It’s that time of year where everything is pumpkin spiced! So I thought I’d add a Guyanese favorite to the pumpkin madness, this wonderful and gluten free Pumpkin Pone.
For this recipe I am using prepackaged grated coconut that I found in the asian market. (Updated from coconut and cassava. There is no cassava in this recipe). Listen, don't judge me. I am tired of buying fresh coconut only to get home and find that it is no good. Check the freezer section of your Asian markets and you might get lucky like I did. (This paragraph has been updated).
Pone is really easy to make and this one is no exception. I put all the ingredients in the bowl of my kitchen aid stand mixer and mixed on low using the paddle attachment. You can also just add it to a large mixing bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon. It took about 3 minutes for everything to be fully mixed together.
Then I poured the mixture into an 8x8 baking pan lined with parchment paper. The parchment paper makes it really easy to remove from the pan but just greasing the pan works well too.
I baked the pumpkin pone in the oven at 350 degrees for 1.5 hrs. My house spelled like a cozy fall day. I love it. Waiting for this to bake was absolute torture and my 5 year old kept asking, "is it done yet?"
After an hour and a half the pumpkin pone was a lovely shade of golden brown richness. I removed it from the oven and let it cool completely before removing it from the pan and parchment paper. I cut it into squares and drizzled some left over condensed milk on my piece, cause I’m extra like that! It was heaven. My kids also loved it. The texture was great. It was soft and moist, but still dense. It tasted like a pumpkin spiced cornmeal porridge cake. Yummy.
Guyanese Pumpkin (spice) Pone
Ingredients
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 2 cups grated coconut
- 2 cups cornmeal
- ½ stick of butter at room temperature
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1 cup of evaporated milk
- ¼ teaspoon ginger powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- ginger powder, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground cinnamon and nutmeg can all be substituted for 1 tablespoon of pumpkin spice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl
- Mix until fully combined
- Add to an 8x8 square baking pan or an 8 inch round pan
- Bake for 1.5 hours or until pone is completely brown
- Remove from the heat and let cool completely before slicing and serving
Notes
2. This recipe can be made vegan by substituting the butter for a vegan equivalent and using coconut milk instead of evaporated mil.k.
3. Let the pone cool completely before slicing or cutting into squares or it will be sticky.
mary says
You mentioned the prepackaged grated cassava but the recipe ingredients contain no grated cassava.
Althea Brown says
Good catch Mary. I didn’t use cassava in the Pumpkin pone. I was making regular Pone too and must have gotten mixed up when blogging. I’ll edit that and update the pic. Thank you.
Marva Elizabeth Ambrose says
Althea,
Thanks for your superb recipes.
What size can of pumpkin do you use.
Thanks kindly.
Althea Brown says
So sorry that I’m now getting back to you. It’s the 15oz can.
mary says
Thanks, will try it soon. Is cornmeal flour same as cornmeal?
Althea Brown says
Yes it is. Not sure why I didn’t just say cornmeal. I’ll change it to just say cornmeal.
Althea Brown says
It is. I’m changed the recipe to just say cornmeal.
Amelia says
No judgement here about the frozen coconUt! A dried COCONUT costs $1.99. Sometimes I’ll get 3 and come home to find that only 1 is good and fresh! Thanks for the recipe!
Althea Brown says
Yah know right. Like there is no guarantee it will be good or sweet. Thanks for trying my recipe.