Beignets

Busy frying beignets. Or Chadian cake. My little nephew loves and gets one as soon as it came out of the frying pot. Simply eaten or with some icing sugar. With some tea, coffee or milk.

Southern African Pastry

Southern African Pastry

During my journey in South Africa, I have seen a similarity between the local pastry and the rest of the continent. However the influence of European and Asian cultures diversified the South African's pastry. We can find a large variety of pastry from deep fried to oven baked.
From Malva Pudding to deep fried donuts, South African pastry will always make me want to go back and eat more. Some that I have tried were delicious and gooey but some can be sweet but hard to be eaten.

Please find bellow some of those pastries recipes and hope you will try them and let me know what you think of them. Enjoy!!!!!


Malva pudding


 A South African Marvel.  This is by far the best of all the South African desserts and so easy to make. My friends were impressed by the hooey, gooey taste that you can't stop eating yummy!!! 

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients for the cake

• 1C light brown sugar
• 3tsp apricot jam
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1tsp vinegar
• 1 egg
• 1C flour
• 4tsp butter
• 1C milk

Ingredients for the sauce

• 3/4C cream
• 3tbsp butter
• ½ tsp vanilla

Instructions

Cake:

1. Melt butter and jam, leave to cool down
2. Beat egg and sugar together
3. Add vinegar to egg mixture
4. Add butter and jam to egg mixture
5. Stir in dry ingredients
6. Stir in milk at end
7. Pour into a buttered square or oval oven proof pan.
8. Cook for 45 mins at 180C
9. Once cooked, remove from oven.

Sauce:

1. Heat sauce ingredients together.
2. While cake is still hot, make pinpoint holes over the top of the cake and pour over the sauce, allowing it to sink into the cake.
3. This can be done ahead and the cake can be reheated.
4. Serve with creme Anglaise or ice cream.

Enjoy!!!

Central African Pastry

Central African 

Regarding Central Africa, it stretches from the Tibesti Mountains in the north to vast rain-forest basin of the Congo River.  Its diversified pastry is, in majority of countries or the region, deep fried. I am excited to share some recipes with you and tell more about the my own experiences.

Chadian Cake

It can be found in every household no matter their living condition around the country. You can also find it in restaurants, diners or street pastry-stands as well as in every occasions such as Birthdays, Weddings, Christmas and New Year Holidays, etc. I remembered eating it with chocolate milk and I am still making it when I crave for it. I was about 15 years old when I started making it. Trust me it was not that easy but with my mother's help I succeeded. I was pretty proud of myself that day.

Ingredients:

600 g flour
100 ml oil
1 Table spoon of baking yeast
5 Table spoon of fine sugar
1 pinch of salt
140 ml milk
2 Table spoon of powder milk(optional)
3 eggs

Instructions:

Put the flour in a large bowl, preferably not plastic and make a hole in the middle.

Heat 100 ml oil, 2 or 3 minutes at normal fire.

Add oil to the flour, mix with a wooden spoon, and mix well by hand after the flour has cooled.

Add the sugar, yeast, eggs, milk,  mix well to form a paste.

The dough should not stick, let stand 1 hour.

Train forms that you want, and then fry in a deep fryer to 150 ° c until your cake becomes golden.

It can be eaten with tea, coffee or hot chocolate as you wish. Enjoy!!

Açucarinha(Caramelized Coconut)

Famous treat in Sao Tome and Principe which is a country formed of two larger and several smaller islands in the Gulf of Guinea, 200 km west of Gabon. It is the only Portuguese country in Central Africa, it is sold regularly in every corner of the streets or beaches. It is also made to entertain guests during different occasions mainly holidays such as Christmas and New Year Celebrations.

Ingredients:

2 coconuts
1 kg of sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Water
Duration 60 minutes
Difficulty: Low

Preparation:

Grate the coconuts (only the white part) and place them in a saucepan with the sugar and a bit of water. Bring to the boil to cook.

Once it begin to caramelize, add the lemon zest.

When it begins to turn into "caramel point" or thicker turn off the heat.

