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Jamaican Dukunnu/ Tie-a-leaf

 

Dukunnu, also known as tie-a-leaf or blue draws is a traditional Jamaican dessert. Jamaican Dukunnu is a sweet pudding, mainly made from cornmeal, that is made into small portions wrapped in banana or plantain leaf. It is made into a little package before cooking, hence giving it it's name "tie-a-leaf". The name "blue draws" comes from the colour that the leaves get when they are cooked. The recipe for tie-a-leaf is not too difficult, however, the tying of the pudding in the banana leaf can be a little tricky and may be difficult at first. But if you practise it enough and someone hands you a hand, it will be fun to prepare this dish.

 

Ingredients:

  • Yellow Cornmeal, 1 cup 

  • Flour whole grain, 1 cup 

  • Sweet potato, 1 cup, cubes 

  • Coconut, raw, 1 cup,

  • shredded Brown Sugar, 0.5 cup,

  • packed Granulated Sugar, .25 cup 

  • Silk Pure Coconut Milk (Original), 2 cup (more if needed)

  • Nutmeg 1 teaspoon

  • Cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon

  • Mace 1/8 teaspoon

  • Ginger 1/2 teaspoon

  • Vanilla extract 1 teaspoon

  • 6 banana leaves

  • White string

 

Method:

  1. Sift the cornmeal and flour together into a large mixing bowl.

  2. Add the sugars, spices, sweetpotato, coconut, coconut milk, and vanilla, and work into a firm, but not stiff dough.

  3. Halve each banana leaf and soften it by quickly dipping into warm water or dragging across an open flame on the stove.

  4. Place a ½ cup of the mixture on each half leaf and fold to make a little bundle, completely enclosing the filling. Tie with string.

  5. Fill a large pot half full of water and bring to a boil. Then lower the packets into the pot, making as many layers as possible.

  6. Boil gently over medium heat for 2.5 to 3 hours. Remove one bundle from the water and open to test doneness.

  7. Serve hot or cold, as an appetizer, snack or breakfast

 

Makes about 12 servings

Black Cake/ Jamaican Fruit Cake

This Jamaican Black Rum Cake recipe, or Jamaican Fruit cake, is meant for the adults among us. Black cake is mainly baked around Christmastime, but is also baked on other special occasions such as weddings. What makes a black cake dark is the amount of time you soak the fruit in liquor. Many Jamaicans soak their fruit for a year! That means that as soon as Christmas is over, they have to buy new fruit for the next year. However, for this recipe you can just soak the fruit in rum overnight. I have never tried this Cake myself, but it is said to be full of flavour and very moist. 

 

Ingredients:

  • 2¾ cups Thompson Raisins

  • 1¾ cups currants

  • 1 cup Candied Peel

  • ½ cup Walnuts

  • 1/3 cup Prunes

  • 1/3 cup Candied Cherries

  • 2 cups Brown Sugar, packed

  • 1½ tsp each Vanilla and Almond Extract

  • ½ tsp Nutmeg

  • ¼ tsp Cinnamon

  • Pinch each ground Ginger, Allspice and Cloves

  • 1 cup Jamaican White Rum

  • 1 cup Unsalted Butter

  • 5 eggs

  • 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp Browning (depending on how dark you want your cake)

  • 1½ cups All-purpose Flour

  • ½ tsp each baking powder and salt

  • ½ cup port

 

Method:

  1. One day ahead, in microwaveable bowl, combine raisins, currants, peel, walnuts, prunes and cherries. Add 1/3 cup brown sugar, vanilla and almond extracts, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves.

  2. Stir in Â½ cup of the rum. Cover and microwave at High for 10 minutes, stirring twice; let stand overnight.

  3. In large pot, bring fruit mixture and Â½ cup of water to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often; set aside to cool.

  4. When fruit is cool, use a hand or stand blender, or a food processor to puree the fruitwith 2 Tbsp of water.

  5. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with remaining brown sugar, beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

  6. Add fruit mixture and browning, blending well.

  7. In another mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt; fold in fruit mixture until well combined.

  8. Pour batter into two greased non-stick 9×5-inch loaf pans.

  9. Place pans into pre-heated 275 degree oven for 2 hours or until tester inserted in centre comes out slightly wet.

  10. Let cakes cool in pans for Â½ hour then turn out onto cooling rack and cool for another Â½ hour

  11. Combine remaining rum with port to make 1 cup of liquor; poke holes in the cakes with a skewer and pour Â½ cup equally over the bottom of cakes.

