Creole
Bojo: cassava and coconut cake
Bojo is a Surinamese cake of grated cassava and coconut, dense and moist in texture, usually with raisins and a shot of rum. A slice at a Paramaribo market costs SRD 30 to SRD 80.
Flavour and texture
Heavy, sweet, thick with coconut, a note of rum. One slice is enough.
Street price, indicative SRD 30–80
Bojo is not a light cake. It is dense, moist and almost sticky, and that is the point: cassava and coconut give a texture closer to pudding than to sponge.
There is usually rum in it, and raisins. The top bakes dark brown and is the best part.
Both main ingredients carry a history. Cassava is native to South America and was grown by the Indigenous peoples of Suriname long before colonisation; coconut travelled in along tropical trade routes. The cake as it exists now, with sugar, egg, raisins and rum, is a Creole form from the colonial period, when the sugar cane plantations supplied both the sweetness and the rum.
That puts bojo on the same celebration table as pom and pastei. Bakeries and market stalls in Paramaribo sell it by the slice for SRD 30 to SRD 80.
It is the default sweet ending, and the best-selling cake at Surinamese bakeries in the Netherlands.
Frequently asked questions
What is bojo cake?
Bojo is a Surinamese cake of grated cassava and grated coconut with sugar, egg, raisins and usually rum. It is dense and moist rather than airy.
Does bojo contain gluten?
Traditional bojo is made from cassava and coconut without wheat flour and is therefore naturally gluten-free, but many bakers now add flour. Ask if it matters; a slice costs SRD 30 to SRD 80 at a Paramaribo market.
Where does bojo come from?
From Creole cooking in Suriname. The cassava is a native crop grown here before colonisation, while the sugar and rum in the recipe come from the colonial sugar cane plantations; coconut arrived along tropical trade routes.
What does bojo taste like?
Heavy, sweet and moist, thick with coconut and carrying a note of rum, closer in texture to pudding than to sponge. One slice at SRD 30 to SRD 80 is enough for most people.