Jamaican toto recipe - Toto (Pronounced toe toe) is a grain free version of this Caribbean coconut cake infused with nutmeg, ginger and allspice.
I'm so pleased with myself in relation to the results of this coconut cake. This extra moist coconut cake had to be my favourite coconut dessert to eat as a youngster.
Our family were hooked on it, being the coconut lovers they were and still are to this day.
When I first begun blogging I knew many cultural recipes would be a challenge and Toto was one of the many difficulties I'd face.
I still run into many issues during my trial and error with Caribbean cooking. On the one hand, there's the ever-growing challenge of learning what substitutes work best as per recipe and then there's ensuring the substitute meets the grade.
If you love toto, then you will love my sweet Northern Style Sweet Cornbread, although this isn't Caribbean so many people love this recipe that I thought I would share it here.
Have some with a glass of Ginger Beer, Peanut Punch or even Soursop Punch.
Trial and error - making gluten free Jamaican toto
-At times like this I'm so thankful to be surrounded by a bunch of people who are more than willing to participant in sampling my cooking - some are hits and others require further revision. It took me several months of frustration to finally craft this recipe.
Pseudo grain free flours such as buckwheat were far too heavy for such a light, fluffy cake.
Replicating the fluffiness was virtually impossible. At one point I was on the verge of giving up (reluctantly) but my fighting spirit wouldn't succumb.
As I was browsing through the internet, totally unrelated, seeking some ideas for a pizza crust, I somehow wound up looking at a recipe using ground almonds.
A light bulb soon went off in my head, my immediate thoughts turned to making a Caribbean cake - Jamaican toto, BAM......JACKPOT!
What is Jamaican toto?
Jamaican toto (pronounced Toe Toe) is a delicate Caribbean coconut cake, infused with spices - allspice (pimento), ginger and nutmeg.
The spices reflect some of the key notes in Caribbean cooking, each spice playing it's own role to achieve that deep island taste..
Toto is just one of many Jamaican dishes containing coconut.
There are a few more Jamaican desserts with coconut including gizzarda Caribbean Coconut Rum Cupcakes, Coconut Drops and grater cake.
Is this Jamaican toto gluten free?
Yes, it is as, almond flour was used as a gluten free alternative. It is also a great flourless substitute too.
Also, almond flour are partial to eggs as opposed to milk.
The structure of this flourless cakes seem to uphold with the use of more eggs with little to no milk. Therefore, you will notice that my rendition omits the use of milk yet yields a foolproof result.
Tips on how to make Jamaican toto - gluten free
- Separate the yolks from the egg whites, whisk and fold them into the cake batter to make the cake fluffy.
- Use a square baking tray i.e 4.5cm H x 22.5cm W x 22.5cm
C'mon let's get baking!
Other Caribbean and gluten free cakes you may like
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Jamaican Toto (Coconut Cake)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup of almond flour
- ¾ cup of shredded coconut
- ¾ cup of coconut palm sugar
- ½ teaspoon of baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon of allspice ground pimento
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon vanilla powder or 1 vanilla pod scraped
- ¼ teaspoon of pink salt
- 4 large eggs separate yolks and egg whites
- ¼ cup of dairy free butter melted (see recipe above)
- 2 tablespoon of almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 180 degrees celsius or gas mark 4
- Line a square baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add all of the dry ingredients and combine.
- Stir in the melted butter and the egg yolks with the almond milk until everything is mixed together evenly then set aside.
- Whisk the egg whites using a hand handle whisk or an electronic version if possible until the egg whites form soft white fluffy peaks.
- Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter, rotating the bowl with each fold. If folding in the egg whites appears too difficult, run the batter with the egg whites in a food processor or mixer for a few seconds only to combine and ensure the egg whites retain air in order for the cake to be fluffy.
- Pour the cake batter into a square baking tray.
- Bake the cake in the oven for 40-50 minutes, it should be golden brown and firm to the touch. Test the readiness by inserting a skewer, if it comes out clean, its cooked in it's entirety or continue to cook if the skewer is left with no residue.
- Remove the cake from the oven and place on a cooling rack
- Serve accordingly.
- Store in an air tight container and eat within a few days or freeze for longevity.
