Fried donuts that are sweet, tender, and light and have a delightful vanilla and icing sugar flavor. It's quite difficult to avoid beignets because they are so wonderful.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar (100g),
- 3/4 cup of heated water between 110 (F),
- 1 packet of active dry yeast, 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 1 big egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup room temperature milk or evaporated milk (120 ml).
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of Vanilla extract
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (450g),
- 1 teaspoon salt,
- 3 tablespoons room-temperature unsalted butter
- peanut oil or vegetable oil for deep-frying;
- 1/2 cup (60g) of powdered sugar
Preparation
- If you're making this by hand or with an electric mixer, pour the warm water into a big basin or bowl of a stand mixer. Set aside for about five minutes to give the yeast time to begin working after adding the yeast and half the sugar.
- 3 3/4 cups of flour should be measured out, combined with the teaspoon of salt, and placed aside.
- Pour the milk, Vanilla extract, remaining sugar, and egg into the bubbling yeast mixture. Once everything is smooth, add half of the flour mixture and stir again.
- Once the mixture comes together, attach a dough hook, add the remaining flour, and mix on medium speed for about 4 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the bowl. This dough is thick and sticky, but you can add an additional 1/4 cup of flour if it looks too wet.
- You can either refrigerate the dough in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours (about 2 days) or transfer it to a sizable, lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and let it rise in a warm location for at least two hours.
- A big saucepan with a candy thermometer attached should have about 3 inches of oil in it. Set the pot over medium-high heat. Several layers of paper towels should be placed over a wire cooling rack.
- The dough should be rolled out into a rectangle that is 12 inches thick once it has risen. Make use of a pizza cutter to cut into 2-2 1/2-inch squares.
- Beignets should be added to the oil when it reaches 360°F, three to four at a time. Fry until golden and puffy on the bottom, then flip over and remove using a spider or slotted spoon once the bottom is also golden.
- Place onto the paper towels, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar, and then savor!
Conclusion
As a final piece of advice, I can say that beignets are best served warm or hot right away after frying because they don't taste nearly as nice the next day.