 

Makes 2 cakes

 

Jamaican Grater Cake

Grater Cake is one of those true Jamaican confections. It's grated coconut, spices and... sugar! Jamaicans do not only love their spices, they sure love their sugars too! Grater Cake can be found in almost every Jamaican food shop, but it's also a lot of fun to make them at home, and you only need a few ingredients! Those who like coconut and sugar as much as the Jamaicans do, will love the blend of sweet coconut and ginger in this pretty Jamaican treat.

 

Ingredients:

  • 4 (1L) cups Grated Coconut (1 large coconut)

  • 2 (500 mL) cups Sugar

  • 3/4 (175 mL) cup Water

  • 1 (5 mL) tsp Vanilla Essence

  • 1 (5 mL) tsp Ground Ginger or 2 tsp (10 mL) Fresh Ginger, grated

  • 1/4 (1 mL) tsp Salt

  • 2 to 3 drops Red Food Colouring

 

Method:

1. Grate flesh of one whole fresh coconut using a hand grater or food processor. If you want the grater cake to be white then you have to remove the brown skin. Or you can skip that step and grate everything. In that case you will end up with brown not white grater cake…
2. Mix water and vanilla and pour into cast iron pot or heavy bottom pot
3. Heat water on Medium-High and stir in the sugar, ginger and salt; stir until sugar is dissolved
4. Pour coconut into pot and blend with sugar mixture
5. Stir mixture on Medium heat until the coconut is sticky and stiff, about 35 minutes
6. Remove pot from heat and continue stirring for 2 minutes
7. Put a 1/2 cup of mixture into  small bowl and mix in food colouring; set aside
8. Cover  baking sheet with wax paper and using a serving spoon drop spoonfuls of mixture onto sheet
9. Top each cake with heaping teaspoon of pink coconut, pressing firmly; set aside to cool

Store grater cake in air-tight container

 

Makes about 8 servings

Jamaican Bread Pudding

Bread pudding might sound familiar to you, since they make it in England a lot too. You may therefore think that bread fruit is not a Jamaican dessert, but since in colonial times Jamaica was run by the British, a lot of Jamaican food has English influences or origins. For this recipe you can use any white bread, whether fresh or stale.

The good thing about bread pudding is that you can make it all yours by adding your favourite nuts, some rum or fruitss you like such as chopped apples, raspberries or blueberries. Another asset is that bread pudding tastes just as good the next day as it does warm out of the oven, topped with ice cream, fruit, powdered sugar, caramel sauce or rum cream. Feel free to experiment and become a creative cook.

 

Ingredients:

  • 10 thick slices of White Bread (fresh or stale)

  • 1/2 cup Raisins

  • 2 tsp Cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp Allspice

  • 1/2 tsp Nutmeg

  • 1/2 tsp Salt

  • 6 Eggs, beaten

  • 3/4 cup White Sugar

  • 1 Tbsp Vanilla

  • 3 cups luke-warm Milk

  • 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

  • 1 Tbsp Jamaican rum (optional)

 

Method:

1. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes and place in large bowl
2. Add raisins, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt to bowl and stir
3. In another bowl, whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla
4. Add warmed milk, melted butter and rum to egg mixture and stir
5. Add liquid mixture to bread and stir until bread is wet
6. Pour mixture into a greased 9-x13-inch baking dish and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes
7. Place dish into a pre-heated 375-degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes or until knife comes out clean

 

Makes about 12 to 15 servings

Jamaican Rum Truffels

I am a big fan of truffles, they are a messy treat but so delicious. When I discovered this Jamaican (Rum) Truffle recipe, I just knew I had to share it with you. Jamaican's sure love their rum and therefore use it in many of their desserts and treats. However, for the children and teetotallers among you, the rum can be omitted in this treat. But on the other hand, you could also ramp up the rum to three tablespoons for a good rum flavour. Making your own truffles is not the easiest thing to do, but when they are finished, they will start to water your mouth. 

 

Ingredients:

  • 250ml/9fl oz whipping cream

  • 100g/3½oz milk chocolate, finely chopped

  • 200g/7oz dark chocolate, finely chopped

  • 25g/1oz unsalted butter, diced

  • 2-3 tbsp dark rum

  • 5 tbsp cocoa powder, for dusting

 

Method:

  1. Heat the cream in a small pan, removing it from the heat just before it comes to the boil.

  2. Meanwhile, put the milk chocolate and dark chocolate in a large bowl and, once the cream comes off the heat, pour it over the chocolate. Stir well until melted and smooth.

