New Orleans Beignets
These classic beignets are light, pillowy and soft, fried until golden brown then dusted with powdered sugar.
Prep:
15
minutes
Cook:
15
minutes
TOtal:
160
minutes
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
- 8 ounces of evaporated milk
- ¼ cup plus 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar
- 1 whole egg
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 2 tablespoons of melted butter
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of freshly-grated nutmeg
- 1 ¼ cup of bread flour
- 1 ¼ cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 quart of oil for frying
- Powdered sugar for garnish (about ½ cup)
Instructions
- Gently heat your evaporated milk to about 90 F and stir in the 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar to dissolve.
- Once the evaporated milk reaches 90 F, whisk in the 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast and set it aside to bloom. The yeast should begin to foam after about 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, measure both flours, the salt, the cinnamon, and the nutmeg into a bowl and set it aside.
- Using your stand mixer fitted with your dough hook, add the evaporated milk and yeast mixture into the bowl and add the remaining sugar and the egg and mix to combine for about 1 minute.
- Slowly stream in the melted butter and then add the flour mixture, ⅓ of the mixture at a time, until all of the flour has been combined and you have a nice ball of dough in your mixer. Continue to mix on low speed for about 4 minutes until the dough is smooth and has a soft bounce-back when you poke it.
- Once the dough is mixed, transfer it to a greased bowl and cover it with plastic and let it sit in a warm place (70-90 F) to proof until it has doubled in size (about 2 hours).
- When the dough has just about doubled in size, set up your fryer by heating 1 quart of a neutral-flavored oil to 325 F and set a pan with a cooling rack beside it.
- While the oil is heating, portion the beignets by turning the dough out onto a floured surface and roll them out with a rolling pin so that the sheet of dough is about ¼ inch thick. Cut the dough into roughly 16 even squares and transfer the beignets to a greased tray.
- Allow the beignets to sit for another 10 minutes to settle, and then begin frying the beignets, 4-5 at a time, for 2 minutes on one side, and then flip them and cook for 1-2 more minutes or until the entire beignet is golden brown and no longer doughy on the inside.
- When the beignet is finished cooking, transfer them to the cooling rack to drain the excess oil and then coat them with a liberal dusting of powdered sugar before serving.
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