Notes
- Separate the yolks from the egg whites, whisk and fold them into the cake batter to make the cake fluffy.
- Use a square baking tray i.e 4.5cm H x 22.5cm W x 22.5cm
- Make sure the tray is fitted if you're a novice to baking in case the batter leaks from improper use.
Lisa
Thank you for this delicious gluten free Toto recipe!!!!!!!
Are you planning to do a Gluten free Jamaica potato pudding? And Jamaica vegan Irish moss drink?
Thank you!!!
Charla
Hey Lisa. Thank you so much I hope you get around to making the recipe too if you haven't done already. Lot's of positive feedback on this one. I have many exclusive recipes that I am putting into my upcoming cookbook including Vegan Irish moss and gluten sweet potato pudding.
Ceil
Season's Greetings dear Charla,
I'd love to make your Toto cake for the holidays and had a few questions if you don't mind.
1) If using all-purpose flour instead of the almond flour, is the 1.5 cups measurement still
the same?
2) I can't get coconut sugar in my neck of the woods (I reside in the Middle East) and you
said that date paste wouldn't be an appropriate substitution. Could you please tell me
what are viable options?
Thanks again for all the great recipes.
Blessings,
Ceil
Charlene
Hi Ceil. Yes you can do a direct substitute with all purpose flour and this should work fine for you. In regards to a viable options other than coconut sugar. Well it would depend on if you're looking at making the toto diabetic friendly which is why I only use date paste, coconut sugar or agave in most of my recipes. If you're not too concerned about keeping the recipe diabetic friendly then ordinary brown sugar will work (although I'm not advocating it's use). If you're concerned about the GI Index then using something like stevia would work , the liquid sweeteners aren't suitable as they would make the toto far too wet in texture.
Ceil
Greetings dear Charla,
Many thanks for the info...during the holiday season, I don't concern myself too much
with how healthy an ingredient is, so brown sugar it is. (LOL) I'll touch base with you again after I've made your cake. Until then, I'll leave you with my best wishes for the holidays. May your holidays sparkle and your light shine even brighter in 2017.
Peace & Joy always,
Ceil
Charla
Hi Ceil. You're welcome and looking forward to receiving some feedback very soon.
Ceil
Hi Charla,
The Toto cake was divine and my colleagues also raved about it. Mine
didn't rise as much as yours, but I suspect that's because I'm not adept at
folding the egg whites. Anyhow, I plan to make this recipe often, so I'm positive
that with practice, my cake will eventually look as fluffy as yours. 🙂
This weekend, I plan to give your rice & peas recipe a try. Will be in touch again after
the big event.
Charla
Yes. if you separate the egg whites from the yolk not only will the toto rise but you will ensure a fluffy texture. I'm sure your version was equally as tasty as mine.
Lauren
Do you know if you can make this in advance & freeze?
Charlene
Yes, you should be able to make this in advance and freeze. Just make sure to store it in a freezer friendly container/bag to prevent freezer burn.
Conrad
Hi guys.i havent had this for years. I am going to try it..can i use coconut milk instead of evap.milk?
Charla
Thank you. Yes of course.
Gianna
Hi Charla. Thanks for the recipe. I have a great friend who was married to a Jamaican guy, so visited Jamaica frequently. His mum and sister used to make this when she went over there, but her hubby didn't eat cake. We're all having a get-together next week, as it would have been her hubby's 42nd birthday. Unfortunately, he died 2 years ago, leaving her with 4 young girls. I know she'd love to taste this cake again. I'm not sure I can find coconut palm sugar in Australia. Will "ordinary" palm sugar be ok? It's the caramel-coloured sugar that comes in a block, or are they the same thing? Thanks again.
Charla
Hi Gianna, thank you so much for commenting. Your friend's situation really touched my heart I am truly sorry to hear of her lost. I would be more than happy to assist you with baking some Toto. Ideally you want granulated sugar, I use coconut palm sugar because of its ability to release as glucose into the bloodstream very slowly without causing that crash and burn like ordinary processed refined sugar does. The block version of palm sugar while it contains the exact same health properties as granulated palm sugar from my experience tends to be quite wet when grated which concerns me as this may cause the toto to result in being too moist and/or a pudding texture rather than soft and fluffy.
