Puff Puff Recipe (African Snack)

Experience African snacks like never before with a classic recipe that everyone will love – Puff Puff!

It is a known West African deep-fried delicacy that’s cooked as a street food or a snack. In other African countries, it is also called “bofrot”, “mandazi”, and “beignet” in French-speaking parts of Africa.

The batter is made from scratch and deep-fried until crunchy, crispy, and golden brown. From the start, it has been a family favorite in our home and I’m sure your whole family will enjoy it too.

Once you try it, you will definitely be adding to your go-to deep frying recipes. It’s one of the best dishes to serve for breakfast, snacks, desserts, or celebrations for the best bonding time!

How to Make Puff Puff

This recipe is easy and simple to do because once you know how to make the batter, all it takes is a little bit of deep frying to get the best results. As long as you have the batter, you can cook it anytime you want.

Let me tell you how you can make Puff Puff that tastes like it’s fresh from Africa!

Ingredients

The secret to any Puff Puff recipe is to know the best ingredients to use to make it.

Self-rising flour 

Whenever I make these snacks, self-rising flour is always the flour I use.

Self-rising flour is a combination of all-purpose flour and baking powder for a puffy, airy, and fluffy quality. It’s great for keeping the structure of the dish to give it the perfect round shape.

The flour will be the foundation of the batter, while the baking powder will act as a leavening agent to give it the best texture. I also use self-rising flour for Vanilla Cake and American Pancakes!

Yeast

Give the dish an even better texture with yeast in the batter.

Yeast is a powerful leavening agent that allows the batter to double in size for more volume. With yeast, you can make more of these snacks while making sure that you get the right texture and shape.

Once it reacts with the self-rising flour, you will notice how much volume and air it adds. Yeast helps make the dish airy and fluffy, similar to No-Oven Bread, Donuts, and Pizza Margherita!

Seasoning

Since it doesn’t have filling, the secret to these tasteful snacks is the seasoning.

In this recipe, I suggest using sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sea salt for a burst of flavor. With these spices, you can make sure that it will have a good balance of sweet, nutty, warm, spicy, and woody flavors.

You can always be creative with the spices that you use. As long as it has a sweet and pleasant flavor, you can trust that it’s going to give you a wonderful snacking experience.

Dry skimmed milk

Have you ever wondered why it tastes similar to cake?

It might be because of dry skimmed milk. The milk adds a creamy, decadent, and pleasant flavor to the dish. Along with the spices, the dry skimmed milk makes the dish so much tastier.

In fact, the milk also gives the dish a beautiful golden brown effect when cooked. According to Milky Day, skimmed milk is a good source of protein, calcium, and potassium!

Sunflower oil

Whenever you deep fry, always use oil with a high smoking point. It prevents the oil from becoming too oily while ensuring that you get the right texture and flavor of the food.

Just imagine the mouthwatering fusion of flavors and textures of the dish. Feel that crunchy and airy touch and the fragrant and rich aroma and flavor! Wait until you see how fun and easy it is to make! 

Directions

Here’s everything you need to do when cooking Puff Puff:

Make the batter

1. Mix the self-rising flour, dried skimmed milk, sugar, nutmeg, salt, cinnamon, and yeast using a whisk in a bowl.
2. Pour in the water.
3. Whisk until everything is well mixed.
4. Then, cover the bowl with cling film and a towel.
5. Wait until it doubles in size after 45 minutes to an hour.
6. Mix until there are no more bubbles.

Deep frying time!

1. Pour the batter into a piping bag.
2. Heat oil in a deep frying pan at medium-low heat.
3. Pipe a small amount of batter into the oil.
4. Then, toss the batter in the oil with a skewer
5. Fry until golden brown.
6. Use a skimmer to remove heat.
7. Let the Puff Puff cool on a lined tray.

Isn’t this dish so satisfying to make? Even its golden brown color is also extremely appetizing. And that heavenly crispy and crunchy texture takes this food to a new level! 

Tips

Dry Ingredients

• According to Polygon Group, ingredients such as yeast and self-rising flour are best stored in their original packaging or airtight containers in the fridge.
• Keep the other ingredients dry and warm to extend shelf life. 

How to Store Yeasted Batter

• You can store the batter in resealable bags in the fridge for up to three days.
• It can also be put in a bowl and covered with cling film and cloth.
• Alternatively, freeze it in freezer bags or containers for several weeks.
• To thaw, leave the frozen batter in the fridge overnight. 

Self-Rising Flour

To make your own self-rising flour, just combine a cup of all-purpose flour with half a teaspoon of sea salt and one and ½ teaspoons of baking powder. Store this in a container to last up to several months. Once it releases a foul odor, discard it immediately.

Puff Puff Variations

How can you take your Puff Puff to the next level?

You can add other flavored condiments of your choice, such as chocolate powder, cocoa, vanilla extract, desiccated coconut, chili flakes, and more. In fact, you can make a hole in treats to pipe in your favorite fillings.

Aside from dry skimmed milk, you can also use non-dairy products such as almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, or rice powder. If you don’t have yeast, then you can use baking powder as a leavening agent. 

More Puff Puff Recipes

• No-Yeast Puff Puff – you can always make this dish even without the yeast.
• Banana Flavor – make it tastier with a fresh and sweet banana flavor.
• Coconut Flavor – infuse the dish with the nutty and sweet taste of coconuts.

Recommended Tools

• Deep frying pan: Deep fry the batter in a non-stick pan. 
• Skimmer: Remove the puff puff from the heat with a skimmer.
• Piping bag: Fry the proper batter using this equipment.
• Glass bowl: Make the batter in a glass bowl.
• Whisk: Stir the ingredients with a whisk.
• Skewer: Toss the batter in the oil using a skewer.
• Kitchen towel: Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel.
• Cling film: Seal the batter using cling film.

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How to Serve Puff Puff

How can you best enjoy your Puff Puff?

It makes an excellent snack, dessert, or appetizer for parties, events, and picnics. You can serve it with dips in different flavors, such as chocolate sauce, cream, caramel dip, and more.

Garnish it with powdered sugar, coconut flakes, syrups, or whipped goods. Alternatively, you can fill them with different flavors such as chocolate, custard, and strawberry jam.

You may slice it into two and add some spreads, sliced fruits, or creams to make mini sandwiches. Here are some food and drinks to go with this dish:

• Peanut Butter Banana Milkshake – drink a tasty milkshake to go with the snacks.
• Peanut Butter – smear it with butter to give it a nutty taste.
• Strawberry Banana Milkshake – serve it with a milkshake with berries and bananas.
• Strawberry Jam – add filling to your snacks for a sweet flavor.

Storage Tips

• At room temperature: Puff puff can be left at room temperature for several hours. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What does puff puff mean?

It is a deep-fried snack that’s popular in lots of African countries. It derives its name from its quality of being puffy or airy. As long as you cook it right, it will surely be fitting for its name.

What is Nigerian puff puff made of?

The Nigerian version of this dish is made of flour, sugar, dry yeast, water, salt, seasoning, and vegetable oil. All of these will give the dish a pleasant flavor like you’re snacking in Nigeria.

What is the English name for puff puff?

In English, Puff Puff can be called “fried dough.” However, other deep-fried dough recipes can be called by a different name.

What is the real name of Puff Puff?

While it is called so because of how it looks and feels, it can be called other names in different countries. In Ghana, it’s called “bofrot” and in East Africa, they call it “mandazi”.