These South African Pumpkin Fritters are light, fluffy and guaranteed to convert even the most skeptical non-pumpkin eaters into fans!
What are Pampoenkoekies?
Pampoenkoekies (pumpkin fritter) is a traditional afrikaans South African favourite sweet treat that's made with a mashed pumpkin mixture.
Pumpkin Fritter Ingredients
These are the basic ingredients that you will need to make pumpkin fritters.
- Cake flour or all purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Brown sugar
- Salt
- Spices - Cinnamon, ginger, all spice and nutmeg are what I love in this recipe.
- Pumpkin Puree
- Egg
- Milk
- Vanilla Extract
- Oil for frying - I use Canola oil, Sunflower oil or Vegetable oil.
- Sugar or Caramel Sauce for serving.
How to Make Pumpkin Fritters
This is an easy recipe with the most simple and affordable ingredients leaving you wondering why on earth you didn't make these sooner!
Make the Pumpkin Puree: Start by cooking the pumpkin (if not using canned puree). This can be done on the stovetop or microwave. 7-10 minutes in the microwave is all that's required for store-bought fresh cubed pumpkin. Want a quick and easy air fryer pumpkin recipe? Easy Air Fryer Roasted Pumpkin Recipe
Pumpkin Fritter Batter
Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a medium mixing bowl.
Wet Ingredients: Beat the egg in a small bowl, add the milk and vanilla, now give the wet ingredients a light whisk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold just a little.
Key Ingredients: Halfway through mixing, add the sugar, stir it in and add the pumpkin puree. If the batter seems dry, keep going, it will come together, don't add any more liquid!
Oil for Frying: Heat enough oil in a Dutch oven, skillet or non-stick thick based pan on medium-high heat. The oil should reache a temperature of 165-176 degrees C /329-350- degrees F to be hot enough for frying.
Frying the Fritters: Using two teaspoons, scoop spoonfuls of the batter (in this case teaspoonful), and, with the 2nd teaspoon, scrape any droppings. Now lower the scooped amount into the hot oil with the help of the second teaspoon which will push the batter off and into the hot oil. Fry till golden brown.
Drain the Fritters: As you scoop the fritters out of the hot oil, with a large spoon or metal strainer, place them onto a kitchen paper, paper towel or kitchen brown paper to help drain excess oil. Make a quick caramel sauce (full recipe in the recipe card below) or enjoy rolled in sugar and honey or syrup!
Expert Tips
Canned Pumpkin Puree: Ready-made pumpkin puree is not something that's easy to find here in South Africa. It costs a fraction of the price to make it yourself, it's super simple and all you need is pumpkin!
Cooking Pumpkin: Cook the pumpkin, stove-top, microwave or air fry. I have an Easy Air Fryer Roasted Pumpkin Recipe for the air fryer pumpkin method. You need to mash it or give it a whiz in a food processor. Remember to remove any excess liquid. When cooking pumpkin stovetop style, cook it uncovered for the water to evaporate.
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Fry in Batches: Always fry in batches, and avoid over-crowding the pot.
Use the right pot/pan: A thicker based pot, non-stick pan or large skillet works best. If you are using a pan, it should have high enough sides to avoid splatter and dripping.
Use a Kitchen Thermometer: Kitchen thermometer will take the stress out and give you an accurate reading of the oil temperature. Candy thermometers are great for these recipes.
Dusting & Serving: I love pouring the caramel sauce over and then adding a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar! The sauce with the crunchy cinnamon sugar sprinkled over is delicious!
Sugar: Pumpkin type and sweetness dependent, you may want to moderate the amount of sugar added.
Serve Pumpkin Fritters With
They are best served fresh and warm, here are a few more ideas on how to serve them:
- Syrup or honey and a cup of tea or coffee
- They make a great snack rolled in sugar, any type of sugar.
- These fritters are a little bit savory so they make a great savory side dish.
- Caramel sauce.
These pampoen koekies (pumpkin fritters) have just the right amount of sweetness, for a lovely dessert or with a cup of tea or coffee. The little bit of savory taste makes them a good side dish.
I absolutely love these fritter with a squeeze of syrup or honey and a sprinkle of sugar!
