Atwemo (Twisted Cakes) is a traditional Ghanaian recipe for a classic snack of flour pastry dough made with evaporated milk and egg that are cut into diamonds, shaped and deep fried before serving. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ghanaian version of: Twisted Cakes (Atwemo).
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Ingredients:
500g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
100g sugar
1/2 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
100g margarine
1 egg
100ml evaporated milk
100ml water
1 tsp vanilla extract
vegetable oil, for deep frying
Method:
Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl then stir in the nutmeg.
Dice the margarine, add to the flour mix and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar and mix
Break the egg into a measuring jug and beat in the evaporated milk, water and vanilla extract. Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mix then dust your hands with flour and use them to bring the ingredients together as a dough. If it's a little sticky add more flour, if too dry add a little more water.
Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and using a floured rolling pin roll out to about 4mm thick.
Cut the dough into strips about 12 to 15mm wide then cut the strips at an angle to yield diamond shapes about 2cm in length. Now cut a slit in the centre of each diamond.
Pick up one of the diamonds then push one of the ends through the slit in the centre. Pull the free end to draw the end of the diamond all the way through the hole (this is what puts the 'twist' in the dough).
Repeat until all the pieces of dough have twists in them. Gather any scraps of the pastry, re-roll and cut out more diamonds.
In the meantime, heat oil in a deep fryer to 180°C and when hot, add a batch of the atwemo (do not over-crowd) and deep-fry, slipping them in one at a time. Fry, stirring frequently, for a few minutes or until golden brown all over and cooked thorough.
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
Atwemo are typically served cool and can be stored over night in an air-tight container.
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