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| Gateau |
This is crazy! I was making something else and I else and I 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, I was inspired to make mine. I spent my night dreaming of how I will make the perfect Cinnamon Rolls for my family the next day.
After making my dough the next day, I realised that my preheated oven was not anywhere near hot. I put it off and on several times but there was no heat. My oven was bad! I was so dissapointed. So I abandoned my 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).
I kept it in the refrigerator and the next morning, I decided to shape it into balls and fry. After deep frying it, I realised I had made the purrfect gateaus.
Gateau is a popular Cameroonian snack that is an advanced and better lasting version of puff puff. I had once attempted to make this but it turned out hard and not the way I 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. I now have my 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 (I 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!
Linda Achu says
I just made my best gateaux ever , thanks to you my sissy darling
Precious Nkeih says
Awww thanks for the feedback, darling!
Anonymous says
Thanks for the recipe.I got some wanderful gateaux
Precious Nkeih says
You're most welcome. Thanks for the feedback.
Julio Delascas says
Wow..will try mine tomorrow..cant wait!
Unknown says
Wow..going to do mine tomorrow..cant wait!
Precious Nkeih says
Yes yes yes! Please let us know how it goes.
Angele marie says
My dearest, na the best gateaux recipe this I don see am. I am making this weekend. We have African food tasting Day. Will give you feedback. Be rest assured I will not take all the credit. I will refer anyone who asks on this blog to see for themselves. They will learn more than I can ever explain to them. U are loved
Precious Nkeih says
Lol trust you to tell the world about this blog. Thanks darling. And yes, this recipe is fool-proof. Tried and proven many times.
Yvonne says
Just made some perfect gateau. Thanks for the recipe.
Precious says
You're most welcome, Yvonne. Sorry for the late response.
Lina says
thanks for this recipe and wishing you + your family a happy new year
Precious says
Thanks Lina! Happy new year to you, dear.
Mama says
Hi precious, I am a big fan of yours always trying out ur delicious recipes and having a wonderful results. I have a question when u always used cups measurements how many is it in ml can be a cup e.g 1 cup of flour is what quantity? I always get confused. I want to try this gateaux recipe . Thanks
Precious says
Hi Mama,
Thanks for the great feedback! I can tell you the measurement in kilograms (kg). In this recipe, you need about 1/2 (half) kg. 2 cups of flour make 1/4 (one quarter) kg while 4 cups make 1/2 (half) kg. Hope this helps.
julia says
hmm. mine was a complete failure. i used 10 g of instant yeast with 600 g of flour. please can you give me the measurements in kg.
Precious says
Hi dear, please follow the directions in this recipe: https://www.preciouscore.com/cameroonian-gateau-video-recipe/
Emmanuella says
Thank you so much for your recipe. It was such a hit and so delicious
Precious says
Oh so glad to hear that, Emmanuella! Thanks for the feedback.
Bibi says
Hello, am about using your method but plz,wat quantity of yeast wil I use for a kilo of flour
Belinda says
Hi Precious. Please I wish to know which milk here in Cameroon can be classified as whole?
Precious says
Hi Belinda, whole milk is milk that has its full fat as opposed to low-fat milk. Nido is whole. Mix with water (check the milk packaging for instructions on the right ratio of milk to water) to make the half a cup of milk needed in this recipe. Note that, the milk you need here is liquid milk. Hope this helps, dear.
Nora says
I tried mone but it ended very hard to cut when it gets cold. Please what could be the problem
Precious says
Hi Nora, did you measure the ingredients correctly? They should get harder when cold but still soft enough to enjoy.
Arrah says
Thank you soo much. Followed all the steps and its so yummy
Precious says
So glad tp hear that. You're welcome.
Henry says
Making this in a commercial quantity is still till today most challenging. It's hard to make my ball have same size and shape. I told all my customers where I learned it from but please, about the size, what can I do.
Precious says
Hi Henry, you could use a kitchen scale to measure the sizes so they come out perfect. Hope this helps.