African Doughnut (Drop Doughnut)
Enjoy a comfort food snack in 15 minutes with these African doughnuts (drop doughnuts). Crispy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside, these delicious balls of dough are packed with flavor for bite-sized treats! No rolling, no waiting, and no sweat orbs of happiness.
A doughnut craving hit me when I had the least time to mix, let it rise, roll it out, and fry. I immediately thought of a traditional street food in Africa. So, of course, I threw them together in what seemed like less than no time, and started satisfying my sweet tooth.
Assuming you’re like me and can’t wait, you can eat the ones from the first batch while cooking the second one. Get ready to do the happy dance with these crunchy, pillowy treats.
What Makes Drop Doughnuts Great
In America, these doughnuts are called drop doughnuts and are classified as a breakfast food. In some parts of Africa, we just call them doughnuts (or donuts if you’re in the States). However, when in the U.S., you have to be specific about the name, African doughnuts.
That aside, they taste incredible, are crispy, crunchy on the outside, and pillowy soft on the inside with a hint of nutmeg and orange. In Cameroon, we enjoy them as party food, although you can find them on almost every street corner. They come in various forms, making them a versatile snack or dessert. Need to use up overripe bananas, crave coconut or chocolate, or want plain ol’ sweet fried bread? This drop doughnut recipe has you covered.
How to Make African Drop Doughnuts
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl: flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, grated orange, and nutmeg. (Photo 1)
- Stir in the milk, eggs, vanilla, and oil, and mix well. The batter should be smooth, thick, and spoonable. (Photos 2-3)
- Heat vegetable oil at least 3 inches deep (about 5 centimeters) in a large saucepan over medium heat until it reaches 375℉ (190 ℃).
- Scoop up the batter with your fingers or two spoons, one to scoop the dough in the shape of a ball and the other to gently push it into the hot oil. Fry them in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan. (Photo 4)
- Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown. Turn the ball over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown. (Photo 5)
- Remove the doughnuts from the oil with a large slotted spoon or something similar. Place them immediately on paper towels to soak up excess oil. Roll them in table sugar or powdered sugar to make them sweeter if desired. (Photo 6)
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Make sure the oil is hot enough, or the doughnuts will soak up too much and become soggy.
- If you live somewhere it’s easier to find baking soda than baking powder, feel free to substitute it with half the amount of baking soda.
- Adjust consistency with more flour or more milk to get a spoonable batter.
- After frying the doughnuts, you can toss them in cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar for an extra touch.
More Delectable Doughnut Recipes to Try
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”R7hXlaph” upload-date=”2019-09-07T22:06:36.000Z” name=”African Drop Doughnut” description=”African Doughnut (Drop Doughnut) – a 15-minute African Doughnut recipe that is crunchy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. Packed with flavor bite-sized treats! “]
This blog post was originally published in August 2013 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
African Doughnut (Drop Doughnut)
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups (270g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (4g) baking powder
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- 1 teaspoon (2g) grated orange zest
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) grated nutmeg
- ½ cup (118ml) whole milk (or 2% milk)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla
- ¼ cup (60g) melted butter or vegetable oil
- oil for deep frying
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix all the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, grated orange, and nutmeg.
- Stir in the milk, eggs, vanilla, and oil, and mix well. The batter should be smooth, thick, and spoonable.
- Pour vegetable oil into a large saucepan at least 3 inches deep (about 5 centimeters), and place on medium heat until the oil is 375℉ (190 ℃).
- Scoop up the batter with your fingers or two spoons, one to scoop the dough in the shape of a ball and the other to gently push it into the hot oil. Fry them in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan.
- Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown. Turn the ball over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown.
- Remove the doughnuts from the oil with a large slotted spoon or something similar. Place them immediately on paper towels to soak up excess oil. Roll them in table sugar or powdered sugar to make them sweeter if desired.
Tips & Notes:
- If the mixture is too thick, add a tablespoon of milk at a time until you reach the right consistency.
- How much oil it takes will depend on the size of your pan. You’ll want at least 3 inches unless you don’t mind flattened doughnuts.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
These are sooo good that I’m making another batch… Girlll perfection…
I may slightly reduce the sugar a bit, people in my family don’t like sweets things, but wowwww
Yay!! I’m so happy you love them. You can cut the sugar in half in most dessert recipes and they will still taste sweet.
