Take it from us, having a bite of these popular African cakes would leave you begging for more.
We’ve compiled a list of 7 most popular African cakes that you will definitely love to try.
- Godrogodro, Madagascar
- Chikenduza, Zimbabwe
- Bolo Polana, Mozambique
- Baseema, Sudan
- Mbesses, Algeria
- Basbousa bil tamr, Libya
- Meskouta, Morocco
1. Godrogodro, Madagascar
A traditional cake from Madagascar is called a Godrogodro. The cake is often created using a mixture of rice flour, coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg, though there are several variants.
The cake is produced by first making caramel and combining it with coconut milk. The rice flour, nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon are combined with the mixture and cooked over low heat.
The mixture is poured into a prepared baking sheet and baked in the oven for around 30 minutes once it starts to get slightly thick.
2. Chikenduza, Zimbabwe
A traditional African dessert from Zimbabwe called Chikenduza. Flour, butter, vanilla, milk, sugar, yeast, eggs, salt, powdered sugar, and red food coloring are used to make these sweet cakes.
The dough is formed into balls and baked until puffy in muffin tins or other baking dishes. These sweet cakes should eventually be twice the size of a muffin. A thick pink icing composed from powdered sugar, water, and food coloring is applied on top of the cooled cakes.
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3. Bolo Polana, Mozambique
A traditional Mozambican cake made with cashews and potatoes is called bolo polana. Mash potatoes, ground cashews, eggs, orange zest, lemon zest, vanilla essence, sugar, and butter are all ingredients in this recipe.
After incorporating the egg whites into the mixture, the cake is cooked till golden brown.
Bolo Polana should taste rich and nutty if it is made correctly. This cake, which has the name of Polana, a neighborhood of Maputo (the capital city of Mozambique), is frequently created for important events. A few roasted cashew nuts can be used as a garnish on the cake, if preferred.
4. Baseema, Sudan
The ingredients for baseema, a traditional Sudanese cake, include eggs, yogurt, baking soda, flour, coconut shreds, oil, and vanilla extract. Typically, the mixture is put onto a large pan and baked. After that, a glaze made of granulated sugar, lemon juice, and water is applied to the cake.
Baseema is typically sliced into squares before being served. This cake’s name, which translates to “yum,” makes perfect sense.
5. Mbesses, Algeria
The main ingredients for making mbesses, an Algerian sweet cake, are semolina or farina and eggs. The remaining ingredients in this cake are milk, yeast, sugar, honey, butter, and a tiny bit of salt.
Pistachios and almonds are generally used as garnish, and a sweet syrup composed of sugar, honey, water, orange juice, and rose essence is then drizzled over the top. After the cake has baked, it is advised to wait an hour before serving it.
6. Basbousa bil tamr, Libya
Basbousa is a typical cake made with semolina and flavored with syrup and almonds in the Arabian region. This Libyan version of the semolina cake sandwiched between two layers of date paste and has desiccated coconut in the cake batter.
Semolina, normal flour, desiccated coconut, sugar, butter, milk, date paste, and baking powder are the ingredients used to make the cake. Typically, cinnamon is used to flavor it. Basbousa bil tamr is a popular dish in Libya, where it is served with qashta cream and Arabic cardamom coffee on the side.
7. Meskouta, Morocco
A typical Moroccan cake is called Meskouta. Almonds, eggs, sugar, honey, orange juice, lemon juice, orange blossom water, oil, flour, baking soda, and baking powder are all used to make this orange and almond cake. The batter is prepared and then placed into a pan before being fried till golden.
When oranges ripen in the winter, this cake is typically made. On the side, hot mint tea or coffee is frequently served with it.
