You can buy frozen yuca/cassava already peeled or use a fresh one. I use frozen yuca for ease of preparation.

If using fresh cassava/yuca, it’s important to peel it first. If you have never peeled a yuca root before, here’s a brief tutorial. Snap the yuca in the middle and make sure you have a white fleshed tuber (none or minimal black spotting). Cut it into chunks. With a knife, make a cut that goes through the white ring underneath the brown crust and lift it with the blade of the knife. The bark will lift up in one piece. Carefully rotate the chunk to continue lifting the white ring and brown peel. Once it is peeled, cut in quarters and trim off the root. Make sure to also trim away any black or green spots that may have formed on the flesh. Then wash the tubers. Note: Do not wash the roots before peeling them. This will be just too messy. If not using immediately, place in cold water so it doesn’t discolor.

Slice each half into 2. Next quarter each half. Remove the thick woody part across the edge of each piece. Dice into small cubes.

Pre-heat the oven to 360F (180C) degrees. Generously grease a Fluted Tube/Bundt Pan, 9-inch round or square cake pan, or 12-muffin tin or 24 mini cupcake tin. Cover with flour (or with Tapioca flour/starch for a gluten-free version).

In a large bowl, mix grated unsweetened coconut with boiling water. (If using a freshly grated one just skip the water.) Then add coconut milk and sugar and reserve.

In a blender, mix* raw yuca (cassava/manioc) with milk, egg, and butter. And Pour on the reserved mixture of coconut, coconut milk, and sugar.

*Note: As my blender is a Ninja with 3 layers of blades and it is quite big (9 cups), I mix everything together. But if yours is too small with just one layer of blade you may need to divide into 2 or more parts of milk and yuca (cassava/manioc).

Mix all the ingredients together until well combined and transfer the mixture to the prepared cake pan.

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until the edges become golden brown.

Let cool to just barely warm before inverting. It won’t pop out like a regular sponge cake. It is heavy and gooey, but with a little encouragement from a rubber spatula, it will come out of the pan onto a serving plate.

Let cool completely, and serve. Or, don’t wait for it to cool completely and enjoy it warm. Do NOT put in the refrigerator or it will be too dry. Do not worry it won’t last long.