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.
Sonia says
Love this recipe!! This is my third time trying it and my kids and husband absolutely love it. My husband said it was a deadly snack because everything gets finished by the end of the day. Thank you.
ImmaculateBites says
Sonia, I know what you mean. My family loves this too! It is hubby’s favorite fried pastry. Thanks for the five stars and feedback !
MF says
This recipe is a killer.Made this yesterday,it was a hit.The balls came out beautifully,and tasted soooo good…Guess my search for the perfect puff-puff recipe is over!Thank you,Imma!
ImmaculateBites says
Yay! Happy dance for me. Thanks MF
hanny says
Pls what type of measuring cup r u referring to
Is it peak milk tin..
ImmaculateBites says
No, it is not peak milk it is standard measuring cup.
Ana says
Hello I saw ur puff puff recipe tried it but it didnt come out right. So my qtn is wat cup sizes shd i use?…bc I used normal tea cups with e rest of e recipe. … am going to try it again tonite n c….thks
Oneke says
Imma, you are a lifesaver. I have been making what I thought was puff puff for a bit. You know, the kind you only eat at home. I am so proud to say thanks to your recipe, my puff puff skills have been taken to another level. You are the best.
ImmaculateBites says
Aww, thank you Oneke. Glad you enjoyed it that much. You are the best, for taking the time to provide some glowing feedback.
Peace Effiang says
And I forgot to add, I lovee your recipe (I was scared at first but the craving overcame the fear), I tried it this evening here in hungary(although I’m nigerian) and it turned out great, exactly the way I like puff-puff, crispy outside but dense and sweet inside, and I am so glad my fear for yeast products has been overcomed!!!!!
Peace Effiang says
Please what can I do if I have left over puff puff batter, and where can I put it?
ImmaculateBites says
Peace ,your best bet would be to fry the puff puff , let it cool and then freeze . When ready to use, reheat in oven and serve. This is the way I do! Thanks for the feedback. Now that you have overcome your yeast fear. You have to try out other more yeast recipes. Happy cooking!
kelsey says
Just wondering, do i have to double the yeast if i am to double the recipe?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, kelsey you have to double the yeast.
Deborah says
Best recipe I’ve found on puff puff hands down!!!!! But I adjusted my salt and sugar for taste…It comes out sooooooo nice!!! Thank you so much ImmaculateBites for this wonderful recipe!!! Keep up with the recipes…Hopefully you have one for egg roll and fish roll and stuff….Thanks again for sharing your talent.
ImmaculateBites says
Thank you, thank you! your comment is much appreciated Deborah. I have one for egg roll here http://africanbites.com/?p=7522 and another for fish roll http://africanbites.com/?p=3377 . Let me know how you like these .
Jennifer says
Hi,
I tried the recipe weeks ago and it didn’t come out right. I followed all the instructions. The dough belt watery after it had risen.
Do you feel I should reduce the water next time? And not use two cups? I felt really bad.
ImmaculateBites says
Jennifer, so sorry to hear that your puff-puff then not turn out right. Don’t feel bad. Double check your measurements , make sure you are using standard measuring cups and/or spoons. The dough should not be watery after it has risen. Let me know if it works out!
Lulu says
This recepie is excellent. I made puff puff with other recepies and they never quite right. A lot never have you exact measures of ingredients. For my daughters harmony day (where you bring in food from your heritage or country to class for class lunch) I decided to make puff puff representing the one half of her heritage. It was a choice between another website recepie and yours – the comments here swayed me. I’m glad I decided on yours because the result was perfect and went down a treat with the Australian mums in Perth where I live. Even the hand method for droping them in worked first time. I directed a few of the mum’s to your site for the recepie. So you are reaching as far as Western Australia. Looking forward to trying out a jolloff rice recepie if you have one. Thanks
ImmaculateBites says
Lulu, thanks for taking the time to leave such a sweet comment. I am super excited that the puff-puff went well and you used your hand to drop the puff-puff. You go girl! It took me a while to do it perfectly. I have two Jollof rice recipe – one is stove top and the other is in the oven. The oven one is SUPER easy to make . Try that one first or just do both of them and see which one you like best. Here they are http://africanbites.com/?p=96 , http://africanbites.com/?p=7386. Let me know you like them.
Ivy says
Hi, I recently tried this recipe. The dough seemed very runny beforehand, and I’m not sure if that’s how it’s supposed to be or not. Also, after the puffs were done, they were very greasy in the middle. Do you have any idea what I did wrong?
Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
ImmaculateBites says
Ivy, you must have added too much water or not enough flour. Make sure you are using standard measuring cups . Puff puff should never be greasy. Hope this helps.
Bomsylala says
Hi Immaculate, you are so wonderful ! I have struggled for a while to make this it just wasnt coming out right… so i tried this for a small carnival and it was awesome just one try and I got it ..shhh! i am going to start this as a small business for Africans around me … Thanks again Naomi you are amazeballs …
ImmaculateBites says
Aww, thank you ! I won’t tell if you don’t. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Naomi says
Best recipe for puff puff! I’m not nigerian so I’ve tried so many but this worked perfect. Especially putting them into the pan, the shape was almost flawless. Thanks a lot xo
ImmaculateBites says
Aw, thank you so much for this, Naomi! You totally rock!
Glad to hear you my puff puff recipe is a winner- just made my day!
Maria says
I made this and it came out perfect! Thanks so much for your excellent and simple to follow directions. I have tried 5 of your recipes so far and all have been a hit !
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks Maria for such a wonderful compliment! You are Awesome! So happy to here this.