In Tahiti, people often enjoy firi firi—light and airy coconut pastries similar to a doughnut—for breakfast. They’re traditionally deep-fried, but they come out just as delicious in my air fryer.
PREP: 35 MIN. + RISING
COOK: 10 MIN./BATCH
MAKES: 8 SERVINGS
- ¼ cup warm water (110° to 115°)
- 1 pkg. (¼ oz.) active dry yeast
- ½ cup warm coconut milk (110° to 115°)
- ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 to 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- SPICED SUGAR
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ground ginger
- ½ vanilla bean
- ¼ cup butter, melted
1. Add yeast to warm water and stir to dissolve; allow to sit until yeast has bubbled, 5-7 minutes. Add the yeast mixture to warm coconut milk. In a large bowl, combine coconut, sugar, salt, yeast mixture and 1 cup flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough (dough will be sticky). Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 ½ hours.
2. Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 8 portions. Roll each into a 12-in. rope. Curl ends in opposite directions to form a figure 8. Tuck each end under where it meets center of roll and pinch lightly to seal. Place 2 in. apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
3. Preheat air fryer to 325°. In batches, arrange in a single layer on a greased tray in air-fryer basket. Cook until light brown, 7-10 minutes. Meanwhile, place sugar, cinnamon and ginger in a shallow bowl. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise. Using the tip of a sharp knife, scrape seeds from the center; stir into sugar mixture. Brush warm pastries with melted butter; roll in sugar mixture to coat.
1 pastry: 251 cal., 8g fat (6g sat. fat), 8mg chol., 191mg sod., 42g carb. (18g sugars, 1g fiber), 4g pro.
AIR-FRYING TIP
These breakfast pastries would be even more delicious with a glaze drizzled on top. Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 3 Tbsp. dark rum and 2 Tbsp. melted butter. Lightly drizzle over warm pastries.
