Last Saturday afternoon, I came back home from a walk with my friend and I developed a random but intense craving to make and eat puff puff.
I succumbed…
I used a recipe that my sister’s mother-in-law had found in newspaper last autumn. I’m all for trying new things. I’ve never eaten puff puff coated in sugar, usually the ones I have eaten have been tasty enough with out this addition. So I was curious about how I might find this.
Verdict : delicious, delicious, delicious
The extra sugar was not as overpowering as I thought it might be. These were soft, warm, sweet and crunchy and just perfect for a Saturday evening in January.
Makes: 25 – 30
Prepare: 10 minutes + proving
Cook: 10 minutes
Ingredients
450 grams self-raising flour
7g satchet fast-action dried yeast
90g caster sugar, plus 40g to coat
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, plus extra to coat
1 tsp vanilla extract
1L vegetable oil, for deep frying and greasing
Instructions
- Add the flour, yeast, 90g sugar and nutmeg to a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in 400 ml lukewarm water and the vanilla. Give the mixture a whisk, for a minute or so, until you have a smooth, runny batter.
- Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave the mixture to rise in a warm place for 30 – 45 minutes, until nearly doubled in size.
- Add the oil to a heavy-based, deep saucepan and heat to about 160oC – 170oC. Test the temperature with a little batter. It should float to the surface and not brown straightaway.
- To fry the puff puff, grease a tablespoon with a little oil. Spoon tablespoons of the batter into the hot oil, frying about 5 to 6 at a time. Let them fry for 1 minute on each side, or until a deep golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and place them on a tray lined with kitchen paper. Continue with the rest of the batter.
- Mix the remaining sugar with a pincd of extra nutmeg on a deep plate. Roll the hot puff puff in the sugar mixture to coat and serve warm.
