Rough Cakes

A recent meeting with inspiring cook, Ghanaian Abena Nyere, in Bijlmer Amsterdam, confirmed our suspicions that there are people cooking interesting African food everywhere. Abena grew up in Cape Coast, Ghana, but has been living in Amsterdam for almost 20 years.

She showed us around the African stalls of her local Amsterdam market, and later taught us to bake  an old family favorite, Rough Cakes- a Ghanaian version of scones, we thought.

Rough cakes with orange

Preparation time:  20 minutes & about 25 minutes in the oven

100 g butter

60 g castor sugar

grated rind and juice (60 ml) of one scrubbed orange

1 large egg

60 ml milk

2 teaspoons baking powder (too much- the cake a have a distinct baking powder taste)

375g self-raising flour

extra: a baking tin of about 5 cm deep

These scone type cakes are flavoured with orange. For a neutral, slightly sweet version substitute the orange juice with milk, omit the orange rind and flavour the cakes with half a teaspoon of vanilla aroma.

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Cream the butter and sugar with the grated rind. Add the juice and milk.  Whisk the eggs to a light frothy mixture that doubles in volume. Mix into the butter mixture. Sieve the flour and baking powder and add stir into the butter mixture to form stiff dough. Break off golf ball sized pieces of dough and kneed into a rough round shape with one floured hand. Place in a deep greased and floured baking tin. Repeat with the rest of the dough so that the whole tin is filled. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes.

Makes 12 cakes