Pixbae Bread Recipe

Here is the recipe for Pixbae bread. It is a delicious and moist bread that is tasty for breakfast. In fact I had it for breakfast this morning and my children "taxed" me so much that I had to go and get another piece which they again taxed. The joys of motherhood! This bread is delicious if it is a little on the undercooked side so it has moist pudding like pockets - but be careful as it needs to be cooked through. We eat it as is, or toasted with a little butter. This recipe came originally from my Uncle Richard's first wife, Joan. I have fond memories of this bread growing up and eating it around the holidays. My dad likes it toasted with butter the best.

3 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon allspice
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
12 ounces pureed pixbae (or sweet potato or pumpkin)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 tablespoons water
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees or 340 for a convection oven. Blend dry ingredients through allspice. Add the eggs, vegetable oil, and pureed vegetable. Dissolve the baking soda in the water and add to the mixture. Add the chopped nuts. Pour into a large loaf pan or two small loaf pans. Bake for about one hour or until firm on the outside.

Pixbae - loaded with nutrition

Pixbae, as Bactris gasipaes is called here in Panama is a delicious but somewhat difficult to cook species of palm native to the tropical forests of the South and Central America. You can read a ton about it here in Wikipedia. It is a mean looking tree but it produces some delicious food. The tree has spines on it which are like long needles and are not something you want to encounter in a body part. The fruit of the tree comes in season once a year. The natives cook it in boiling salted water and then use it like a potato. We have taken things to the next level. We take the fruit, cook it in the boiling salted water, and then peel it and puree it. Once pureed, we use it as you would use sweet potato or pumpkin. We have made a pie, ice cream, salad, and a delicious bread. When one of the trees falls, we take advantage of it and use the heart of the palm in salads. Yummy! Here is the link for the bread we make here at Tranquilo Bay.