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Magwinya / African Fat Cakes (Mini Doughnuts)

Magwinya, also known as African Fat Cakes (or mini doughnuts as I like to them call them) are balls of fried dough, coated in sugar and dipped in jam. Delicious.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine African, Botswana
Calories 2482 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 600 g plain flour
  • 40 g caster sugar
  • 7 g dried yeast
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil plus extra for frying (about 200ml)
  • 250 ml warm water if too dry, add some more until a sticky dough is achieved.

Instructions
 

  • In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, yeast, sugar, salt. Keep salt away from the yeast! Add the warm water and oil. Give it a good mix with a wooden spoon. Add more water if it's too dry. The dough needs to be sticky but not too wet.
  • Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour. Once doubled in size, give it another mix and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, heat your vegetable oil up to deep-frying temp - 180°c/350°F. Do a test one first. Scoop a dessert-spoonful of dough out and use another spoon to drop it into the oil. Fry until golden brown (around 5 mins) ensuring you turn them every now and then. Check it's cooked through by cutting in half. Adjust time if needed and go ahead with cooking the rest in the same way. As I said, 5 mins is how long mine took but I can't guarantee that your oil will be a 180 - best to check with a thermometer.
  • Place all the cooked ones on a plate covered with paper towels, to drain the oil out. Sprinkle over lots of sugar and serve warm (or cold if you wish).

Notes

Storing - Fat cakes store well in the fridge. The sugar may go a little bit sticky but if you know you'll be storing them, leave them plain and coat in sugar afterwards. I put mine in a freezer bag to keep them fresh. They'll keep for a couple of days.
Storing fresh dough - You can actually make this dough the day before. I kept half of my dough (as I had too much) and cooked some the next day. The fridge will stop the yeast from continuing to rise and it'll be ok to cook the next day. 
Freezing - I'd recommend only freezing once cooked and before you coat with sugar. The dough won't freeze well (see above for how to keep dough overnight). Freeze them on and open tray first and once frozen, place in a freezer bag so you can take them out as and when you need them. They'll freeze well for around 2 months. 
Re-heating - Place them in a hot oven for 5 minutes or zap in the microwave for 2 minutes. You could re-fry but that might be a lot of hassle just for a few balls!

Nutrition

Calories: 2482kcalCarbohydrates: 501gProtein: 65gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 610mgPotassium: 710mgFiber: 18gSugar: 42gVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 100mgIron: 28mg
Keyword Comfort, Deep Fried, Easy
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