Recipe: Haitian Mudcakes

By Rob Wood • Aug 13th, 2008 • Category: Logs

Fast becoming the staple culinary delight in Haiti, the humble mudcake has made a resurgence in international cuisine since the heady days of African famine in the 80s. Here’s how you make one!

Ingredients:

Salt
Margarine
Dirt
Water

Instructions:

Take on part salt to one part maragrine and mix with 10 parts dirt and 5 parts water.

Mix by hand until you have a firm density and then craft into “cake” shape.

Place in preheated oven at 180 degrees celsius for 20 minutes until firm (but not brittle).

Serve at room temperature.

Seriously?

Well what can we say? The mudcake is enjoying a resurgence in popularity in Haiti as food prices soar leaving many Haitians without a way to fill their stomachs.

At only a few cents, a cake can fill your belly and make your wallet immune from the effects of soaring world food prices.

With many Haitians unable to afford basic food stuffs and the UN backed aid distribution in the country not particularly working well for many who need it, mudcakes are the only way left to stave off hunger for many.

You can read more about how to serve mudcakes at any Haitian themed dinner party here and here.

Enjoy!

Rob Wood is the co-founder and contributing editor of Polo's Bastards.
Email this author | All posts by Rob Wood

5 Responses »

  1. Dave Sperow on August 13th, 2008 at 1:33 pm:

    It is a shame that this can be written and be accurate.

  2. Rob Wood on August 14th, 2008 at 11:49 am:

    Yep, it’s pretty depressing. It’s also pretty depressing that the only places it gets talked about is on the inner pages of a couple of international newspapers and the occasional website.

    They say the taste lingers too.

  3. Lee on August 14th, 2008 at 1:42 pm:

    Even cheaper if you leave out the salt and margarine.

  4. Stiv on August 14th, 2008 at 11:33 pm:

    Rob nice to see yoiu back writing blogs again! I feel inspired already. ;-)

    Interesting and sad yet this is the first recipie I’ve seen on this.

    Also related to this is the disorder called Pica which in some ways has a relationship to this behavior it isn’t always purely motivated by hunger. I also think there’s a certain type of clay involved sometimes too.

    Anyway here’s a little bit on the disorder:
    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001538.htm

    Best,
    Stiv

  5. Rob Wood on August 15th, 2008 at 3:54 am:

    Well sure, I GUESS you could make them like that, Stiv, but who’s gonna go goving away their best recipes on the internet!? ;)

    I am not sure what is happening in Haiti would rate as Pica - I mean, the haitian bakeries are making hundreds of these things. It’s all people can afford.

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