Gufong

Ingredients

The dough

• 400 gfine maize flour
• or 300 g maize flour and 100 g plain flour
• 100 gsugar
• or to taste
• 1 teaspoonbaking powder
• half a teaspoon salt
• half a teaspoon grated nutmeg
• or a pinch of cinnamon
• the zest of 1 lemon
• optional

The wet

• about 250 ml warm water
• or warm milk
• 1egg, beaten
• optional
• 40 gbutter, melted
• or 3 tablespoons oil

For frying

• 1 litrevegetable oil
• or enough for 6 cm depth

To serve

• warm, with coffee
• sugar, to dust, optional

Directions

1. Use fine maize flour rather than coarse. It should feel like fine sand. Mix the dough and then let it rest. Give it ten minutes before judging it. Put the maize flour in a bowl. Add the sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. Add the nutmeg and lemon zest. Stir the dry ingredients together. Now add the wet. Add the melted butter and rub it through. Add the beaten egg if you are using it. Add warm water gradually.
3. Warm water hydrates maize flour faster. You want a firm dough, not a batter. Squeeze a small ball in your palm. If it holds its shape, the dough is right. Take pieces about the size of a walnut. Roll them into balls between your palms. Press them lightly into thick discs. Keep them small. Use a deep heavy pot.
4. Fill it no more than one third full. Oil bubbles up when dough goes in. Never leave hot oil unattended. Keep a well fitting lid within reach. If it catches fire, turn off the heat and cover it.
5. Heat the oil to one hundred and sixty-five degrees. These are dense and need time in the middle. Drop a small piece of dough in. It should rise steadily and sizzle gently. Fry them for about six minutes. Turn them so they colour evenly. They should be deep golden brown.
6. Break it open and look at the centre. It should be cooked through and dry. Add more water to the remaining dough. Lift them out with a slotted spoon. Drain them on a rack over kitchen paper. A rack keeps them considerably less greasy.
7. Let the oil recover between batches. Serve them warm rather than piping hot. They firm up slightly as they cool. Dust them with sugar if you like. Many people do not.

Technique

• Let the dough rest ten minutes before judging whether it needs more water. Maize flour absorbs slowly and absorbs more than wheat, so a dough that looks right immediately will have stiffened considerably by the time you shape it.
• Fry at 165 degrees, lower than for most fried snacks. These are dense and need time in the middle while the sugar in them browns quickly — too hot and the outside darkens before the centre cooks. Break the first one open and check.
• Keep them walnut-sized. Maize dough cooks slowly through and larger ones stay raw in the centre, which is the commonest problem here.
• The dough will feel short and crumbly rather than smooth and elastic. Maize flour has no gluten, and that density is what gufong is — not a fault to correct.
• Test the dough by squeezing a ball in your palm. Holding its shape means it is right; cracking apart means more water; sticking to your hand means more flour.
• Use fine maize flour, not coarse meal, not cornflour or cornstarch, and not masa harina. It should feel like fine sand.
• Warm water hydrates maize flour faster and softens it slightly. It is a small point with a real effect on texture.
• Adding a proportion of wheat flour gives more structure and a softer crumb and makes the dough easier to shape. Pure maize is more crumbly and more traditional, and both are made.
• If they crack open in the oil, the dough was too dry. They still taste fine; add water to what is left.
• Deep-frying rules apply: fill the pot no more than a third, never leave it unattended, keep a lid within reach, and if the oil catches fire turn off the heat and smother it. Never throw water on burning oil.
• These keep better than wheat-flour fried snacks, drying rather than going stale — three days in a tin, refreshed in a hot oven. That keeping quality is part of why they exist.
• Maize is the central grain of Cape Verde, the base of cachupa, and it arrived from the Americas through Portuguese trade — so the islands’ staple grain is itself a product of that history.

Substitutions

• A quarter of wheat flour in place of maize gives a softer, easier dough.
• Milk replaces water for a richer cake.
• The egg and butter both enrich the dough and both can be left out.
• Cinnamon, lemon zest or a little aniseed replace or join the nutmeg.
• Palm oil can be used for frying and gives a distinct colour and flavour.
• Grated coconut worked into the dough makes a common variation.

Variations

• Cuscuz de milho, steamed maize meal, is the other great Cape Verdean maize preparation.
• Cachupa, the slow-cooked maize and bean stew, is the national dish.
• Doce de coco, the coconut candy, is the sweet served alongside the same coffee.
• Bolo de milho, a baked maize cake, is the oven version of a similar idea.
• Pastel com diabo dentro is Cape Verde’s fried tuna pastry, made with a maize dough.
• A version with grated coconut in the dough is made on several islands.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gufong?

Gufong is a snack from Cape Verde: fried maize-flour cakes, dense and lightly sweet, eaten with coffee.

How long does Gufong take to make?

Gufong takes 20 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 20. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Gufong?

Yes, within limits. A quarter of wheat flour in place of maize gives a softer, easier dough. Milk replaces water for a richer cake. The egg and butter both enrich the dough and both can be left out. Cinnamon, lemon zest or a little aniseed replace or join the nutmeg. Palm oil can be used for frying and gives a distinct colour and flavour. Grated coconut worked into the dough makes a common variation.

What is the most important thing to get right in Gufong?

Use fine maize flour rather than coarse. It should feel like fine sand. Mix the dough and then let it rest. Give it ten minutes before judging it. Put the maize flour in a bowl. Add the sugar, baking powder and salt.