Puff Puff — A very popular West African street food that’s quick and easy to make with different variations. Dangerously delicious and addicting!
As a child, I would often watch in amazement how the women selling the puffs would grab the mixture with the tip of their fingers, place it in the palm of their hands, and drop the mixture in oil.
I was fascinated by this process and would go home and practice this act with any mixture I had on hand. But it never came out as proportional or as visually appealing as the women did it. After years of practice as an adult, I think I can proudly say that I finally got the hang of it.
Content…What Is It? |
What Is Puff Puff?
Most West African countries are familiar with the popular street food Puff-Puff, which is known by different names depending on the country. Ghanaians call it Bofrot (togbei), and Cameroonians and Nigerians call it Puff-Puff (Puff) or beignet in French. The basic ingredient consists of flour, sugar, yeast, water, salt, and oil for deep frying.
It is an easy and quick recipe to make with different variations. This recipe is the one I have been making for years and the one that takes me back to my hometown. It brings back memories of late-night snacking on the street.
Recipe Ingredients
Trust me when I say that cooking these puff puffs is as mesmerizing as it is tasty. The best part about this treat is that it only needs a handful of ingredients. You might already have these in your pantry:
- Flour – This pantry must-have isn’t just for baking. It’s also great for many savory dishes.
- Yeast – This is basically the life of the recipe as it makes the dough rise for an airy, fluffy texture.
- Warm Water – An essential part of making any dough. It’s the basis for forming our treat. It’s important to have just the right warmth. If the water is too hot, it kills the yeast. If too cold, the yeast has a hard time rising.
- Sugar – Common table sugar you can easily find in any grocery store gives this recipe a slight sweetness and feeds the yeast for a good rise.
- Cooking Oil – The necessary ingredient for deep frying the puff puffs.
How to Make Puff Puff
- Activate the yeast: Mix salt, water, sugar, and yeast. Set it aside for 5 minutes (Photo 1)
- Make the dough: Add flour and mix (Photo 2)
- Rest and Rise: Let the mixture rise for approximately 1-2 hours (Photos 3-5)
- Pre-heat the oil: In a large saucepan, pour vegetable oil into a pot until it’s about 3 inches (or 5 centimeters ) high (too little will result into flatter balls), and place in low heat
- Check the heat: Test to make sure the oil is hot enough by putting a drop of batter into the oil. If the oil is not hot enough, the batter will stay at the bottom instead of rising to the top.
- Fry the puff puff:
- Hand Method: Using your hands, grab a little bit of mixture at a time and drop it into the oil. (See photo 6)
- Spoon Method: When the oil is hot enough, use a spoon to dish up the batter and another spoon or spatula to drop it in the oil. Sort of in the shape of a ball.
- Check the doneness: Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown (Photo 7)
- Flip the puff puff: Turn the ball over for a few minutes until the underside is golden brown. (Photo 8)
- Remove from oil: Use a large spoon or a slotted spoon to take it out of the oil. I usually place them on napkins right away to soak up some of the excess oil.
- Coat the puff puff: If desired, you can roll up the finished products in table sugar or powdered sugar to make it sweeter.
Serving Suggestions
Puff-puff is usually eaten for breakfast, as a snack, or as a side dish. Regardless of when you eat them, they are enjoyable with or without a side dish. A must-have for me – pepper sauce.
The beauty of puff puffs is that you can eat them sweet or savory. They’re a great snack, appetizer, or dessert. I often eat it as a snack or appetizer. My son definitely loves it as a simple dessert with just a bit of powdered sugar. Another great dessert/snack is homemade bon bons. Yum!
If you’re craving more, then these recipes from my list of African snacks and appetizers should help you feel satisfied.
Tips and Tricks for Making Puff Puff
- Soft puff puff: For a softer puff puff, add about 1-2 tablespoons more water. Some people find it a little bit hard after it stays out.
- Crunchy, not soggy: Do not overcrowd the frying pan; it will absorb excess oil and sometimes make it soggy.
- Hold the salt: You may cut back on the salt if you are watching your salt intake; about 1 teaspoon will do.
- Preheat the stove: If your house is too cold, turn on the stove for about 2-3 minutes until warm. Then turn it off and let the puff puff rise next to it. Or heat up the oven, turn it off when hot, and wait until it cools down. If you want it warm but not hot, then let it rise in the oven. Check after 30 minutes to ensure it’s rising.
- Use a spoon instead to scoop the dough into the oil if you do not want to use your hands. It still tastes delicious!
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was originally published in November 2012 and has been updated with additional tips.
Puff Puff
Ingredients
- 2 cups (+1-2 tablespoons (475ml) warm water (See notes)
- 2¼ teaspoon (7g) active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 3½ cups (420g) flour
- ½-¾ cup (100-150g) sugar
- ½ tablespoon (8-9g) salt
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Mix salt, sugar, water, and yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- Add flour and mix.
- Let the mixture rise for approximately 1-2 hours.
- In a large saucepan, pour vegetable oil into a pot until it's at least 3 inches (about 5cm) deep and heat on low. Too little oil will result in flatter balls.
- Test to make sure the oil is hot enough by putting a drop of batter into the oil. If it is not hot enough, the batter stays at the pot's bottom rather than rising to the top.
- When the oil is hot enough, grab a little bit of the mixture with your hands or use a spoon to get a small ball of dough. Drop it carefully into the oil.
- 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 immediately to soak up the excess oil.
- If desired, you can roll the finished product in table sugar or powdered sugar to make it sweeter.
