Baked Soft Mandazi — Baked East African Beignet flavored with cardamom, nutmeg and mixed with coconut. So tender and indulgent, without the guilt.
Baked East African Beignet – flavored with cardamom, nutmeg and mixed with coconut. I don’t know what it is about bread or doughnuts that is hard to resist. A while back I made these mandazi beignet and they were a hit with a lot of readers and with good reason. They are AH mazing!
Not satisfied with it, I decided to make it even better with these soft mandazi here and to me it is better than the first- tender and packed with flavor.
So, Shef(one of my readers) sent me a picture of his mandazi. It looked so good that I wanted to make it ASAP . It gave me just the right push to make a baked version of these popular East African fried treats. I confess, I have grated coconut in the fridge to make these when the craving hits.
Here is what I did differently with some much appreciated advice from shef- I added some extra coconut, sugar and included butter to make it tender. Brushed with oil and bake for about 10-12 minutes .Do not over-bake them. They taste great the next day reheated in the oven.
So, REJOICE, now you can enjoy mandazi with a little less guilt.
Here are some tips when working with mandazi:
– Make sure the water is not too hot. You don’t want it warmer than body temp.
– In order for your mandazi to be fluffy it has to double in size- be patient with it (in might take longer some days depending on weather)
– If your mandazi does not rise in an hour, try turning on the oven to warm for 10 minutes. Then, turn it off and let the dough rise in the oven.
– If all fails mix rapid rise yeast into the dough and knead.
– You may switch out evaporated milk with coconut milk
– It is best to use freshly ground cardamom for this recipe -you get a hint of crushed seeds as you bite into the dough- an enjoyable experience.
Enjoy
Baked Soft Mandazi
Ingredients
- ¼ cup warm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
- Evaporated milk 5 oz. l can or ¾ cup canned coconut milk
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/2 – 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup grated coconut or coconut flakes
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon crushed cardamom spice
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg or cinnamon
- powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar to sprinkle
- Vegetable oil for coating
Instructions
- In a large bowl add the warm water, evaporated milk, salt, sugar and yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes. Add eggs.
- Then add 3 ½ cups flour, butter, cardamom, nutmeg, grated coconut and mix by hands or in a stand mixer.
- Turn dough on a lightly floured surface, knead dough until all the ingredients have been fully incorporated and the dough is not too sticky, when touched, gradually adding the remaining flour if you need be, err on the side of less flour than more flour. Mix dough until smooth about 1 -2
- minutes.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover
- Loosely with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled.
- Roll out dough in to 1 inch thick. Cut in bite size or desired shapes
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with foil and coat with cooking spray or oil. Place mandazi on baking sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until slightly turning brown.
- Remove let it rest. If desired, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar to make it sweeter.
Nutrition Information:
Rowena says
My partner were introduced to mandazis whilst living in Muscat and we love it so much. I have only started braving baking bread only recently and held off baking mandazis until I had more confidence in bread baking. So happy I found your recipe!! Thank you soooo much! Just baked a batch following instructions except for another 2 minutes in oven, and used coconut milk instead….they are sooo soft and divine!
ImmaculateBites says
Glad to hear it worked out well. Thanks for the feedback.
vidya says
Hi.. I just love your recipes.. my sister in law stays in tanzania and she had made fried mandazi but i wanted to try baked ones and I am going to try these awesome ones… but i dont prefer eggs so can i omit the egg? If i omit egg do i need to use any other substitute like flaxmeal or something?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Vidya. Yes, you may use flaxseeds as a substitute for egg. For one egg, mix one tablespoon of finely ground flaxseeds with three tablespoons of water until fully combined. You may also use 1/4 cup of mashed banana. I hope this helps 🙂 !
vidya iyer says
thank you so much Imma.. it was out of the world.. i added nutmeg powder and the taste was awesome… thank you very much for your reply
ImmaculateBites says
Fantastic!! I am so glad it worked out for you. Thank you for the feedback!
Lilian says
Hey can i use baking powder instead of yeast?
Imma Adamu says
Yes you can. It may not hbe as soft but it will still taste delicious.. keep in mind use about 1 to 1-1/4 teaspoons of baking powder for every cup of flour. Blessings
Helen Moreno Gallagher says
I wil try this next month. Lovely i like bake than fry.thank u so much.
imma africanbites says
Can’t wait for you to try it. Enjoy!
B says
Thank you so much for this! They were a huge hit at my son’s World Culture Day at school.
imma africanbites says
Thank you, B for trying it out. **Happy Dance** 🙂
Ela says
Hi Imma, I made this yesterday for a gathering with friends, and it was the bomb! I swapped half of the AP flour for WW flour and it was absolutely great. Everyone loved it. It all went in flash. Also made your African Doughnut (Drop Doughnut). The kids and even adults love it. Everything was a winner. Thanks Imma.
ImmaculateBites says
My pleasure Ela! So glad to hear it was a hit with everyone. Thanks for taking the time to share this with us.
Kim O. says
Made these today – turned out great! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome Kim! Glad you enjoyed it.
James says
I USE JUA KALI OVEN WITH TWO ELEMENTS ONE BOTTOM AND ONE TOP,MANDAZI DONT COOK EVEN AFTER WAITING ONE HOUR,OVEN JUST WARMS
ImmaculateBites says
Sorry James! Don’t see the reason why it didn’t cook and don’t know much about Jua kali ovens,
Ela says
Hi Immaculata, your blog is driving me crazy! I’m a girl on diet and u are making me “sin”. But in my mind though, because i haven’t tried anything yet. Would this work with whole wheat flour?
ImmaculateBites says
It sure would. Common Ela, you have got to try something. In moderation then you are not committing any “sin”
Ela says
I made this yesterday for a gathering with friends, and it was the bomb! I swapped half of the AP flour for WW flour and it was absolutely great. Everyone loved it. It all went in a flash. Also made your African Doughnut (Drop Doughnut) for the kids. They and even the adults love it. Everything was a winner. Thanks Imma.
Muratha says
The recipe came out very nice…thanks
ImmaculateBites says
Glad to hear Muratha.
dina says
they do look addicting! yes, there is something about breads…they are hard to stay away from!