With the help of a spoon, place small portions of the mixture on a flat, clean surface (preferably with parchment paper).

Let the Açucarinhas cool and serve them already solidified.


Further Recipes from this part of Africa will be posted in the future. In the meantime, enjoy the recipes posted above.              

Pofpof(Central African English) / Beignet(french)

It's a common pastry which varies from a country to another in terms of ingredients and flavor. It's called Pofpof in Cameroon (English part of the country), Beignets in Chad, Central-African Republic, Congo, Cameroon (French side of the country), except in Gabon it's called "Gateaux soufflé" I'm not sure if Equatorial Guinea makes them if so it has a Spanish name( I will search for it). Made for special occasions or daily life, it is eaten with chocolate milk, tea or coffee in the morning, with stews, grilled meat or chicken during lunch time or even dinner, in that case the sugar is reduced and salt increased. I used to make them and still make them when I crave for some. I posted bellow the basic recipe of pofpof. Please, feel free to add some ingredients or subtract (less recommended.) You can spread icing sugar or corn syrup for those who like an extra sweetness on their pofpof.  

Ingredients

For up to 30 pofpofs (medium size)

6 cup of flour
2 1/2 cup of sugar
1 Tea spoon of salt
1 Pack or a Table spoon of yeast  

1/2 L of warm water

Process

Mix warm water with yeast. Mix all the rest of ingredients together then add the water mixture in the the flour. The consistence of the dough should a little thicker than a pancake dough. If the dough is still stiff feel free to add extra water until you reach the recommended thickness. Let it rest in a warm place until it double of size.Deep fry in hot oil not smokey oil by cutting the dough with a spoon or hand depending on your preference. Shape it as you like let the pofpof get golden brown all over. Then take then out of the oil and serve it hot or warm or cold according to your preference. Enjoy!!!!

North African Pastry

African Pastry

What can I say about African pastry? Based on my own experiences, it varies from a region to another: Form the North to the South and From West to East through the Central Africa, you meet a large variety of light and less sweet pastry to the rich, heavy and very sweet one. Come with me let's discover them.

North African pastry

In North Africa, extending from Morocco to Egypt, the basic ingredients are: almond flour, wheat flour, semolina, sugar (a lot), vegetable oil and butter, dry fruits (dates, raisin …) dairy products such as milk or yogurt are also used. The pastries a made mainly during occasions such a Ramadan (Muslim fasting), religious feasts and in general birthdays, weddings or just normal days.  I remembered eating some of them sprinkled with icing sugar (Alas I can’t remember the name, but I will try to find their name and recipes) and I can tell you, they were great with green tea on special occasions. However, I found some recipes that can be close to what I ate. You can find bellow some example of recipes which you can try. The level of difficulty to make them might vary and hopefully you will like and enjoy them.

Recipes:

Makroud – Algerian and Tunisian cake (makrout)

The makroud, also spelled macroude, makroudh and makrout in Alger, is a pastry baked in Tunisia and Algeria.
The makrout is prepared by superimposing a layer of paste made from durum wheat semolina and a layer of paste of dates, figs and almonds. The whole is then rolled, and then cut into the shape of diamonds or triangles before cooking and usually fried in vegetable oil. The makroud is then dipped in honey syrup with sugar and lemon or orange zest. It can also be present sprinkled with icing sugar. This recipe can be made either with almonds or date fruits. The recipe bellow is the makrout with date fruits:

