Cocada Amarela

Angola's golden coconut pudding: grated coconut simmered in a clove-scented sugar syrup and thickened with egg yolks until dense and yellow, dusted with cinnamon

Origin: Luanda & the Angolan Coast

From the journey of Coconut.

Cocada amarela, yellow cocada, is Angola's best-known dessert. Grated coconut is cooked in a syrup of sugar and water scented with whole cloves until it turns translucent, and then a great many egg yolks are beaten in off the heat and cooked gently until the mixture thickens into a dense, glossy, golden pudding. It is spooned into small dishes, dusted with cinnamon, and served cold, in small portions, because it is very sweet and very rich. It is a Portuguese sweet remade in Africa. The method belongs to the convent confectionery of Portugal, where nuns built a whole tradition of desserts on egg yolks and sugar, and the Portuguese carried that tradition to their colonies. In Angola that tradition met the coconut of the coast, and the sweet became Angolan. It is also made in São Tomé and Príncipe, the other Portuguese colony of the Gulf of Guinea.

Ingredients

Syrup

  • 300 g sugar
  • 350 ml water
  • 4 whole cloves

Pudding

  • 200 g freshly grated coconut, or unsweetened desiccated coconut
  • 8 egg yolks

To Finish

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon, to finish

Method

  1. Put the sugar, water, and cloves in a heavy saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 minutes to make a light syrup.
  2. Add the coconut and simmer, stirring often, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the coconut is translucent and most of the syrup has been absorbed. Remove the cloves.
  3. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl. Stir a few spoonfuls of the hot coconut into them, then pour the yolks into the pan, off the heat, stirring constantly.
  4. Return the pan to a very low heat and cook, stirring without stopping, for 5 to 8 minutes, until the mixture thickens and turns a deep, glossy yellow. Do not let it boil.
  5. Spoon into small dishes or one serving bowl, leave to cool, then chill for at least 3 hours. Dust with cinnamon before serving.

Notes

Cocada amarela keeps for three days in the fridge. Some cooks brown the top under a hot grill before dusting with cinnamon.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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