New Orleans Beignets | Cooking the States (Louisiana)

Straight up, some of the best food in the United States comes from Louisiana. From the French-acadians (future Cajuns) who were forcefully resettled in the region, to the African slaves brought over by Europeans to Southern Americans, many folks have made an impact on Louisiana’s culture. The Pelican state has a VERY DEEP food culture - it’s a vibrant melting pot with an incredibly unique cuisine. Today we’ll take a closer look at the baked morsel that put the world-famous Cafe Du Monde on the map. The beignet. Not a donut, but a beignet. Let’s do dis. 🤘🏻Adam

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New Orleans Beignets

Ingredients

Beignet

• ¾ cup Water, 105F (255g)
• ½ cup Whole Milk, 105F (170g)
• 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, divided (28g)
• 2 Eggs (76g)
• Active Dry Yeast (10g)
• ⅓ cup Sugar (67g)
• 3 ½ cups Bread Flour (476g)
• 2.5g Diastatic Malt Powder, optional (0.5% of flour weight)
• Kosher Salt, to taste
• Neutral Oil, for frying
• Powdered Sugar, for dusting

Pastry Cream

• 2 cups Whole Milk (455g)
• 1 Vanilla Bean
• 1/2 cup Sugar (115g)
• 3 Tbsp Cornstarch (30g)
• 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
• 4 Egg Yolks (70g)
• 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, cubed (30g)
• Neutral Oil, for frying
• Powdered Sugar, for dusting

Instructions

Beignet

1. In a medium saucepan, add water, whole milk, butter and eggs. Bring to 110F on medium-low heat. Pour the liquid base into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk in the yeast. Set the bowl aside to rest and bubble for 5-10 minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together: sugar, bread flour, malt powder and a pinch of salt. Attach the stand mixer bowl to the machine with the dough hook attachment and set to low speed. Spoonful by spoonful, add in the dry mix. Once all is added, increase the speed to medium high and mix for 15 to 20 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
3. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, cover with plastic, and allow to rest for 2 hours or until about doubled in size.
4. Preheat a large dutch oven with neutral oil to 350F. Liberally flour your work surface and hands, then turn the dough out onto the counter and cover the top with more flour.
5. Gently press the dough into a 12x12x1/2 inch square and use a pizza wheel to slice 2 and a half inch squares. Lower the beignets into the hot oil and fry for a couple minutes until golden brown, then flip and repeat. Fry in batches. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beignets and place them on a wire rack to drain.
6. Pour a quarter cup of powdered sugar into a paper bag, add a few beignets then fold it up and gently shake to coat. Optionally, pipe in the pastry cream and serve with hot coffee.

Pastry Cream

1. In a medium saucepan, combine milk with scraped vanilla beans and pod. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cut the heat, cover with a lid and let steep for 20 minutes. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice and add enough water to cover, set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt, followed by egg yolks. Continue whisking the mixture until it turns pale and smooth. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk, then stream the milk into the egg yolk mixture while whisking until smooth. Pour the entire mixture back into the medium saucepan.
3. Bring the mixture up to medium heat and continue stirring until it noticeably thickens. When it begins to simmer, whisk for 1 minute more, then turn off the heat and whisk in the butter.
4. Transfer the pot to the ice bath and whisk until it’s cool enough to touch, then move the bowl to the fridge to cool down fully, 1-2 hours.

Adam's Notes

• Add a tablespoon of cacao powder to the dry ingredients of the pastry cream recipe for a chocolate-flavored pastry cream.



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