Caramel sauce, cinnamon sugar (any), syrup, honey, rolled in coconut. These fritters are an easy snack or dessert anytime of the day.
Storing Pumpkin Fritters
You can refrigerate these pumpkin fritters in an airtight container for a few days and simply thaw them on the counter for 30 minutes. I like to reheat in the microwave for 15 seconds or enjoy without reheating. Freezing is not recommended.
Make-Ahead
Make the fritter batter, cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours (or overnight). I always make pumpkin batter in advance, leaves me lots of free time the next day.
Variations to Traditional South African Pumpkin Fritters
If you make these enough times, you will want to tweak it a little, here are some ideas;
- Add raisins or dried currents to the batter
- Melt syrup with sugar and roll the fritters in it
- Add fine desicated coconut to the batter or roll the fritters in coconut too!
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Air Fryer Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- Pumpkin Feta Dip
- Easy Air Fryer Roasted Pumpkin Recipe
- Oven Roasted Butternut
South African Recipes
- Beef Stew South African Recipe
- Easy South African Summer Trifle Recipe
- South African Pancakes
- Saucy Meatball Pasta - Italian South African Recipe
- Traditional South African Pickled Fish
- Easy Braai Sauce (Southern African BBQ) Recipe
- Roasted Sticky Chicken and Veggies
Pumpkin Fritters, South African Recipe
Ingredients
Pumpkin Fritter Batter
- 1 cup pumpkin, cooked and mashed or canned pumpkin puree
- 1 cup flour
- 1 ½ tsps baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup brown sugar, you can use any sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup milk
- Oil for frying, canola, vegetable or sunflower
Spices
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon all spice (for a more complex flavor, but optional)
Cinnamon Sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar (richer flavor than granulated sugar)
- 2 Tbsps ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Give the ingredients a light mix to combine.1 cup pumpkin, cooked and mashed or canned pumpkin puree, 1 cup flour, 1 ½ tsps baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon all spice (for a more complex flavor, but optional)
- In a seperate small bowl, beat the egg and add the milk and vanilla. Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and give it another light mix.1 egg, room temperature, ¼ cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Add the sugar, stir it in and add the pumpkin puree. Combine until the ingredients are incorporated (try not to overmix). It will seem dry but keep going, it turns into a thick batter, that's what you want.¼ cup brown sugar, you can use any sugar, 1 cup pumpkin, cooked and mashed or canned pumpkin puree
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven, deep skillet or non-stick pan on medium-high heat until it reaches 170-180 degrees C /338-356 degrees F.Oil for frying, canola, vegetable or sunflower
- Carefully drop teaspoon fulls of the batter into the oil and fry until they are golden brown. Depending on the size of your Dutch oven/pot add 4 to 7 at a time.
- Remove the fritters with a large slotted spoon or a spider tool and place them on kitchen paper to drain. The paper should either be on a plate or tray to avoid a mess of oil dripping. Keep going until all the fritters are cooked.
- Place on a plate or rack and serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, honey, syrup, icing sugar (powdered sugar) caramel sauce, or however you prefer. You can also serve this as they are. Best served fresh and warm.
Cinnamon Sugar
- Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Sprinkle over the pumpkin fritters or add to a caramel sauce and roll the fritters in the sauce/cinnamon sugar for extra texture!The cinnamon sugar can be stored in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid in the pantry/kitchen cupboard for a couple months.½ cup brown sugar (richer flavor than granulated sugar), 2 Tbsps ground cinnamon
Notes
- To get the best fluffy fritters that are cooked through, make them small. If you make them too big, they will not cook properly.
- You don't have to make these round, you can make them like flap jacks or pancakes in a frying pan with oil and butter. Again, smaller and thinner as opposed to larger and thicker.
- Canned pumpkin puree or cooked pumpkin both work. Cook the pumpkin in a pot on the stove with a fraction of water (it should steam not boil). Or cook ready-to-buy-cleaned-pumpkin cubes and follow the directions on the packet. I think it's 8 minutes in the microwave. You can also airfry the pumpkin. Either way, you will have smashed pumpkin, then follow the recipe for the fritters.
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