Ingredients
Batter
- 500 gplain flour
- 7 gdried yeast
- 100 gsugar
- 1 tspsalt
- 1 tspgrated nutmeg
- about 400 ml warm water
Optional
- a pinch of ground ginger
- grated zest of 1 lime
To fry
- oil, for deep frying
To serve
- with beans, koki or ekwang, and corn pap
- or dusted with sugar
- hot, from a roadside stand at breakfast
Directions
- Use water at body temperature rather than hot, since water above about fifty degrees kills the yeast outright. Mix the flour, salt and nutmeg, then beat in the yeast water gradually. Beat it hard with a wooden spoon or your hand for a few minutes.
- Grate it fresh if you can, since pre-ground nutmeg loses most of its aroma within weeks. Now the rise, which needs to be a full one.
- Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place for at least two hours. It should double in size and be visibly full of bubbles across the surface. Use a deep pan with enough oil for the balls to float freely and turn themselves.
- Heat it to about 170°C, which is moderate rather than fierce. The batter contains a good deal of sugar, which browns quickly, so hot oil colours the outside long before the middle is cooked.
- Drop them in gently rather than dropping them from a height. Now fry them in batches for four to five minutes, turning them as they colour. Fry them until they are deep golden brown all over.
- Break one open: it should be light and open inside with no wet dough at the centre. A raw middle means the oil is too hot, so lower the heat and fry the next batch longer.
- Lift them out with a slotted spoon and drain them on a rack. Now serve them while they are hot. Roll them in sugar if you want them sweet, though the batter is already lightly sweetened. They are best within the hour and they go dense as they cool.
Technique
- It is a soft batter rather than a kneadable dough.
- Beignets, beans and corn pap together are a Cameroonian institution.
- Nutmeg is the characteristic flavouring across the region.
Substitutions
- Any neutral oil for frying.
- A pinch of ginger or lime zest alongside the nutmeg.
Variations
- Nigerian puff-puff, essentially the same thing.
- Made with coconut milk in the batter.
- Rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Frequently asked questions
What is Puff-puff?
Puff-puff is a breakfast from Cameroon: fried dough with beans and corn pap, the beignets-haricot combo.
How long does Puff-puff take to make?
Puff-puff takes 20 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 30. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Puff-puff?
Yes, within limits. Any neutral oil for frying. A pinch of ginger or lime zest alongside the nutmeg.
What is the most important thing to get right in Puff-puff?
Use water at body temperature rather than hot, since water above about fifty degrees kills the yeast outright. Mix the flour, salt and nutmeg, then beat in the yeast water gradually. Beat it hard with a wooden spoon or your hand for a few minutes.
