Potato and Cashew Cake (Mozambican Bolo Polana)

Mozambican bolo polana gets its name from a suburb of the capital city Maputo called “polana”. When I first saw the recipe for this popular cake I was skeptical. Making a cake out of mashed potato seemed very strange but after further thought, I figured it could add some nice moisture to the cake. This cake has no flour in it at all. At one point in time Mozambique was the largest producer of cashews in the world. Still many trees remain.

1½ cups butter
1 cup Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol (Granular)
2 tsp. lemon zest, freshly grated
2 tsp. orange zest, freshly grated
9 egg yolks
5 egg whites
2 medium sized potatoes peeled, cooked and mashed until smooth
2 cups raw unsalted cashew nuts, ground in a blender or food processor until smooth

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Butter the bottom and sides of a spring form cake tin.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the mashed potatoes, ground cashew nuts, zest of lemon and orange. Add in the egg yolks one at a time and blend well.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Fold the egg whites into the batter.

Pour the batter into the cake tin.

Bake in the oven for one hour or until golden brown.

Remove and let cool before removing from the spring form pan.

Garnish with a few roasted cashew nuts.