  3. Add the butter and enough rum to taste and mix well. Leave to cool and then cover the chocolate mixture with cling film and transfer to the fridge for at least four hours, or overnight – the chocolate will be set firm.

  4. Line a large tray with parchment paper. Sift half of the cocoa powder onto each of two large plates. One will be to dust your hands and the other to coat the truffles.

  5. Use a teaspoon or melon baller to scoop up walnut-sized pieces (about 15g/½oz) of the chocolate mixture. Press the palms of your hands into one of the cocoa powder plates to lightly coat and roll the truffle pieces quickly into a ball. Don’t roll the chocolate in your hands for too long or it will begin to melt.

  6. Roll the truffle around in the cocoa powder on the other plate to lightly coat and place on the tray. Repeat until all of the mixture is used up to give about 40 truffles in total, pressing your hands into more cocoa powder when necessary to avoid sticking. It is best to wash your hands a few times throughout the process, but be sure to rinse them in cold water before drying so that they are nice and cold to avoid melting the truffles.

  7. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.

 

Makes about 12 servings

Jamaican Coconut Drops

Jamaican coconut can be found everywhere in Jamaica. In almost every small or large grocer, supermarket or street market, these sweet treats can be found. Depending on where you are on the island, they either call them coconut drops (like they did in Mandevill, which is where I stayed) or they call them cut cake. This is a fitting name, since you have to cut up a lot of coconut to make them! 

Eventhough you can buy the coconut drops pretty much everywhere, Jamaican also love to make them in their own kitchens. You will need a lot of ingredients for this recipe, but you do need to have patience since you have to wait about an hour before you can drop the coconut cuts into the sticky mixture. 

 

Ingredients:

  • 4½ cups Water

  • 4 cups Brown Sugar

  • 4 cups Diced Coconut

  • 4 Tbsp fresh Ginger, minced

  • 1 Tbsp Vanilla Flavouring

  • ¼ tsp Salt

 

Method:

  1. Remove flesh from about two medium coconuts and dice into small pieces using small knife

  2. Line a baking sheet with greased parchment paper

  3. Pour water in large nonstick saucepan (I use a cast iron pot) add sugar and bring to boil

  4. Add coconut, ginger, vanilla, salt and stir

  5. Continue stirring on High heat; the water will reduce and mixture thicken; continue stirring.

  6. How will you know when it's time to drop them? it will take about an hour to get it to this consistency so be patient.

  7. When the mixture is stiff, sticky and bubbling in the pot like caramel it is ready to drop. Drop heaps of mixture on baking sheet using large spoon and let cool

 

Makes 10 to 20 servings (depending on size)

Jamaican Gizzada Tarts

It is thought that this pastry can find its origin at the Portugese community in Jamaica, which were called Guizada. Gizzada (also known as Pinch-me-round) is a Jamaican coconut tart which can be found in almost every bakery on the island. The shell of this treat is really simple, stiff and not flaky and it tasts great with the sweet, spiced coconut filling. To get the best results, it's best to grate a fresh coconut. Enjoy preparing this treat and of course, enjoy the end result!

 

Ingredients: 

Pastry

  • 2 cups white flour

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • 3 Tbsp butter

  • ¾ cup cold water

 

Filling

  • 1 large dry coconut (5 cups grated)

  • 2 cups brown sugar, packed

  • 2 tbsp vanilla essence

  • 1½ tsp grated nutmeg

  • 2 tbsp water

  • 1 Tbsp butter

 

Method:

  1. Mix flour, salt and baking powder together in large bowl

  2. Cut 3 Tbsp of butter into small pieces, add to flour along with the cold water; work butter and water into flour until the mixture looks like bread crumbs

  3. With your hands, squeeze pastry mixture until it holds together in a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for about 20 minutes.

  4. Remove coconut from shell; you can grate it by hand the old-fashioned way or use a food processor

  5. In a large mixing bowl, blend grated coconut and brown sugar, until there are no sugar lumps

  6. Put the coconut mixture in a saucepan and add nutmeg, vanilla and water; cook gently for about 10 minutes over Medium heat

  7. Add  butter and cook for another 5 minutes; set aside to cool

  8. Roll flour mixture into a nice smooth, flat pastry; cut into small 6-inch diameter circles using a bowl

  9. Shape  circles into tart shells by using your fingers to pinch the edge into 6-8 little crimps.

  10. Place the pastry shells on a greased tray and bake partially in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.

