Cakes & Custards
African Polony
Chikanda
Zambia
Zambian dish made from boiled root tubers of wild ground orchids; mixed with groundnut meal, baking soda, and spices; boiled into a slurry that thickens into a cake; texture resembles bologna; also called African polony; eaten as a snack, dessert, or accompaniment to nshima; traditionally associated with the Bemba tribe; served at weddings and special occasions; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try.
Original eatfuls sticker artwork
What it is
A closer look at African Polony.
Zambian dish made from boiled root tubers of wild ground orchids; mixed with groundnut meal, baking soda, and spices; boiled into a slurry that thickens into a cake; texture resembles bologna; also called African polony; eaten as a snack, dessert, or accompaniment to nshima; traditionally associated with the Bemba tribe; served at weddings and special occasions; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try.
What to look for
Know it when you find it.
A dense, sliceable cake with a meatloaf-like texture; reddish-brown from orchid tubers and spices; nutty from groundnuts; served sliced; the African polony of Zambia.
Where it belongs
Origins and
traditions.
Food rarely respects a border. These are the places the dataset connects most strongly to African Polony.
Names around the table
One food, more than one name.
Keep exploring
If this caught your eye…
Denmark
Aeblekage
Æblekage
Apple purée with caramelised breadcrumbs/macaroon crumbs and whipped cream.
Antigua and Barbuda
Antiguan Sugar Cake
Sugar Cake
Chewy confection of grated coconut cooked down with sugar, often tinted pink and flavoured with ginger or nutmeg; a classic Antiguan sweet treat; the mixture is often divided into two batches, one coloured pink and the other left white, poured one over the other to form a pink and white cake; found at markets and schoolyards; the sugar cake of Antigua.
Lebanon
Aish el Saraya
عيش السرايا
Toasted bread soaked in sugar syrup, layered under ashta or cream and finished with pistachios — a syrup-soaked Egyptian dessert.
Moldova
Alivenci
Maize flour beaten with fresh curd, eggs and soured cream, poured onto a cabbage or walnut leaf and baked into a squat golden cake.
Romania
Chocolate Layer Cake
Amandine
Squares of cocoa sponge soaked in rum syrup, layered with chocolate cream and covered in a hard chocolate fondant.
Greece
Amygdalopita
Αμυγδαλόπιτα
An almond sponge soaked in syrup and perfumed with orange blossom, cut into diamonds and served with Greek coffee across the mainland.
Cambodia
Ansom Chek
អន្សមចេក
Glutinous rice wrapped around a banana with coconut milk and black beans, rolled in banana leaves and steamed for hours.
Angola
Pavê de Ginguba
Layers of biscuit and ground-peanut cream chilled into a set icebox cake.