Navajo cake, made with blue and yellow cornmeal and sweetened with brown sugar and raisins, is called alkaan by the Navajo. The dish is traditionally made during a kinaaldá, the coming-of-age ceremony for Navajo girls. The fire in the traditional round fire pit is started the night before baking, to ensure very hot coals. The cake batter, protected by layers of dampened parchment, corn husks, and sheets of steel, is baked under the hot coals. This recipe is adapted for a home kitchen and calls for the use of pre-cooked cornmeal.
Recipe Servings: 10
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
4 hours
Total Time
4 hours 10 minutes
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
- 6 cups water
- 4 cups pre-cooked blue cornmeal
- 2 cups pre-cooked yellow cornmeal
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup wheat sprouts
- ½ cup brown sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 250°F.
- Combine the water with the blue and yellow cornmeals in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the raisins, wheat sprouts, and brown sugar. Blend until no lumps remain.
- Pour the batter into a 9-inch square baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 4 hours.
- Remove the foil before serving.
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