  11. Fill each shell with coconut and bake for another 10 minutes

 

Makes about 8 servings

Jamaican Mango Cheesecake

We all know that it is not half as sunny and warm in the Netherlands as it is in Jamaica. However, with this Jamaican Mango Cheesecake recipe you can add a little bit of summer to your gray days. Yes believe me, this fruity, fresh and sweet Cheesecake can do just that. It is not a secret that Jamaicans love their mangoes. It is also not a secret that they love to incorporate its juicy and sweet flabour into their dishes. Whether the mangoes are ripened, over ripened or half ripened, there is little that will stop a Jamaican from eating and using this amazing fruit. 

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup gram cracker crumbs 

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 tsp. Jamaican cinnamon

  • ½ cup melted butter

  • ½ tsp. salt

  • ¼ cup chopped Jamaican peanuts

  • 2½ cups Jamaican mango puree

  • 2 cups sour cream

  • 2 tbsp. brown sugar

  • 2 tsp. vanilla

  • 3 eggs

  • 3 pkgs. cream cheese, softened

  • zest of ½ Jamaican orange

 

Method: 

  1. Mix all crust ingredients and press into bottom of springform pan.

  2. Thoroughly mix sour cream, cream cheese, eggs, salt, vanilla, Jamaican orange zest

  3. and Jamaican mango puree.

  4. Beat well with an electric mixer. Pour into springform pan. Place pan in bain marie

  5. (water bath) and bake 2½ hours at 350′.

  6. Increase temperature to 400′ and bake 20 minutes more.

 

Makes about 10 servings

Jamaican Carrot Cake

Cake is often associated with parties and special occasions. However this Jamaican Carrot Cake can be served at any time of the day, all year round! Whether it is a tea-time treat or lunch/dinner-time dessert. This Carrot Cake is a true crowd-pleasing dessert. This cake can be eaten with vanilla ice-cream (or any other flavour you like) and can be eaten with a cup of tea or even a flass of sparkling grape wine/white wine next to it. This Jamaican Carrot Cake is flavourful, sweet and not difficult to make, at all!

 

Ingredients:

  • 3     cups of shredded raw carrots

  • 4     beaten eggs

  • 1 3/4 cups brown sugar

  • 2 1/2 cups flour

  • 1 1/2 cup oil

  • 1     teaspoon vanilla

  • 1 1/2 cinnamon

  • 3/4   nutmeg

  • 1/2   teaspoon mixed spice

  • 1     teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2   teaspoon salt

 

Method: 

1. Combine shredded raw carrot and sugar in a bowl and mix well.
2. Add beaten eggs, then oil and vanilla and mix well.
3. Combine and sift together the flour, the cinnamon, the other spices, along with the nutmeg, the mixed spice, the baking soda and the salt.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredient combination to the wet mixture and mix until completely combined.
5. Pour batter into greased baking container and bake for about 40 minutes at 350F or until you stick a knife in the center and it comes up dry.

 

Makes about 6 servings

Jamaican Tamarind Balls

Don't feel ashamed if you have never heard of "tamarind" before. I had never heard of it before either. In it's natural form, tamarind looks like a bean pod. It has a crisp, brown shell and the fruit is sticky and sweet. It will be hard to find the tamarind anywhere else than in the tropics, but if you visit an Asian grocer or anything of the kind, you might be able to find the tamarind in its natural form. However, you can also buy the tamarind paste or pulp and use these for preparing this Jamaican treat. Personally I did not really like this treat that much, as I did not really like the sour and sweet taste and stickyness of it. However, many Jamaicans love the tamarind balls, whether home made or bought in the supermarket. I hope you will enjoy them as much as my Jamaican friends.

 

Ingredients: 

  • 1/2 cup Tamarind flesh

  • 1 cup brown sugar

  • Granulted sugar

  • Water

  • 1 tablespoon Jamaican Rum (optional)

  • Salt and pepper (optional)

  • Flour (optional)

 

Method:

1. Crack the bean pod and remove the shell.

2. Pull out the piece that holds the tamarind together and discard it.

3. Add sugar (and salt and pepper with some flour if you like)

4. Rub the sugar into the tamarind and mix. Some of the seeds inside the tamarind will come out, you can take them out, as you want to remove as much seeds as possible.

5. At this point you can add a table spoon of rum to the tamarind balls, or you can just use some water to add some moisture and make the sugar stick to the tamarind better.

6. Keep on mixing untill it is coming together as a ball. 

7. Add some more sugar and keep on mixing it until you get the right consistency. 

8. Take little parts of the tamarind ball and roll them into smaller, bite-size balls.

9. Roll the balls in a plate of sugar until they are fully covered in sugar. 

 

Makes about 12 servings

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