Ingredients:
For up to 12 persons

1 kg(35oz) of medium semolina
400g(14oz) of melted butter
50g(2oz) of sugar
1 pinch of salt
400g(14oz) date paste (or 500g(17oz) of date fruits)
Warm water (50 to 75cl)
Oil for frying
300g(10oz) of honey
Water of orange blossom(can be found at oriental stores)
Preparation: 1 hour
Cooking time: 2-3 minutes per series
In a pan, brown the meal without fat, then pour into a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter on the semolina and knead for the semolina is well incorporated into the melted butter. Dissolve sugar and salt as well as the water of orange blossom in warm water (50 to 75cl). Pour the butter/cornmeal mixture, mix until the consistency of a smooth paste and homogeneous and let it rest one hour.
If you do not have a date paste, then prepare with pitted date fruits, bring some water to boil in a saucepan and add the pitted dates. Reduce heat and cook for about 15 minutes. Mash cooked dates with a fork or puree press. Perfume dough thus obtained with a slight amount cinnamon.
Roll out the makrout dough (prepared in phase 1) on the worktop. Make two ribbons about 40cm long and 6cm wide and 2cm thick. Dig the center of one of the ribbon. Fill the cavity with a long strand of date paste. Cover with the other one.  Seal it tightly by pressing with greased hands.
Prepare the syrup by heating the honey, orange blossom water and a tablespoon of water.
Cut into diamond shape the ribbon. Fry in hot oil. Drain and plunge 15 minutes in the warm honey syrup. Place on a wire rack to cool off.

These Algerian and Tunisian cakes are eaten cold, and can be stored in an airtight container. Enjoy!!!

Chebakia - cakes with honey and almonds

The Chebakia sometimes spelled chebbakia, chbakia; oum'kharqa is a Moroccan cake, usually prepared during Ramadan(Muslim fasting). This same pastry is also found in Chad, however the ingredients vary. I liked eating it with hot milk or coffee. I will post the recipe on my next post regarding Central Africa pastries. It's a delightful pastry! 

The dough (flour, egg, orange blossom water, vinegar, saffron, acacia, and anise, almond and salt) is flattened and cut into rectangles, they are pierced by four notches with a notched wheel forming five tabs that will be folded and tangled with skill to give the characteristic form of this pastry. It is indeed folding the Chebakia that brings this Moroccan pastry much of its refinement.
The Chebakia is fried in olive oil, then dipped in honey and then rolled in sesame seeds.
The ingredients and preparation methods vary according to the traditions of each region.
Please find bellow the recipe of Chebakia:

Ingredients:
For up to 12 persons

   • 1 kg (35oz) of flour
   • 200 g (7oz) of chopped almonds
   • 1 tablespoon of anise powder
   • 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
   • 1 cup of melted butter
   • 1 cup tea oil
   • 3 tablespoon of orange blossom water
   • 2 tablespoon of vinegar
   • 1 teaspoon baking powder
   • 2 eggs

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

1.  Place the almonds in the oven or in a pan without fat, let a few minutes to brown before chopping them.

2.  Mix all ingredients to form a paste, if the liquid is not enough to gather gradually add warm water until a smooth paste.

3. Divide the dough into four balls and let rest 30-40 minutes.

4. Spread the dough with a rolling pin, the dough should have a thickness of 5 mm.

5. Cut the dough into a rectangle 10 cm by 6 cm and cut bands inside of the rectangles without breaking the rectangle, then intertwined bands to have nice shapes.

6. Then fry the Chebakias in sunflower oil (or olive oil if you prefer a stronger flavor) and soak them in warm honey, sprinkle with sesame seeds.


These Moroccan cakes are a delight, with coffee for example. Enjoy!!!

My little pastry history

 Growing up, I can say, I ate a large variety of pastry: from African (Chadian mainly) to French, American and Asian ones. I was curious and fascinated how it was made. Christmas and New Year Holidays were the best time that I could enjoy such delicacies. I would sneak in the kitchen and observe my mother and other aunties baking them. Such memories encouraged me to be passionate of pastry in General. It can be redundant such blog some can say so.  What can make my blog different? What can I talk about pastry in this blog? I will focus more on African pastries. I will post some recipes of some pastries that I tasted or found interesting.

Regarding the origin of pastry, many sources indicate, it came from the Ancient Mediterranean which included Greece, Roman Empire, Phoenicia and from North Africa mainly the Ancient Egypt. Then from being oil-based, it evolved as time goes by from one region to another in term of ingredients, shapes, cooking techniques, and flavor.

Hope you will enjoy visiting my blog. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Thank you!