Nigerian Buns
Nigerian Buns — tasty snack treats that are richer in flavor with crunchy outside and pillowy soft inside.
Most of the time, I get asked questions about recipes and sometimes it a request for a particular recipe – like this Nigerian bun.
This one I happily obliged…no arm-twisting required.
Now what’s not to love about these Nigerian buns? They are super easy to make and dangerously good. They come together in only a few minutes and with two batch of frying you are done.
This is my take on these buns and for an additional twist on them; I added coconut flakes to the mixture. You can successfully make them without coconut.
So what is the difference between puff-puff and this mouthful of joy buns?
Puff-puff for the most part is made with yeast and has a somewhat chewy interior with very few ingredients.
On the other hand, Nigerian buns are richer in flavor with the addition of eggs, butter and milk -crunchy on the outside pillowy soft on the inside. Just like these African doughnuts featured here, quite frankly there is very little difference between the two.
Why don’t you try both and see which one you like best – they both qualify as buns in my book. Enjoy these Nigerian buns anytime you want, any way you like it with or without coconut.
Watch How to Make It
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Nigerian Buns
Ingredients
- 3 cups All-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon grated lime
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 3/4 cup milk whole or 2%
- 4 large eggs
- 2- teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
- Oil for deep-frying
- 1/2-3/4 cup coconut flakes optional
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 coconut flakes and oil; mix well until everything has been fully incorporated. The batter should be smooth, thick and spoon able.
- In a large, sauce pan pour vegetable oil, until it is at least 3 inches (or about 5 centimeters) high (too little will result in flatter balls), and place on medium heat until oil is 375 degrees.
- 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. Do not overcrowd the pan. Do so in batches
- 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.
- Use a large spoon or something like that to take it out of the oil. I usually place them on napkins right away to soak up some of the excess oil.
- If desired, you can roll the finished product in table sugar or powdered sugar to make it sweeter
Nutrition Information:
Hi , I tried this but mine wasn’t cooked well inside
Any suggestions?
Lets look at this from a few areas, 1) What temperature were you working from, because a high temperature could golden the outside rapidly without having cooked inside.
Also look at your consistency to make sure it feels right. Can you please try it again and let me know how it turns out?
Hello Imma, l love the buns and it taste good with a hot cup of latte or mocha. However, I never get the perfect round shape and cracks when fried.
How do I achieve the shape without cracks? Colleagues want to make orders and I need to do something perfect.
Hello Olamo. Here are a few things you could do. First, you could cut down on the butter to 2 Tablespoons melted butter. Second, make sure your oil is enough, but not too hot as to burn the buns. Third, if you cannot achieve the round shape with your hands, try using 2 spoons. Use one spoon to scoop the batter and the other to push it into the oil. Hope this helps. Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you my directress pls can i add yeast in my buns making
Hi. You can add yeast, but the texture would be different. I left out the yeast and use baking powder instead. These buns yield better texture as compared to the yeast recipe. And they do rise well even without the presence of yeast.
Hello, thanks for the recipe. I tried twice but the buns always break. I dont know what i am not getting right
Hi Aster,
I can’t say for sure without actually being there. But here are some few tips . Make sure your oil is hot or at the right temperature . Do not overcrowd the fry pan when frying . Hope this helps.
Please imma can I skip the orange just nutmeg
Yes, you can.
Hi Imma,
I tried these and the exterior texture was very jagged – not smooth like traditional buns. I followed the recipe to a tee except for the sugar part where I used half brown, half white. Could this be why the texture was off?
I don’t think so. It might be the temperature of the oil – if the oil is not hot enough it falls apart .Also do not over crowd the pan.
Can brown sugar be used instead of white sugar?
I don’t see why not. Please do let me know how it turned out for you.
I found my buns break up in the oil every time. Is there something wrong in the mix?
I would cut down on the butter to 2 Tablespoons melted butter.
Wooow, mine came out so lovely, delicious and tasted yummy, but it’s seem next time I need to reduce my eggs n milk.
I love frying puffpuff, I just tried buns it was WOW. Thanks so much.
