What are beignets?
You don’t have to travel all the way to New Orleans to treat yourself to Beignets! You can make them at home, and I’ve even made a yeast-free version to make it even easier and faster to enjoy. Just picture yourself in New Orleans, sitting at Cafe du Monde eating beignets and drinking a Latte…a girl can dream right?
So what are Beignets? Essentially they are a doughnut but almost taste like a cross between a doughnut and a fritter. They are made by deep frying choux pastry and served with a dusting of icing/powdered sugar.
It happens to be spooky season so I made them ghost shape using a cookie cutter. I think they are the cutest thing I seen all week!
How to pronounce Beignets?
Whatever you do…do not pronounce it Beg-net… it’s Ben-yay!
Why should I make these Beignets?
- You should make these ghost shape beignets because they are perfect for spooky season! They are easy to make as I have created a yeast free recipe, so you just make the dough and fry them up straight away! No waiting around for dough to rise.
- Imagine making them for breakfast on Halloween, that would be very cute and on theme.
- All you do is dust them in icing sugar and they instantly turn into ghosts, no complicated decorating involved.
Scroll down to find out how to make them…
How to make these spooky beignets?
- Add plain flour, baking powder, cinnamon, caster sugar and salt in a bowl. Mix together with a whisk until combined.
- In a separate bowl add an egg, vanilla extract and buttermilk. Whisk together until combined, then put into the bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Mix together using a spoon until the dough starts to come together, then knead on a flour dusted counter until the dough is smooth. It will be a bit sticky, just add more flour if needed.
- Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest for 10 mins (otherwise you will to be able to roll it out)
- Dust the counter with flour and the top of the dough, into a large rectangle keeping the thickness approx. 1cm.
- Use a ghost cookie cutter to cut out the beignets, then fry on each side medium heat for 1-2mins or until golden brown.
How to serve these Mini Beignets?
Beignets are traditionally served with a dusting of icing/powdered sugar which tastes delicious. I love to serve them with a chocolate ganache dip which is super easy to make, just 2 ingredients. Melt either dark or milk chocolate in the microwave with some cream and dip away!
If you love these ghost beignets, check out these recipes…
Scroll down to get the full recipe…
Ingredients
Beignets
- 390g plain flour
- 2tsp baking powder
- 1/2tsp salt
- 1tbsp cinnamon
- 60g caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 1tbsp vanilla extract
- 220ml buttermilk
Chocolate ganache dip
- 100g dark/milk chocolate
- 50ml double cream
Instructions
- Add 390g plain flour, 2tsp baking powder, 1tbsp cinnamon, 60g caster sugar and 1/2tsp salt in a bowl. Mix together with a whisk until combined.
- In a separate bowl add 1 egg, 1tbsp vanilla extract and 220ml buttermilk. Whisk together until combined, then put into the bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Mix together using a spoon until the dough starts to come together, then knead on a flour dusted counter until the dough is smooth. It will be a bit sticky, just add more flour if needed.
- Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest for 10 mins (otherwise you will to be able to roll it out)
- Dust the counter with flour and the top of the dough, roll the dough into a large rectangle keeping the thickness approx. 1cm
- Use a ghost cookie cutter to cut out the beignets, then fry on each side medium heat for 1-2mins or until golden brown. Fry the front first, then flip over and fry the back.
- Dust with icing sugar, set aside whilst you make the chocolate ganache dip.
- Melt the chocolate and cream in the microwave, 10 seconds at a time until the chocolate is melted. Stir until combined and creamy.
