Makes 15 beignets
YouTube instructional video is at the bottom.
What you’ll need
Bread flour
Sugar
Salt
Instant yeast
Unsalted butter
Large eggs (Room temp)
Whole milk (Room temp)
Vegetable Canola or cottonseed oil
Vanilla extract
Butter extract
Almond extract
Cake batter extract
Confectioners’ sugar
Tools you’ll need
Large 4 quart saucepan with thermometer or deep fryer
Cooling rack
Mesh straining spoon
Medium sized bowl with a sturdy wooden spoon
Preparation of ingredients
If using a large saucepan, preheat fire to medium heat.
If using a deep fryer, set it to 375 degrees F.
Step 1- Add 48 fl ounces vegetable, canola or cottonseed oil into a large saucepan with a thermometer in the oil to monitor the temperature. If you are using a deep fryer, add the amount of oil according to your deep fryer’s instructional manual to determine how much oil to add. Let the oil get hot until it reaches a temperature of 375 degrees F.
Glaze
Step 2- Add 1 and 1/4 cups confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons warm whole milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon butter extract and 1/8 teaspoon almond extract into a medium-sized bowl. Stir all ingredients with a whisk until combined. If you are making the traditional beignets add 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar into a mesh strainer with a small serving plate underneath it and set aside.
Note- Make sure you have a cooling rack with an 11 by 17-inch baking pan underneath it ready before frying your beignets.
Dough
Dry ingredients
Step 3- Add 2 1/4 cups bread flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons instant yeast and 1/4 teaspoon salt into a medium-sized bowl. Stir all ingredients together and set aside.
Wet ingredients
Step 4- Add 1 and 1/4 cups warm whole milk. The temperature of the milk should be 115 degrees F. 1 large egg (Room temp), 1 egg yolk (Room temp), 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon butter extract, 1/4 teaspoon almond extract and 1/2 teaspoon cake batter extract into a separate medium-sized bowl. Stir all ingredients with a whisk until combined.
Combining the dry and wet ingredients
Step 5- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir all ingredients with a large sturdy wooden spoon for 1 to 2 minutes or until the dough has no visable lumps. The dough will also be very thick and sticky. That is normal.
Shaping the cutting the dough
Step 6- Generously flour the surface of your table. Add the dough on top of the table. Generously sprinkle flour on top of the dough. Press and stretch the dough into a 11 wide by 15-inch-long oval like shape. Trim off 2 inches off of each side of the dough with a knife. Once done you should have a 9-inch wide by 13-inch-long rectangle.
Step 7- Cut the dough into 3 long strips using a knife. Dip the edges of the knife into the flour surrounding the dough to cut and separate the dough strips from each other. Picture demonstration is below.
Step 8- Cut the strips of dough into 15 squares using a knife. Again dip the edges of the knife into the flour surrounding the dough to cut and separate the dough squares from each other. Picture demonstration is below.
Important notes- Make sure your icing and powdered sugar are prepared and the oil on your saucepan or deep fryer is heated to 375- degrees F before you fry the beignets. Also frying times vary depending on the size and thickness of the dough.
Step 9- Take your dough squares and add them into the hot oil. Frying times vary. Let the beignets fry for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Use a fork to flip the beignets over during the frying process. Transfer the beignets onto a cooling rack with an 11 by 17-inch baking pan underneath it. Let the beignets cool for 3 minutes.
Glazing the beignets
Step 10- Take each beignet while they are still warm or hot and coat one side of it with the icing by dipping the beignet upside down into the icing. Remove the beignet from the icing and shake the beignet slighly as you want a light coating. Transfer the beignets back onto a cooling rack with an 11 by 17-inch baking pan underneath it. Let cool for 3 additional minutes before serving.
Traditional beignets
Step 10 A- Transfer the beignets onto a serving dish or onto an cooling rack with an 11 by 17-inch baking pan underneath it. Generously sprinkle confectioners sugar onto the top of the beignets while they are still warm or hot. Let cool for 3 additonal minutes before serving.
YouTube instructional video