What if I’m in an environment where I don’t have access to baking powder.What do I use?
Hi Gi. Sorry, I just now saw your question. Half the amount of baking soda will also work.
These are delicious and so quick and easy to make. Thanks for another awesome recipe.
Thank you, . Stay tuned for more amazing recipes.
1/4 cup isn’t 115g
A ¼ cup of butter is about 60 grams. Let me know how the doughnuts turned out for you.
These are going to be great! Thanks for sharing! I have a question. The 1/4 C of Butter is 56.7 grams and a half a stick = 1/2 C is 113.4 grams. If using the vegetable oil 1/4 C that is actually 48 grams so which measurement should I use? Over the last 6 months recipes I’ve tried have the grams/cups (I hate the metric bc was taught the USA math of C, Tbsp, tsp etc lol) but anyway I’ve messed up so many due to me not knowing the metric. I’ve since gotten a scale bc grams has to be weighed to follow a metric recipe. So I was just curious about the difference in your recipe. Not meaning to offend you at all!!!
I understand the confusion. You can replace ¼ cup of butter with ¼ cup of oil. Liquids aren’t usually measured in grams, so ¼ cup of oil is approximately 60ml. Hope that helps.
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. You’re right, 1/4 C butter is 56 7 grams. Even a half a stick (1/2 C) is 113 grams. The oil if used is 47 or 48 grams. After learning I needed a scale to use for the metric recipes, I see why baking was always said to be like science & has to be exact. Lol
Best doughnut recipe. I have always been skeptical about doughnut until I tried this recipe. It came out pristine ❤️❤️.
Thank you:) There’s more to come, so stay tuned!
I love it I make it all the time at home and my kids are obsessed it. I made some for my coworkers and they absolutely LOOOOOOVE THEM thanks for sharing
Hmm great to hear about your story. Sounds great to s your hospitality for coworkers, it’s amazing. Try more recipes and make everyone a fan of your cooking skills. 😉
Hi there! I’ve been making your recipes for a little while now and they’ve mostly turned out quite well. I’ve just noticed today that it seems you use a measuring cup size of only 125 grams as opposed to the standard 250. Is this an error in the conversion or should I be following it?
I can understand the confusion. The difference is dry and liquid measurements. 1 cup of flour is 120-125 grams. 1 cup of liquid is 250 ml.
Thanks for clearing this up! The funny part is, like I mentioned, the recipes have turned out well for me despite the mix up (puff puff, etc.)
Aww, Thank you so much for your love and back. Much Love!!!
Please i love your recipe so much and i have tried it at home but i have a problem, my drop doughnuts is so hard like gâteau. I don’t know what seems to be the problem. Please can you help in this??
Hi, Raymond. Sorry to hear about that. The only thing I could think of for having hard drop doughnuts is you could be frying it in oil with a very low temperature. Another possibility is too much flour.
THESE. WERE. INCREDIBLE. Quick, delicious, and disappeared quickly…I’ll definitely make these again. Maybe even right now…..
Great! Thanks so much.
Please, how much is the serving size in grams?
Hi Emmanuel, at the recipe card, there is a link that’s named Metric. You can click it and it will convert to grams. If you mean per donut, I didn’t weigh them. Hope this helps!
Was very easy to make, tastes wonderfull , nice thin crusty-crust.
Glad you were able to make this, Maurice! 🙂
How do you drop the dough in the oil?
Hi Nancy! I use my hands to scoop up the batter , you can do the same or use 2 spoons – one to scoop up the batter, and another spoon or spatula to drop it in the oil- in the shape of a ball.
It was so good but will reduce the sugar next time
Hi Ozy! Yes, please feel free to adjust the recipe based on your preferred level of sweetness and such. 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
Ma’am I love your recipe but each I try it my doughnuts is always thick inside
I’m so sorry that happens. It could be more than one reason. Your batter may be too dry or wet (add or reduce the amount of flour by a tablespoon). Maybe a little more baking powder would help. Or the oil may not be hot enough. It’s hard to say exactly. Please do let me know if any of those work. Thanks:)