Garri is crunchy, ready to eat flour granules made from cassava popular in West Africa. Garri is commonly made into an edible dough ball called eba with hot water and a spatula, however it can also be eaten like most cereal- during which milk is often substituted with or added to water.
Garri is a really versatile flour because it’s already cooked so it makes a great choice for no cook food explorations. In fact, in Nigeria, it is popular for being used to make improvised no-bake cakes in many boarding schools. The variety of flavours and sizes to these creations are endless and some are even outrageous. Unfortunately, the boarding school I attended had garri on contraband list so I did not get to experiment back then- better late than never right?
Two weeks ago, my sister love (this story is for another day ;)),Mary who is currently in Spain entered for an international dessert competition; each person was expected to make a dessert from their home country. She called me and we laughed about it.
You see, when Europeans think of third course-; it’s cakes, pies, tarts, or various sorts of pudding. However, third course at Nigerian parties mean barbecue beef/chicken, asun, gizdodo, small chops ( samosa, spring rolls- asian inspired snacks and puff-puff which Nigerians all time favourite! Who does not love hot puff-puff?!) All that spicy yummy stuff is what is famous generally; of course, there are some parties that serve western desserts but they are not local to Nigeria (disclaimer **hands up**)
I told her I had this recipe sketched in my drafts ( for 2 years now) to pimp up the famous Nigerian boarding school garri cake but I had not done it yet! Procrastination… I know :(! That very day, with Mary’s voice on the other end of the phone, I knew this recipe was finally going to be a reality. I had to help her represent one of Nigeria’s staples with a glam. Guess what? Did she win the competition?!…
INGREDIENTS 4 Servings
- Garri 1 cup
- Cocoa powder 2 tbsps
- Evaporated milk 1/2 cup
- Sugar 1/3 cup (White or brown sugar)
- Condensed milk 2 tbsps
- Chocolate sauce as desired (for garnish)
- Peanuts as desired (because garri and nuts 😉)
- Chocolate chips as desired (for garnish)
Step 1
Mix garri and cocoa powder in a bowl with a whisk or fork; set aside. In another bowl, mix evaporated milk, condensed milk and sugar. Add the garri mix to the milk mix and stir making sure that garri is completely coated in the milk mixture.
Step 2
Scoop the combined mix into silicone cupcake moulds. Leave to take form for 10-20 minutes. Remove cupcakes from mould.
P.s: I recommend silicon moulds as they are very convenient to use- check out how they made my suya egg muffins perfect. If you cannot get a hold of them where yu are, opt for foil cupcake liners. However, if you use paper cupcake liners instead, double or triple them as they would absorb moisture and might fall apart if you use only one.
Step 3
Serve with some nuts, chocolate sauce, chocolate chips. Top with fruits; I used frozen raspberries ( I wanted to add some diced mango but the tales of garri and mango are still strong with me- I once had a personal experience of it!)
