Beignets are sold from big enamel bowls outside schools and mosques across Senegal, still warm and dusted with sugar. Made with cassava flour they stay tender inside with a crackling crust, and they happen to be gluten-free. A spoon of our hibiscus or baobab jam turns them into dessert.
Serves: About 20 beignets · Time: 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes resting
Ingredients
- 1½ cups Tonton Jeb Cassava Flour
- ½ cup rice flour or all-purpose flour (for structure)
- 2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt, a pinch of nutmeg
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup milk or water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Oil for deep frying
- Tonton Jeb Artisanal African Flavored Jam to serve
Method
- Whisk the cassava flour, rice flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a bowl.
- In another bowl beat the eggs with the milk and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir into a thick, sticky batter. Rest for 30 minutes; the cassava flour will absorb the liquid.
- Heat 5 cm of oil in a deep pan to 170°C (340°F). A drop of batter should sizzle and rise in a few seconds.
- Using two spoons, drop walnut-sized balls of batter into the oil, 6 or 7 at a time. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, turning, until deep golden all over.
- Drain on paper, dust with sugar while hot, and serve with a bowl of jam for dipping.
Tips from the pantry
- The batter should hold its shape on a spoon. Too loose, add a spoon of cassava flour; too stiff, a splash of milk.
- Sprinkle with toasted Sesame Seeds before frying for a nutty crust.
- Serve with hot attaya (Senegalese mint tea) or a glass of cold bissap.
