Duckanoo - A Jamaican Dessert

Duckanoo. With a name like that it could have been sugar-coated tripe and I still would have made it.
Fortunately, whilst it does have sugar in it, it is a happily tripe free dish, and a traditional Jamaican sweet.
What intruiged me about Duckanoo, other than the adorable name, is the fact that it is cooked much like Tamales, which is to say, wrapped in a husk or leaf and steamed (although the Duckanoo are actually boiled to retain moistness and I used tinfoil husks due to lack of banana leaves in my local supermarket – ever).
I recently discovered an company called Malik who sell West Indian food produce, at really reasonable prices, and with exceptionally fast delivery so I have been reading up about Jamaican and Barbadian delicacies, of which there are many. I purchased some Cassava Flour from them, along with some tinned Callalloo and Salt Cod. Suffice to say, I am hugely excited about cooking with these items, although I’m not sure where to start!
But back to the Duckanoo. Duckanoo is a cross between cake and pudding, made with cornmeal, coconut, butter, raisins and spices. This heady mixture is spooned into little foil parcels (or the aforementioned banana leaves, in which case the sweet is sometimes called Blue Drawers) which are snugly sealed and then simmered for 45 minutes. These little yellow morsels are served piping hot and drizzled with fresh cream.
The cornmeal gives the sweet a delicious, crumbly texture, the coconut gives it moistness and the raisins give it a wonderfully comforting taste.
Duckanoo, which originated in Africa, is simple to make, and perfect for short notice guests or as an easy dessert. It can be made advance and the little pouches placed in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.
A note about the ingredients: the recipe required fresh coconut but I used dessicated which has a propensity towards dryness. What this meant is that the mixture required more liquid. Fresh coconut releases far more liquid than dessicated so add several more tablespoons of the milk and perhaps a little more butter, or use less of the cornmeal. I also think that some grated lemon, orange or lime zest would add a nice zing to the otherwise sweet pudding, perhaps some almond extract for a different flavour and I have a feeling that chocolate chips would be pretty amazing too. And mashed banana or pineapple would further enhance the tropical taste of this unusual dessert.
Note: I halved the original recipe which served 6 and still managed to produce enough portions even more 6 big eaters.
DUCKANOO - Serves 6, at least
Ingredients:
225g Fine Cornmeal
125g Fresh Coconut, chopped or dessicated Coconut
300ml Fresh Milk (more if using dessicated Coconut)
55g Raisins or Sultanas
30g Melted Butter
60g Demerara Sugar
4-5 Tablespoons Water
1/4 Teaspoon Grated Nutmeg
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
METHOD:
Bring a large pan of water to the boil.
Place the cornmeal in a large bowl.
In a blender, process the coconut with the milk until smooth-ish and like a thick paste.
Add to the cornmeal and stir in the rest of the ingredients, mixing thoroughly.
Making 6 or so pouches with tinfoil, doubling the foil if it is thin (like all tinfoil over here!), making sure to seal 3 of the 4 sides thoroughly.
Spoon in 3 tablespoons of the mixture into the pouches and seal up the final edge tightly.
Place in the boiling water and simmer for about 45-60 minutes.
Remove carefully from the water when cooked, undress the Duckanoo of its Tinfoil clothing and serve, piping hot, with lightly whipped cream
Enjoy!