Niram Watthanasit

Featured in Apartamento Cookbook #8: Tuber, or Not Tuber?, illustrated by Olga Prader, along with Vadim Otto Ursus‘ ‘Beetroot with Sloe Berry and Labneh’, Alice Moireau’s Manioc Enyucados with Cheese, and Rosie Healey’s ‘A Salad of Jerusalem Artichokes, Parmesan, Walnuts, and Mint’, which you can read here.

Of all the tubers, I love taro most, a realisation made when I left home for school in Bangkok at the age of 15. I adore its nutty flavour, light sweetness, and creaminess, not to mention its pale purple shade when cooked. In my home province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, I love dense taro cooked in syrup, topped with salted coconut milk, along with many variations: taro balls made with coconut milk and sugar stirred over low heat, boiled taro with coconut meat in fragrant coconut milk syrup and shaved ice, or chiffon taro cake with fresh cream. My taro cake came from imagining how I feel when eating these treats. This loaf would make a nice breakfast, made even better with frosting! Picture a layered taro cake garnished with sweet, dried fruits such as dates or figs, topped with garden flowers.

METHOD (Serves 8)

Cook taro in a pot of salted water over medium heat for 1.5–2 hours, peeling skin once it has cooled. Avoid touching peeled taro with wet hands as sap may react with plain water and irritate skin.

For the cake, preheat oven to 177°C. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan (or 8” x 2” round pans for layered cake) with butter. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Use an electric mixer with beaters or paddle attachment to beat eggs and sugar on medium speed until they become pale (about 3 minutes). Add oil and beat, add sifted flour, baking soda, and salt. Roughly mix mashed taro with buttermilk in a bowl, pour into mixing bowl, then add nutmeg. Continue beating on low speed until combined and smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the center of the oven for 50–60 minutes (or 30–35 minutes for the round pans) or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Run a butter knife around the cake to gently release it. Peel off the bottom piece of the parchment paper and let the cake cool on a wire rack.

For frosting, use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese and mashed taro on medium speed until smooth. Scrape sides with a spatula and add condensed milk. Beat until creamy and smooth (about 3 minutes). Ice cake with frosting using a spatula. Sprinkle with dried, shredded coconut. Decorate as you wish.