Good job, pls after mixing for hw long do you wait
You fry immediately . No resting period.
Thanks Imma, I tried this buns recipe today, though without the orange,its the bomb!
Love you!
Thanks Angie! Love you too!!!
Tnks a lot…pls,in your ingredients for buns there is no yeast…how come because my boss do make use of yeast….thank u.
Hi. I left out the yeast and use instead baking powder. These buns yield better texture as compared to the yeast recipe. And they do rise well even without the presence of yeast. Hope you’d give it a try. Enjoy!
Hello,
Thank you so much for this recipe, I tried it for the first time, and it came out great.
I actually had to dump the first few I tried because they were too brown and wasn’t cooked on the inside, I had to reduce the first and that was it.
Thanks once again, keep them coming.
Thank you for letting me know. Glad you like it! 🙂
Do you think I can make these in an air fryer? I’d rather not use so much oil
thanks
Hi, Anna! I haven’t tried and heard so far of Nigerian Buns cooked in an air fryer. Deep frying actually makes the buns rounder.
Is that a good thing or bad?. I want to go try it now but I saw another recipe that didn’t include eggs and milk. But I’ll try yours but won’t use much of those. I hope it comes out good.
Thanks for this recipe. It’s really good. But my buns appeared too brown. I also think buns should b more crunchy, shouldn’t it?
Hi Phebian. My guess is that the oil was too. As for the texture of the buns, it should be crunchy enough on the outside and the pillowy soft on the inside.
Hi Imma, you said the oil is too what? You didn’t finish typing the sentence. I like reading comments to see if any updates to recipe with how different people have tried to make it and any pointers. I’m getting ready to make it now. I was reminded by buns last weekend at my cousin’s wedding. I’ve perfected making Puff Puff, now I want to start making buns as well. Thanks for the recipe. How do you make it crunchy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside
Hi, Feyi. My bad, and thanks for pointing it out. The oil was probably too hot resulting to browner buns. Make sure the oil is on medium heat until it is 375 degrees to achieve a crunchy outside and soft inside texture. Hope this helps.
I made this today and they were a hit with my family. I personally thought they were a bit too rich even though I used only three eggs and omitted the coconut flakes, orange zest and used butterscotch flavour (don’t know if that also added to the richness). Someone even said they tasted like cake. I’ll have to use vanilla flavour next time and maybe add half cup of flour and see how they turn out.
Thank you for this great recipe.
hi imma, i am a south African citizen, i like your food, I’m always trying your African dishes an i like them this cakes are so yummy, i am going to try them. thank you for sharing your recipe with us, May God bless u
Thanks for sharing this.
Please what type of cup did you use for your measurements. The commonest cup that is used in our area for measurement is Peak Tin Cup and one cup of tin peak milk is 160g. Please kindly let me know the type of cup that i can use. I also read from the internet that a cup is 250g, please need your direction.
How can i get geated orange thar you mentioned in the ingredients.
What can i use as preservative so that the buns can stay atleast 3 days with spoiling because i noticed that buns get spoiled on the seconday after naking it.
Thanks a lot
Hi Maureen! 1 cup flour is about 120 grams . So it means you need 360grams flour for this recipe. And you need a grater to grate the oranges. It’s optional I don’t use preservatives don’t have any recommendation . Hope this helps
Thanks alot darling i really appreciate. You have inspired me so much and since i came across your blog it is like heaven to me. Thanks a million fold and keep up the good work. I have also sent your blog site address to my friends you have been wanting to know how to prepare some African foods and they are very happy to know your site and have started cooking some of the foods that you taught on this blog.
God reward you abundantly.
Wonderful recipe! Someone at school made these and brought them in and they tasted delicious. The citrus zest really adds to the overall taste without overpowering it! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to let me know . Glad you enjoyed it.
Hi Imma u have been making buns but I. can tell you this is the best recipe ever. The texture is just awesome! Thanks for your creativity!
Wohoo! Glad you like them, Debby. =)
Can I use self raising flour instead of all purpose flour?
Yes you can .