ST. CROIX — Crucian benyes are a celebrated part of the holiday season, however, making them is time-consuming. Enter Benye Bliss Mix, the invention of Jennifer Avila, owner of Cultured Delights LLC, a local cakery known for reinventing Virgin Islands and Puerto Rican treats.
The idea to sell a packaged benye mix that celebrates Crucian culture in every bite came during a conversation Avila had with her niece, Shanice Boyce, as she prepared to go on maternity leave.
For years, Avila has fried fresh benyes at local events. But with a baby on the way, the St. Croix native began thinking of ways to keep her business going from home.
“I was thinking about making some pancake mix, and she came up with the idea,” Avila said about her niece.
Boyce’s suggestion to make a dry benye mix without egg or oil that people could prepare at home by simply adding fresh fruit and water sparked an idea that quickly turned into a product.
“I started to put recipes to the test,” Avila said. “I started to get ingredients that are dry ingredients, substituting the wet ingredients, and the Benye Bliss Mix was born.”
While banana or pumpkin is recommended to add into the mix, Avila said mango can also be used.
“I’ve made it with mango for Mango Melee, and they were a huge hit,” she said. “It’s very versatile.”
The shelf-stable, vegan, easy-to-use mix captures the flavor of a traditional Crucian benye. It is made and packaged as part of a family operation in Avila’s commercial kitchen in Estate Grove Place, where she also bakes her custom cakes. Her mother, Mercedes Navarro, helps pour the mix into the bags, while her 6-year-old son, Robert Canton Jr., operates the heat sealer that closes each bag.
“He’s our ice boy, he’s our cashier, he’s our all-arounder,” Avila said. “The only thing he doesn’t do is cook.”
Avila’s son even assisted her by topping benyes with powdered sugar when she prepared a batch at WTJX within 10 minutes using her Benye Bliss Mix. After heating up cooking oil in an electric skillet, Avila combined her mix with water and banana. She briefly let the mixture sit for a few minutes to activate before scooping the batter and frying benye balls in the skillet, continuously rotating them.
WATCH: Jennifer Avila makes a batch of banana benyes using her Benye Bliss Mix
While Avila has created a mix that can be used to make benyes within 10 minutes by simply adding the fruit and water, the traditional process uses flour and yeast that requires the dough to rise for at least several hours.
Bradley Christian, a Virgin Islands culture bearer who serves as president of the St. Croix Heritage Dancers and chair of the Crucian Christmas Festival Food Fair, has cooked benyes throughout the years. He discussed the labor-intensive process that involves mixing a combination of spices (including cinnamon and nutmeg) and vanilla essence with egg, milk, and flour. He said it all begins with selecting extremely ripe bananas to mash in with the mixture.
“The traditional way of doing it is with yeast,” Christian said. “Back in the olden days, our ancestors used to put it to rise overnight and got up early in the morning — around five, six o’clock — and fry the benyes.”
Nowadays, Christian said the yeast is often substituted with baking powder, which he noted allows for immediate cooking.
Even with modern shortcuts like baking powder, the preparation of spices, measuring, and mixing still makes for a lengthy process. Benye Bliss Mix removes those steps, simplifying the process while saving the cook time in the kitchen.
After sampling Avila’s benyes made from her dry mix, the flavor was lighter and less chewy than a traditional benye, with a texture closer to cake. In contrast, a traditional benye made with yeast tends to be chewier and denser. The traditional recipe and the mix both feature specific spices — including cinnamon and nutmeg — that create a distinct flavor. Both versions have their own appeal, depending on the texture and taste preferred.
Now in its fifth year, Cultured Delights was founded as a small bakery specializing in custom cake orders for weddings, birthdays, and other events.
“When I started Cultured Delights, I wanted to innovate our cultural treats,” Avila said, noting she began making red grout cake, black cake, and Cruzan Rum pound cake in addition to Vienna cake with mango or hibiscus filling.
The business has grown into a creative culinary brand with a mobile concession trailer that pops up at events to sell food, including items influenced by Avila’s Puerto Rican roots like seafood-stuffed avocados and Johnny cakes stuffed with roast pork.
Benye Bliss Mix is only the beginning as Avila continues expanding Cultured Delights beyond cakes and treats. She is working on bottling achiote oil, a Puerto Rican staple used in dishes like pasteles and seasoned rice.
“We are working on different products to put on the shelf,” Avila said.
As Avila continues adding products under the Cultured Delights brand, Benye Bliss Mix is now available for purchase at Stop and Shop Supermarket in Frederiksted and Golden Rock Market in Christiansted. It is also available from the Cultured Delights website, www.cultureddelightsvi.com, or by calling Avila at 340-626-8124.
“I just want to make sure that my community knows that it’s made with pride here on St. Croix,” Avila said about Benye Bliss Mix. “I’m hoping that it’s picked up in more markets and more supermarkets and it’s able to grow because it’s us — it’s part of our culture.”
