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!!!!