Puff-puff, as it is called in Nigeria and Sierra Leone, sometimes Ghana, and in anglophone Cameroon, is a traditional African snack made of fried dough. Other names for the food include buffloaf (or boflot) in Ghana, bofloto in the Ivory Coast, mikate in Congo, micate or bolinho in Angola, beignet in Francophone Cameroon (although it is not based on the same dough as the French pastry of the same name), legemat in Sudan, kala in Liberia, Vetkoek / Amagwinya/Magwinya in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The prominence of this delicacy stretches even to the eastern and southern edges of West Africa, where it is mostly known as mandazi.[1]
Puff-puffs are made of dough containing flour, yeast, sugar, butter, salt, water and eggs (which are optional), and deep fried in vegetable oil to a golden brown color. Baking powder can be used in place of yeast, but yeast is more common.[2] After frying, puff puffs can be rolled in sugar. Like the French beignet and the Italian zeppole, puff-puffs can be rolled in any spice or flavoring such as cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. This form a fusion style of cooking puff-puffs served with a fruit dip such as strawberry or raspberry. Puff puff can be eaten plain, or with any other addition. For instance, Cameroonians enjoy puff puffs with beans, coffee, and other beverages for breakfast.
Akubor, Peter (April 2004). "Protein contents, physical and sensory properties of African snack foods (cake, chin-chin and puff-puff) prepared from cowpea-wheat flour blends". International Journal of Food Science & Technology. 39 (4): 419.
Patent, Greg. A Baker's Odyssey: Celebrating Time-Honored Recipes from America's Rich Immigrant Heritage.
