Coconut Puff-Puff (Deep-fried Coconut Dough) – a twist on the popular West African fried dough with the addition of coconut milk and coconut flakes.
Puff-puff is a West African traditional fried dough that is sold in every neighborhood, on street corners, in West Africa. They are impossible to resist once you take a bite. It is comparable to yeast doughnuts with less sugar and with a sort of fermented yeast taste.
If you were to vote on the most popular West African snack, I think puff-puff would probably win big. I put a twist on this classic African snack by adding coconut and coconut milk.
The first time I made these to take to a party, I was on the phone with my dear friend and I mentioned to her that I was making coconut puff-puff for a party and she said , “You know no one would eat them right? My response was, “Why not, they taste good”. She said, well people are not use to eating coconut puff-puff. “They will soon”, I said. After a drawn out conversation, we concluded that I should make a side-by-side comparison between the two (puff-puff and the coconut puff-puff) and see which one people were going to devour first.
I did just that and guess what? You guessed right! coconut puff-puff won with an overwhelming victory. In fact, it was gone before any other meal-you would be surprise at how pleasant the coconut milk and flakes enrich this recipe.
The coconut flakes give these puff-puff a slight crunch and a special and different flavor .
The main ingredients are flour, coconut milk, flour, yeast, salt and coconut flakes. Once everything is mixed, set it aside in a warm area to proof or rise. If dough is too thick add a little bit of water or coconut milk.
Best served warm.
Watch How To Make It
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Coconut Puff-puff( Deep fried coconut dough)
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Ingredients
- 1 cups warm water
- 2 cup coconut milk
- 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast or 0.25 oz. 1 packet
- 1/2- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4- 1/2 Tablespoon salt
- 1 cup coconut flakes
- 4-1/2 cup flour
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl add the warm water, coconut milk, salt, sugar, and yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes
- Then add flour and mix with a wooden spoon or hands preferably, followed by coconut flakes. Mix well until flour and coconut flakes have been fully incorporated.
- Set the mixture in a warm area and let it rise and double in size -approximately 1- 2 hours
- In a large, sauce pan pour vegetable oil , until it is at least 3 inches (or about 5 centimeters) high (too little will result in flatter balls), and place on medium heat until oil is 375 degrees.
- The dough is going to be sticky so use your hands to grab a little bit of mixture at time and drop in the oil or use a spoon to spoon up the batter, and another spoon or spatula to drop it in the oil, sort of in the shape of a ball. Do not overcrowd the pan. Do so in batch
- Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown.
- Turn the ball over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown.
- Use a large spoon or something like that to take it out of the oil. I usually place them on napkins right away to soak up some of the excess oil.
- If desired, you can roll the finished product in table sugar or powdered sugar to make it sweeter
Nutrition Information:
Eleni says
I added vanilla and a tad of lemon rind I’m not sure. Still didn’t get a lot of flavor the balls were perfect and fluffy. I was thinking cinnamon maybe
Imma says
Sounds good. Everyone likes different levels of flavor. Cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom would spice it up, too. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Sandra Ozioko says
This was so fricking delicious, I even added raisins to mine
Immaculate Bites says
That’s great! Thank you for sharing, Sandra 🙂
Kay says
Hi, Thanks for your good work.
I have two questions for you-
in terms of the coconut flakes – should they be sweetened coconut flakes or unsweetened coconut flakes?
second, you said 4-1/2 cup flour. Is that 4 and 1/2 cups (four and a half cups)? I was unsure.
Thank you.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Kay, For the most part I use sweetened coconut flakes because it is readily available . Yes it is 4 cups plus 1/2 cups of flour .
Enjoy!
Amefon says
hahah I really wish I read the comments before mixing! I think i added too much sugar because I used sweetened condensed milk as well!
But let’s see how it turns out as it is currently set aside to rise (then I decided to casually look around the page more).
I have now just added some more salt hoping to offset the sugar, then yeast to offset the added salt. Not sure where I’m going with this or if I really understand the science but I hope it works 😀
imma africanbites says
Hi, Amefon. How was it? Hope it did turn out fine.
Anu says
Hello ImmaculateBites,
I want to ask if I can use oat instead of flour for the mixture?
ImmaculateBites says
Hello,
I haven’t tried it with oats yet. So can’t say for sure.
Liz says
This is a lovely recipe…. But what about using condensed milk in place of coconut milk? Just asking if it’ll work?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Liz. The coconut milk intensifies the flavor of this puff puff hence I would advise you go with it. If you must use the condensed milk in place of the coconut milk, I would suggest you cut back on the sugar so it is not overly sweet. Happy cooking!
Uzo says
God bless you for sharing this recipe. I am the greatest Coconut lover in the entire universe. No competition…lol. This is so perfect. I was yearning for puff puff but not the regular kind I’m used to. I went to Google and searched for Coconut puff puff and BINGO! Lol… I followed your instructions but I mixed all-purpose Flour with wheat flour and I used a mixture of half cup of coconut sugar and half cup of raw turbinado sugar. The outcome was just the amount of sweetness I needed in my body. Not too sweet but just right. Thanks so much for this recipe.
Mellie says
Uzo,
I think we going to have to fight for the title of Greatest COconut lover. OMG is life. I have actually met people who hate coconut. They don’t know what they are missing. I have to try this recipe this weekend. Looks so delicious
mabel says
Nice recipe.
But why is not meg not added to the recipe?
Mo says
Very confusing the 2-1/4 cup flour. Was that 1/4 cup flour or 2 cups? I used 2 cups and I messed up my recipe ☹️ Please make the listing of measurements clearer. Thanks
ImmaculateBites says
It’s 2 cups and 1/4 cup.
Anana Clark says
I forgot to say the most important part: I’m a coconut lover too! Are there any other coconut dishes you have from Cameroon or any other West African nation?
Anana Clark says
Thanks so much for your platform for Cameroonian cooking! My cousin did the swab DNA test and found out that is exactly where our people are from. Very exciting and I will one day journey there. I am having an International Thanksgiving Day in my class and I have asked some of the students from other countries to dress in traditional clothing and share some of their culture with the class. They also have to make a traditional dish to share. As their teacher, I surely did not want to be left out, but I also did not want to make anything that was time consuming, costly or elaborate. Puff Puff is the way to go! I’ll try it out on my husband first so I’ll be ready next month! Hopefully I’ll find something to wear that is specific to Cameroon…we’ll see. Thanks again!
imma africanbites says
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Anana. Please do let me know how it turns out for you. Enjoy!
songo says
thanks for the recipe.i was confused with the measurements especially the flour, sugar, sugar and yeast. though I tried it but it was a little bit hard and did not rise. please what did I not get right?
ImmaculateBites says
It might be the yeast or measurements . Always double check your measurements and the yeast expiration. It’s usually the cause of puff puff not rising .
Keesha says
What type of flour
ImmaculateBites says
All purpose flour would do.
Dorcas says
Can’t wait for weekend to come so I give it a try. Hmmmm….. thanks for this platform to make same olds in a new way!!!
ImmaculateBites says
You are going to love it!
rita says
I love this! Please what’s that whitish powder sprinkled over the puff puff after frying?
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks! It’s powder sugar.
Ekaphan Ardharn says
As I am a coconut lover, after I see your recipe, I am interested to make one!
ImmaculateBites says
It’s quite tasty! Am a coconut lover myself.