Thursday, February 16, 2012

Ancestry and Cayman Island Cream of Wheat Cake

I enjoy learning where my family comes from. I remember spending Sunday afternoons at the Allen county public library while my parents did research in the genealogy department. I thought that was really neat so I asked my mom to show me how so I could look into my dad's side. It is hard,grueling work but exciting. I didn't last long at it (I was only in middle school) but my dad worked at it and went back pretty far.
I have some of the more common lineage: German, English, etc. but one of my more unique heritage is that my great grandma was from the Cayman Islands. I loved listening to her talk; she had a great island accent. I would love to visit the islands someday. I know it's not quite the same as it used to be since a hurricane (Katrina maybe?) destroyed a lot of the island including the family pew at a little church somewhere (so I've heard) but there still is distant family there that would be fun to meet.
This recipe came from my great grandma.I believe it originally was made with cassava and although I'm not sure how it transformed into this current recipe, I think it is perfect just the way it is. Enjoy!

Cayman Island Cream of Wheat Cake

1 can Coco Lopez cream of coconut (by the drink mixers)
Enough milk to make 6 cups when added to the cream of coconut
1 cup Cream of Wheat
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1:2 stick of butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon allspice

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add sugar, cinnamon, and allspice; mix well. Add 6 cups coconut milk mixture and cream of wheat. Stir constantly until consistency of tapioca pudding. Pour into a greased 9x13 glass dish. Bake at 300 degrees for 60 minutes or until top is dry and brown. Let cool (if you can), then cut into squares and try not to eat the whole pan in one sitting. :0)

1 comment:

  1. This was so neat to find!!! My family is also from Grand Cayman & I wanted to find a cream of wheat recipe for a cultural event. & just FYI this is TOTALLY different from a cassava cake. They are two seperate & delicious desserts!!! :)

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