Tips & Notes:
- Soft puff puff: For a softer puff puff, add about 1-2 tablespoons more water. Some people find it a little bit hard after it stays out.
- Crunchy, not soggy: Do not overcrowd the frying pan, as the puff puffs will absorb excess oil and sometimes get soggy.
- Hold the salt: You may cut back on the salt if you are watching your salt intake. About 1 teaspoon of salt will do.
- Preheat the stove: If your house is too cold, turn on the stove for about 2-3 minutes until warm. Then turn it off and let the puff puff rise next to it. Or place your dough in the cold oven and put a pan full of hot water under it. Check after 30 minutes to ensure it’s rising.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Tee says
Hi,
Please what type of flour? Can i use plain flour? Or does it have to be self raising?
Thanks
Tee
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Tee! Plain flour will work just fine. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Chisom says
Thanks ma for this wounderful recipe bit can one add onions and pepper to it? Another question is, what’s the range that one can leave it to rise before frying
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Chisom! Let your dough rise for 1-2 hours or until it has doubled in size. I have never tried adding onions and pepper to these puff-puffs. They would probably have to be in powder form. Do let me know how it works for you. Thanks for stopping by!
Chinenye says
Thanks alot Imma. Pls can i add water or anything after it has rise
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Chinenye! No need to add water after the dough rises. Just go ahead and fry 🙂 !
Kat says
What if i will be using instant yeast? Is it the same measurement?
thanks !
ImmaculateBites says
Yes it is . Enjoy!
Helen says
How do I mix with instant yeast. So I mix in water and allow to prove or mix in the flour
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Helen. I have used instant yeast either way for this recipe and it turned out fine :).
Tobbias says
Thank you Imma, I have been benefiting greatly from your recipes. The videos are great for men like me who like to see the process. Blessings!
ImmaculateBites says
You are welcome! So happy the videos are a big help.
Ida N says
Oh la la!!! I never comment on recipes blog, yet i couldn’t help myself. What can i say besides thank you. Thank you so much for this recipe. For years, i’ve been begging a friend to make them for me. With the quarantine, I had to figure it out for myself since i wanted to have a proper Cameroonian breakfast ( bouillie and beans). It took me one month and half to find yeast but hooray. Your recipe was simple to follow. The puff puff were moist and elastic, just delicious. We devoured them all day. Made my daughter happy.
Forever thankful.
ImmaculateBites says
Awww. This has made me so happy. I know exactly how you must have felt :)! Every time I make this puff-puff I am transported right back to the mama with the beignet haricot at the side of the road. Thank you so much for taking the time to share!
Ida N says
The best feeling!!
The pleasure is all mine. It was just « very yummy » in my child’s voice.
I went out to buy items to finally try your Ndolé….
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Do let me know how it works out for you 🙂 !
Beatrice Obazele says
Hi I am practicing this tomorrow…whi preservative can be added to make the puff puff last a day or 2.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Beatrice! I have never tried preservatives with this puff-puff. They are usually enjoyed best fresh, preferably warm.
Kalisi Fine says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I am from the South Pacific and we have this snack for breakfast sometimes lunch. Have tried so many recipes but fail. This is the best recipe and certainly a keeper. Thank you sincerely.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Kalisi! I am so glad you love these puff-puffs. I could eat this any time of the day. Heck, I could eat it all day :). Thank you for stopping by!
Bukola says
Good afternoon, pls what are the recipes measurement for making 4kg flour of puff puff.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Bukola! This recipe is for about 440 grams of flour. Multiply the measurements by 8 and that should give you an estimate of what you would use.
iLeojaCA says
Am a big fan of puff-puff, am trying out this recipe out
ImmaculateBites says
You will love this! Let me know how it works out for you!
Oziti says
Thank you for sharing this.
I’ve been looking for a nice recipe like this. Thank God I found this.
ImmaculateBites says
Glad you did. Enjoy!
Rabeea says
I’ve been using this recipe for 2 years now, and it’s always such a hit! I only found this because a few years ago I was opening my fast at a masjid and an older lady passed me these puff puffs, they were still warm and so so delicious. While praying I was thinking I needed to speak to this lady and get that recipe, but I couldnt find her after we prayed! So I went home, with these delicious donuts on my mind and started Google searching for the recipe through all I could remember, such as fried dough balls and I found this recipe!! Thank you so much for posting this amazing recipe!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Rabeea! I love love the backstory to you finding this recipe :)! Thank you for sharing it with me. And I am so glad you love this recipe!
Ubi says
Absolutely great recipe! I tried it today and it was a bomb! Thank you so much
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks, Ubi 🙂 !
Eugenia says
I tried this today and it was an instant hit with my family. Your recipe was so easy to follow and the result was delicious. Thanks very much.
ImmaculateBites says
This puff-puff is an all-time favorite in my house! I am so glad it was a hit with your family. Thanks for the feedback, Eugenia :)!
Marta says
Hello! I’ve tried to change the ingredients to metric ( grams ) but I can’t find where to change it anymore and I don’t understand cups ( sorry ) can you please help me .? ( English is not my first language, sorry for any spelling mistakes )
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Marta,
I have converted it in grams and updated recipe. Enjoy.
Marta says
Thank you very much ❤️
Kingsley says
I’m trying this out now…. Please can I add vanilla essence and pepper to it?
I just finished making the mixture. Just covered it now and waiting for 1-2 hours…. So I just hope you will give me a reply soon enough
ImmaculateBites says
This might be too late . You can add vanilla or pepper to it or pepper but not both.