You can purchase coconut palm sugar from Amazon if you can't find it locally in OZ. I hope that helps.
Conrad
What about brown sugar my family..?
Charla
You are more than welcome to use brown sugar Conrad, coconut sugar is recommended as a healthier alternative for diabetics.
Jennifer
In my search for a Jamaican coconut cake I found your wonderful recipe. I have been working my way through various Jamaican recipes of my youth and next week will be coconut cake week. What I am really thrilled about is that it is gluten free - I didn't think that was possible! I've never used ground almond in baking before - I hope I am able to ground my almonds fine enough to be almost flour consistency - how did you ground your almonds or did you buy ground almonds?
Charla
Thanks for commenting Jennifer. Providing you don't have any allergies, ground almonds make a brilliant substitute for baking many cakes. I had so many excellent results using it and don't intend to discontinue. If you have a spice/coffee mill I highly grinding the nuts in that, that's what I have done a few times, though I am partial to purchasing ground almonds (almond meal) as the cost here is roughly the same and saves lots of time.
Immaculate
How did I miss this recipe? This Jamaican ToTo has been on my to make list for a long time but can't seem to make time for it. Yours looks and sounds great. I so want to make it now. You know I love all things coconut .
Charla
I cannot wait until you create your own version and no doubt the pictures will be superb. This is definitely a foolprooof version of a Jamaican classic.
Jolie
Looks delicious Charla! Can you recommend any substitute for the coconut sugar - I can't find it anywhere where I live! Do you think that a date paste would substitute okay?
Charla
Thanks Jolie, I really think you would enjoy this coconut cake. Unfortunately, date paste wouldn't be an ideal substitute, as this would change the texture of the cake to a moist almost pudding or a sticky cake. I strongly suggest following the ratio of wet to dry ingredients in order to replicate my results which means using a powder/granular sweetener. Have you tried Amazon? That's where I used to purchase mine prior to my local health store stocking it.
Desiree
Hi! I have powdered date sugar at home which is dry, you think it may work??
Charla
Hi Desiree. Yes powdered date sugar should work, I would suggest using a cup's worth of date sugar instead of 3/4 cup as it doesn't tend to be sweet as coconut sugar.
Karen
Wow! The gluten free toto recipe works like gangbusters! I had my doubts because, you know, it's ground almonds, how could I possibly get lift? Egg whites are how! Thank you for this recipe. Everybody can make toto, but good toto is not easy to make.
Charla
Thank you for the feedback Karen.
Herman
Hi Charla, this coconut cake looks awesome! My wife has celiac and a lot of the gluten free cakes we've tried come out kind off flat and dense. This one looks nice and fluffy, we'll give it a try.
Thanks,
Herman
Charla
I have IBS and cannot tolerate dairy nor wheat so I can totally relate to your wife's frustration. I do hope you manage to give this Caribbean cake a try. I promise you won't be disappointed with the texture or taste.
Marcia
Hi charlene your coconut toto remind me of my school days and I would like to try this without glutenfree so please help me
Charla
Hi Marcia, you can do a gluten free version quite easily, simply recipe the ground almonds with all purpose flour. Let me know if you need anymore assistance.
Amanda
Hi Charla,
This looks like it would be so delicious and I would be the lucky person who gets to eat it all because no one else in my family likes coconut. I'm not the best at from-scratch baking but I might give this a try. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Charla
I'm here to help with any baking concerns you may have Amanda. I'm still learning on this culinary journey, feel free to ask for assistance if need be.
Ana
I feel like I want to eat this cake and the crazy thing is I don't even like cake! Congratulations!
Charla
Another recruit, woo hoo!
Barbara Timmermans
Well done girl!!! I was born in Jamaica and love my country food, but due to ill health, I now have to go paleo and gluten free. It took some getting used to, but I'm managing fine now. Keep these gluten free/paleo treats coming. I will definitely give it a go. Thumbs up???
Charlene
Hi Barbara. Thank you so much for commenting. It is people like yourself that encourage me to continue submitting recipes and spreading the word about healthy Island cooking. I am currently working on a cookbook so the majority of the Caribbean recipes will be in there.