NEW YORK, NY - In the Caribbean and in the Diaspora, the Sunday dinner meal is one of the most important meals of the week.
Everyone looks forward to the main course but most of the dessert or desserts that are served with the meal.
The reason why the Sunday dinner meal is so important is it is the time when all the family members and relatives come together to eat with each other and chat together after a week of work.
After the main course, which may consist of Rice and Peas, jerk pork, brown stew chicken, baked chicken, stewed beef, roast beef, stewed cow foot, roast pork and steam vegetables washed down with carrot juice, beet root juice, sour sop juice, ginger beer, mauby, cucumber juice or cream of corn punch, dessert is the treat.
Dessert, may consist of one or two of the following: Sweet potato pudding , blue draws, homemade ice cream, pineapple upside down cake, fruit cake, jello, cowfoot jelly, flan, plain cake, Lemon meringue pie, cornmeal pudding , cornmeal pone, cassava pone, banana pudding or toto.
To say which dessert is my favorite is difficult. Today I will share with you the recipe for one of my favorites – Toto.
As far as I know, Toto is a Jamaican creation that is usually served after the Sunday meal with homemade ice cream. As a child, I can remember grating the coconut for this dessert and did not mind the tedious task as it brought great rewards because Toto is a delicious dessert, especially when it served with homemade ice cream.
Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp salt
2 cups grated coconut
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 lb margarine or butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 egg
Grated rind of 1/2 a lime
1 tbs liquid burnt sugar or browning.
Method
Cream butter and sugar.
Add lime rind and grated coconut and mix thoroughly.
Sift in all the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, cinnamon salt and nutmeg.)
Mix in a beaten egg, vanilla and browning.
Add coconut milk in slowly.
Mix until the batter becomes slightly stiff.
Bake in a greased pan at 350F for 1/2 hour.
Cut into squares or slices and serve with homemade ice cream.
Bon Appetite
Minna LaFortune is a trained Caribbean caterer and also president, Society for the Advancement of the Caribbean Diaspora (SACD).
