of the creamy, soft, and cheesy Cassava cake, you know you are eating one of the best desserts in the Philippines.
Tips and Procedures:
- If you like thinner cassava cakes, prepare two baking dishes and pour half of the cassava cake mixture into each pan.
- If you are living in the Philippines, you are lucky to find fresh cassava roots. Since this is a popular Filipino dessert, fresh cassava roots are found at public farmers’ markets. And, the friendly store owners would gladly grate the roots for you at a minimal fee! No hassle in grating on your part!
- If you are not counting calories (like me), you can add 2 tablespoons of melted butter after you add the grated cassava to the mixture. I promise it would bring your cassava cake to the next level! It will be moist and tasty!
- It’s never harmful to add a little vanilla extract! You can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to your cassava cake mixture
- It’s not advisable to use parchment paper for cassava cake as it tends to stick on the cake itself, making it hard to peel off after baking. It’s best to use a non-stick baking pan or use a non-stick baking spray or slather with butter or margarine.
- If you love a sweeter cassava cake, you can mix a jar of macapuno strips which you can buy in Asian grocery stores.
- If using frozen cassava, leave it at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour to thaw.
- Storage: Cassava cake must be stored in the fridge and up to 1 week.
How to Make Cassava Cake:
These are the Cassava Cake ingredients that you will need:
Cassava
- fresh cassava
- coconut milk
- melted butter
- egg
- evaporated milk
- sugar
- condensed milk
For the Topping:
- condensed milk
- coconut milk
- egg yolk
- grated cheese
Before starting the mixing process, preheat the oven to 350F, and don’t forget to grease the pan with butter or your trusted non-stick baking spray:
Make sure that you squeeze out all the water or liquid from the grated cassava:
In a large mixing bowl, add cassava, coconut milk, butter, egg, evaporated milk, sugar, and condensed milk:
Mix until well combined then set aside:
Pour the mixture into a greased pan and bake for 35 minutes:
Meanwhile, prepare the topping ingredients namely, condensed milk, coconut milk, and egg yolk:
Mix thoroughly until well combined, then set aside:
When the cassava is golden brown, firm or 50 minutes into baking, remove the cassava from the oven:
Pour the topping over the cassava and spread it, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes more:
Add grated cheese and cook for another 10 minutes:
Yum! This smells so good, Simply Bakers!
Soft, milky, and creamy – an all-in-one dessert that’s so easy to make! You can eat cassava cake warm or chilled. I like to eat them both ways 🙂
Frequently Asked Questions:
Eating cassava gives our body several vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, niacin, thiamine, and riboflavin.
It has a creamy, mildly sweet, and milky flavor because of the delicious mix of coconut milk, evaporated milk, butter, and sweetened condensed milk.
It is easy to make, delicious, and a great dessert for parties or any occasion. Cassava is rich in vitamins and minerals too.
Step-by-Step Video:
More Delicious Authentic Filipino Food:
Cassava Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups fresh cassava*
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 egg
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 cup condensed milk
Topping
- ¼ cup condensed milk
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 1 egg yolk
- ⅛ cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F, and grease an 11×7 pan with butter.
- If using fresh cassava, make sure to squeeze out the liquid. If using frozen, move on to the next step.
- In a large mixing bowl, add cassava, coconut milk, butter, egg, evaporated milk, sugar, and condensed milk, and mix until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into a greased pan and bake for 35 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the topping by mixing in medium bowl, condensed milk, coconut milk, and egg yolk until well combined, then set aside.
- When the cassava is golden brown and firm or 50 minutes into baking, remove the cassava from the oven and pour the topping over the casava and spread it, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Add grated cheese and cook for 10 more minutes.
- Allow to cool completely, then serve!
Hey ,
I love your videos and made the Candy Cane Cake and everybody loved it. I tried out this recipe but I’m not sure if it turned out right. Do you need 32 ounces grated cassava in total or 16?
Love,
Sarah
Hi Sarah! Thank you so much for your kind words. I really appreciate it. I used a total of 32 ounces of grated cassava when I baked this recipe. Sorry for the late response. 🙂
Made your cassava cake and considering it was first time, it was easy and delicious. Thanks…plan to use this recipe from now on. And look forward to trying out your other recipes.
Hi Marissa! Awesome!! I’m so glad the recipe turned out great for you! I would love to see pictures if you have any!!
Awesome recipe! Yumminess and goodness in one!
Thank you so much for your appreciation, Cath! Keep visiting my blog for more awesome recipes! Enjoy baking! 🙂
What kind of cheese do you recommend?
Hi there! Cheddar Cheese works. 🙂
Can you make this cassava cake without the eggs?
it’s funny how you indicate “check the pan size” but then it wasn’t mentioned anywhere in your post. I suppose you are aware that baking time changes with the size of the pan, don’t you think? I am not an expert in baking but i think this is one of the important details that affects results in baking.
It says the pan size at the top of the recipe card where it says “yield”. 9x 13 for 1x, 18×13 for 2x, and 27×13 for 3x.
Hi Misty,
You’re right, it’s really important. For this cake, I used 9×13 inch pan. It’s actually indicated in the recipe card. Sorry for the late response and thank you so much for visiting my blog. 🙂
You say use a 9 x 13 pan but in instruction #1, the baking pan is indicated to be 11 x 7. Also, baking time is indicated to be 35 minutes in instruction #4 but I’m reading this in instruction #6: “When the cassava is golden brown and firm or 50 minutes into baking, remove the cassava from the oven and pour the topping over the casava and spread it, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes.” Are you saying that we should bake it for another 15 minutes for it to get golden brown? Please clarify. Thank you!
Hi,
Thank you for your recipe. I tried making my cassava cake today but I added vanilla extract and young grated coconut and it’s so delicious. Oh BTW, I didn’t put sugar and instead of evaporated milk I used whole milk.
Regards,
Olivia Abbinanti
New York
Hi Olivia,
It’s my pleasure to share. I’m glad that you like this delicious dessert. Thank you for trying out this recipe. I appreciate it! Also, it’s great that you did some tweaks. I hope you can try my other recipes too. Enjoy!
Can you make this cassava cake without the eggs?
Yes, Nella. You may omit the egg in this recipe. Please share a photo in my IG or FB account if you make this. Enjoy!
“Pour the mixture into a greased pan and bake for 35 minutes.” This should read “Pour the mixture into a greased pan and bake for 75-80 minutes.”
@50 minutes (at this point the cake should be golden and browning) remove from oven and add topping mixture
Bake 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown
Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheddar cheese
Bake 10 minutes
In the pictures it looks like a 7×11 and video it’s a 9×13. Whether you use a 7×11 or 9×13 pan cook time is roughly the same. 7×11 makes a thicker cake and 9×13 makes a thinner cake.
Hi Eddie, thank you for visiting my blog and for sharing. I appreciate it!
Can the cake be baked without adding the toppings and sprinkling the cheddar cheese?
Yes, Roselyn. The toppings and cheddar cheese make this dessert more sweet and delicious, but you may opt not to add them, according to your preference.