Name: Chapana
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 450 g frozen grated cassava; 200-225 g coconut sugar; 1 tbsp aniseed; banana leaves

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This is not a super well-know Peruvian dessert but is as authentic as it can get. In fact, apparently it’s been around for way longer than the popular desserts that appeared when we were a Spanish colony.

I’m usually biased toward chocolate when it comes to sweets, but this is an exception. I think this is in part because there are childhood memories attached to chapana. I recently learned this is one of my father-in-law’s favourite desserts, too. I guess we have more in common that what I thought 🙂

Chapana is made with grated yuca (cassava), chancaca (basically cane sugar that has been boiled and solidified in a block) and aniseed. It’s wrapped in banana leaves and after cooking it acquires a chewy consistency. Grating cassava is a pain in the ass, so when I found frozen cassava in an ethnic shop (can’t remember which) I bought it immediately with cassava in mind. I used coconut sugar instead of chancaca for a hipster version (and also because I don’t know where to buy chancaca in Sydney!), adjusted the ratio (usually 1:1) to make it less sweet and did my best in wrapping the parcels (I’m very sloppy with that kind of things).

Chapana

Chapana is a traditional dessert from the jungle of Peru made with grated yuca (cassava) as the main ingredient.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine Peruvian

Servings 4

Equipment

kitchen twine

Ingredients

450 g frozen grated cassava
200-225 g coconut sugar
1 tbsp aniseed
banana leaves

Instructions

Thaw cassava in the fridge overnight.
Wipe the banana leaves clean.
In a bowl, mix cassava, coconut sugar and aniseed.
Divide mix in 4 parts and wrap each in banana leaves in a rectangular pillow-like parcels, wrapping the leaf over itself in 2-3 layers without breaking it if possible.
Tie the parcels with kitchen twine.
Fill a pot with enough water to cover the parcels and bring to a boil.
Pop the parcels in the pot and boil for 30 minutes.
Fish the parcels out of the water and let cool down enough to unwrap and enjoy.
Chapana is usually eaten warm, although some people enjoy it cold or at room temperature.

Keyword cassava, dessert, Peruvian cuisine, Peruvian food, yuca

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Peruvian recipes from abroad

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Recipe: Chapana (Peruvian cassava dessert)