Cassava Cake deLight

While cleaning the freezer yesterday, I saw bags of frozen cassava buried under all the more popular selection of foods.  The immediate thought that came to mind is Cassava Cake.  It's been ages since the last time I made cassava cake.  Ate Ludy Tanchoco gave it to me when we were still living in the Bay Area.  She used to make it for the potlucks at BABF.  It is the best cassava cake ever.  However, her recipe is loaded with fat and calories (just look at the pictures below - I even misspelled the word "ingredients" :)). 

Today, I made my cake with some modifications.  I used only half of the coconut milk, butter, and condensed milk.  Tim, Brahms and I sampled it...and the verdict:  it is still very good! Nonetheless, there's still a lot of room left to make it less rich.  

This recipe has been in my recipe binder for almost two decades.  :) 

Bread Pudding: Only in the Absence of Pies

Torta-Bread Pudding

Costco sells Torta bread which is so good for making sandwiches.  The only problem with this soft yummy bread is its short shelf-life.  During the holidays, we had a lot of left-overs from entertaining and I was determined not to allow them to get sucked into garbology.  This recipe -modified from an old recipe- is ideal for any of the sweeter breads such as torta or Hawaiian bread.  This bread pudding is custardy inside and crispy on top! 


Ingredients

• 7 pieces  day-old torta bread
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup craisins
• 7 eggs, beaten
• 4 cups milk
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Tear bread into small pieces into an 8 x 11inch baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. Sprinkle with craisins.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.               
5. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.  Enjoy!