Toto,
a fairly easy-to-cook Jamaican traditional dessert, is a favorite of Jamaican
at home and abroad.
Like
Ackee and Saltfish, Toto has its origins in slavery, albeit it has a more to do
with hunger and finding a way to feed that empty hole in your stomach.
The
slaves realized that they could combine coconut, molasses and flour to make Totos.
They then used a method of baking the Totos by placing hot coals on top of the
pan covering the Totos on a metal sheet with even more hot coals below the
metal sheet.
This
was basically a clever oven based on coals and was described using the Jamaican
term “fiyah a tap an fiyah a battam” and “hell a tap an hell a battam”.
But
did you know that you can make you're Toto from Cassava? Even better, you can
make them glow in the dark. Well, here's the modern update which I've decided
to cal glow-in-the-dark Jamaica Cassava Toto.
It's
about time the traditional dish that's fed generations of Jamaica around
Christmas Time as well as at Easter be upgraded so that you can sneak
downstairs and eat them under the glow of UV Light.
First,
to get started you'll need the following ingredients:
1.
2 cups wheat flour
2.
1 cup cassava flour
3.
1/4 tsp salt
4.
3 tsp baking powder
5.
1 tsp nutmeg
6.
2 tsp mixed spice
7.
1 cup coconut milk
8.
1 cup Schweppes Tonic Water
9.
1 beaten egg
10.
1/2 cup melted margarine
11.
1 T vanilla
12.
1 1/2 cups coconut, grated
To
make the glow-in-the-dark Jamaican Cassava Toto, you'll definately need an
oven, as these are modern times. Also some mixing bowls and some wooden spoons
to keep thing as authentic as possible!
Then
follow the simple instruction below:
1.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
2.
Combine the flours, baking powder,
spices and salt.
3.
Set aside. In another bowl, mix the
sugar, the coconut milk and the Schweppes Tonic Water
4.
Add the beaten egg, vanilla, melted
margarine and grated coconut to the mixture.
5.
Add the liquid mixture to the flour
mixture and stir lightly.
6.
Pour the resulting batter into a greased
pan and bake for 30 to 35 minute
Expert
tip: you'll known if they're done when you can insert a tester into the
glow-in-the-Dark Jamaica Cassava Toto and it comes back clean. At this point
you may even test for the glow-in-the-Dark property by using a UV light to see
the Totos glow in the dark.
Best served on Christmas Day as well as a treat for Easter as well along with your Glow-in-the-dark Easter Bun as described in my blog article entitled “How to make Glow-in-the-Dark Jamaican Easter Bun”
Look
out for more recipes that glow-in-the-Dark thanks to Schweppes Tonic Water!
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