West African
Bofrot (Puff Puff)
- Prep time 2 hours 10 minutes
- Cook time 2 minutes
- Serves 15 to 20 donuts
Author Notes
Bofrot is the famous Ghanaian doughnut, a popular street food that comes wrapped in newspaper. Traditionally, palm wine is used in place of yeast, but it’s harder to come by than yeast, so I have used the latter here. These dairy-free Ghanaian beignets can also be filled with chocolate sauce or strawberry jam for added pleasure—great for parties, great for everyday snacking! —Zoe Adjonyoh
Test Kitchen Notes
Excerpted with permission from Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen © 2017 by Zoe Adjonyoh, 2017. Published by Mitchell Beazley. All rights reserved. —The Editors
What You'll Need
Ingredients
-
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
-
300 grams
(10½ oz) all-purpose flour
-
1/2 teaspoon
sea salt
-
100 grams
(3½ oz) granulated white sugar, plus 40 grams (1 1/2 oz) for coating
-
1/2 teaspoon
ground cinnamon
-
5 grams
powdered hibiscus (optional)
-
7 grams
active dry yeast
-
200 milliliters
(6½ fl oz) warm water
-
1 liter
(1¾ pints) vegetable oil, for deep-frying
-
1/2 teaspoon
ground cinnamon
Directions
- Mix the vanilla with the dry ingredients, except the yeast, in a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the mixture, then cover with the warm water and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes for the yeast to activate and start bubbling. At this point, beat the liquid into the dry until you have a thick batter.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or beeswax wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours, or until the batter has doubled in size.
- Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer (the safest option) or heavy-based, deep saucepan filled to just under half the depth of the pan to 325°F. Test the temperature of the oil with a small drop of the batter—it should slowly rise to the surface and brown slowly.
- Using the drop scone method, drop a few separate tablespoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil and fry for 2 minutes or until golden brown, then turn each bofrot over and fry until evenly dark golden brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter.
- Combine the sugar and cinnamon for coating on a wide, deep plate, then roll the bofrot around the plate to coat them in the mixture. Serve warm or at room temperature on their own, or with clotted cream if you have it! Tips: Dip your tablespoon for adding the batter to the fryer in the hot oil, to prevent the mixture sticking to it. If the doughnuts don’t keep their shape when deep-fried, there is probably too much liquid in your batter, and if they brown on the outside before cooking through on the inside, the oil is probably too hot.
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