Cameroonian Gateau
This is crazy! We were making something else and we else and we ended up with Cameroonian Gateau. Well, they say some of the best recipes are results of accidents and that is what happened here.
So after watching a pressure test on the TV show, “Master Chef” in which the contestants had to make Cinnamon Rolls in 45 minutes, we were inspired to make ours. We spent our night dreaming of how we will make the perfect Cinnamon Rolls for our family the next day.
After making our dough the next day, we realised that our preheated oven was not anywhere near hot. We put it off and on several times but there was no heat. Our oven was bad! We were so dissapointed. So we abandoned our covered dough in the kitchen where it rose and rose and rose for four hours! (Fear not! You do not have to leave it that long).
We kept it in the refrigerator and the next morning, we decided to shape it into balls and fry. After deep frying it, we realised we had made the purrfect gateaus.
Gateau is a popular Cameroonian snack that is an advanced and better lasting version of puff puff. We had once attempted to make this but it turned out hard and not the way we wanted. These ones were nothing short of perfect.
They are hard on the outside, soft and stretchy on the inside with an irresistible buttery flavour. We now have our go-to Gateau recipe. Yay!
Prep: 25 mins
Inactive: 1hr 30 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Yield: 25-30 Gateaus
Ingredients
3 and a half – 4 cups of flour
5 tablespoons butter
2 and a quarter teaspoons of yeast
Half a cup of whole milk
Half a cup of warm water
Three quarter cup of sugar (we used brown)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 litre of vegetable oil for deep frying
Directions
-Mix yeast and warm water in a small bowl and keep aside.
-In another bowl, mix together milk, egg, melted butter, sugar and salt.
-Add half of the flour to the above mixture and mix well
-Add in warm water and yeast and mix
-Add in remaining flour and mix until it forms a stretchy dough
-Put dough on a floured board and knead for 5 minutes
-Put dough in a bowl and cover. Let it rise for one hour
-Punch down dough and knead again
-Shape into small balls like these:
-Let them sit for 20-30 minutes. They’ll rise again
-Heat oil and deep fry on medium heat until pale brown.
-Remove from oil and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Imagine these with a glass of orange juice:
NOTES
Be careful not to fry your Gateaus in very hot oil. This will result in a burnt exterior and an under-cooked interior. Your oil should be on medium heat so the balls can cook slowly and thoroughly.
For measurements in grams/kilograms, go here.
Happy Gateau making/eating!
