My gran’s pumpkin fritters | Pampoen koekies
Light and fluffy pumpkin fritters (pampoen koekies) with caramel sauce. This recipe handed down to me by my grandmother is nostalgia on a plate and will become a family favorite in no time.
Whenever my Ouma (Afrikaans for grandmother) brought a tray of these delicious pumpkin fritters out after lunch, I jumped up and down like only a little girl in love with her gran’s cooking could. I was obsessed with the light and fluffy fritters covered in rich caramel sauce. And now, years later, I feel no different.
These phenomenal pumpkin fritters (or as we call them in Afrikaans, Pampoen koekies), really are all they are hyped up to be. I once cooked a fellow food blogger friend a batch and he proceeded to eat close to 20. In one sitting. They are rich, sticky, buttery and absolutely drool-worthy.
My gran used to serve these fritters with this caramel sauce and I remember it being a light coloured but incredibly rich sauce. I also added a pinch of salt flakes as the salty caramel works so well with the pumpkin. These fritters are an absolute crowd pleaser and you’re guaranteed to love them.
Ingredients needed
- Pumpkin. I make my own pumpkin puree but canned pumpkin will also work.
- Flour.
- Baking powder.
- Sugar.
- Salt.
- Eggs.
- Milk. Coconut or almond milk can be substituted.
For the caramel sauce
The fritters can be served covered in cinnamon sugar but this caramel sauce is what my gran always served them with.
- Sugar.
- Butter.
- Cream.
- Vanilla extract.
- Golden syrup. Honey or maple syrup can be substituted.
- Salt.
How do you make pumpkin fritters?
The batter is incredibly simple and very much the same as a pancake batter. Flour (you can use 1:1 gluten free flour if you wish), sugar and baking powder are mixed with pumpkin puree, egg and milk to form a smooth, thick batter. Spoonfuls of the batter are fried until golden and crisp before being drenched in delicious caramel sauce.
Can you freeze pumpkin fritters?
The fritters will lose their texture when frozen so its not recommended. They are best served fresh and warm but you can make them a few hours ahead and keep them covered, in a low-heated oven for up to 2/3 hours. You can also pour over the caramel sauce ahead of time to allow the fritters to soak up the sauce. You can also refrigerate the fritter batter covered for up to 2 days ahead of time.
Pumpkin recipes
- Pumpkin sheet cake with Chantilly cream
- Soft Pumpkin Dinner Rolls with Sage Butter
- Spicy Miso Coconut Pumpkin Soup
My gran's pumpkin fritters | Pampoen koekies
Ingredients
For the fritters
- 1 cup pumpkin cooked and pureed
- 1 cup flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon caster sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup milk
- pinch of salt
- oil for deep frying
For the Caramel Sauce
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 cup cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ cup golden syrup
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
Instructions
For the fritters
- Combine all the ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter.
- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and fry spoonfuls of the batter until golden brown and cooked throughout, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from the oil and allow to drain on kitchen paper.
- Continue until all the fritters are cooked.
For the Caramel Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and allow to cook over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy.
- Pour the syrup over the fritters and serve.
Nutrition
Table of Contents
I recently made these for a dinner party with family and they were to-die-for. I served them sprinkled with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar as my three year old cousin is diabetic. Everyone loved them! I doubled the recipe and came out with about 50 and between the 8 of us they were gone within minutes. My little brother and I were eating them as is straight from the pan! The best pumpkin fritter recipe I have ever tried. Thank you for posting this recipe!
Ah wow, so glad you liked them so much. I have to say, they are definitely in my top 5 things to eat! Love them!
Isn’t it lovely to be able to cook from your gran’s cookbooks?
Loved the stories about your gran. I have many fine cooking memories about my grandmother as well and often think about her while I cook.
Thanks so much!
Amazingly beautiful! I love your photography <3
Oh, what a lovely recipe! Pleased to have found your blog via El.
So glad you liked it Andie. And thanks for the note about the substitutions. (Caster sugar is also referred to as Super Fine sugar, if I’m not mistaken)
These were incredible! I made them for a family party and they were talked about for weeks afterward. I have a certain love for pumpkin spice so I added it to both the batter and the sauce and it was gorgeous. Like some other people, I couldn’t find caster sugar or golden syrup in my local stores so I substituted Truvia baking sugar (no calories yay!) and caro syrup respectively. Devine even with the substitutes!
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Peter, I used butternut for this version but I’ve also used ‘boerpampoen’ which is a round, orange-fleshed pumpkin. I think almost any pumpkin will work for this. You could even try it with sweet potato.
what types of pumpkin do you use
I have a useful note for anyone who doesn’t have golden syrup or caster sugar!
As I made these, I did some research on caster sugar. I just ground granulated sugar in my coffee grinder, since caster sugar is basically a finer-grained sugar. Don’t grind it TOO much, or you’ll get powdered sugar!
And for the syrup, instead of 1/2 cup golden syrup, I used 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup pancake syrup (log cabin syrup). It may not have tasted as yummy and caramely as this recipe, but was still gooey and tasty! Hope this helps anyone!
And the pumpkin fritters were BEYOND delicious! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Thanks for this great tip Mar!
Do you think I could use applesauce instead of the pumpkin?
Shanna, I think apple sauce might be too runny so you’ll have to use lots of flour and that might result in a tough fritter.
Perhaps after draining the applesauce in a coffee-filter lined strainer?
This recipe looks incredible and what a legacy for your gran to leave. Wow, show stopper. Pinned and Pinned!
what is pumpkin cooked? is it a puree?
Yes, cooked and pureed.
I want to make these but what is golden syrup? I’ve never heard of it.
Susan, golden syrup is a syrup similar to maple syrup but with the consistency of runny honey. I’m sure you’ll be able to find it or something similar at a grocery store.
Thank you!
Love the pictures…
Thanks!
I’d love to try these but I have a couple of quick questions. What is golden syrup? And can I use regular sugar instead of caster sugar? Thanks!
Candy, golden syrup is a British product, similar to maple syrup but with the consistency of runny honey. I’m sure you’d be able to find it in a grocery store. It often comes in little tins.
Golden Syrup is not widely available in the United States. It is an invert sugar (which kind of gives it it’s gooey-ness) and the only widely available invert sugar syrup is corn syrup (a cheap knock-off of golden syrup) It works well in this recipe, and although maple syrup or honey gives the sauce a different consistency they work ok too with 1/4 c honey and 1/4 c maple syrup.
Golden syrup is found in stores like Wholefoods, Kings, maybe Trader Joe’s not sure. I grew up using it on pancakes and serving with a slice of lemon. It is in a green can. We never used maple syrup since I grew up under the British system.
Thanks for your comment Peggy!
These look SOOOOO good!
Thanks Lori! 🙂
Omg, saw these on FG and had to visit. Your memories are so beautiful with your grandma and these fritters are gorgeous and of course who could stop at 2-3…btw love your pictures. I am pinning …
Thanks for your lovely comment Asha! x
This takes me back to SUnday afternoon spread on the ‘platteland’! It is close to pudding and your pictures is devine! WEll done and thanks…my mom sometimes also made it with sweet potatoes 🙂
Sweet potato sounds like a great idea!