Tuesday, February 28, 2017

TWD - Nun's Beignets


Our last Tuesday with Dorie recipe for this month is nun's beignets (also known as the poetically named nun's farts).  For the uninitiated, these are little donuts made from choux pastry rather than bread dough.  When cooked properly, the choux expands and there is a cavity in the middle of each beignet.

Now that I have told you what is supposed to happen, let me tell you about my beignets.  I had a terrific lesson in how and how not to make beignets, all in the one night.

I made a half batch of dough, not wanting to have too many beignets in the house.  I don't have a deep fryer, so I had to rely on oil warmed on the stovetop in a saucepan.  This makes temperature regulation quite tricky.

The first three beignets I made were quite good.  They were maybe a little dark, and they seemed to take ages to puff up to the point where they split (which is how you know they are ready), but overall, the finished product was as it should be with a golden outside encasing a chasm (evidence of the fart?).

The next three went very, very dark and never did split.  When I bit into one, the centre did not have a cavity, but had a cooked, custardy middle that reminded me of a cannelle.  Tick, tick, even though it wasn't quite right.

The very last beignet, which was cooked on its lonesome, was a disaster.  It also went very dark, almost to the point of black, and still it did not split.  I made the mistake of eating this number, and wished immediately that I had just thrown it out.  The middle was dense and leaden, the outside tasted burned, and was also bitter because the oil had obviously turned after being heated for so long.

I did try to reduce the heat to the oil during the cooking process, but to no avail - it really is difficult to regulate the temperature of oil on my gas stove.

I found the whole experience rather educational, if not actually all that successful. I now understand why Dorie said you have to cook the beignets until they split, because until they do, they remain rather dense in the middle, and can be downright unpleasant.

I realise that the results of my experiments, were due to my own (and my stove's) shortcomings, but I won't be making these again soon.  On the upside, I know that done well, beignets are delicious, and I would buy them in a heartbeat if I saw them (which is unlikely on Australian streets).

To see what everyone else made this week and how it went, visit the LYL section of the TWD website.

11 comments:

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Wow it sounds harder than one would think. I don't have a deep fryer so I think I might have suffered the same fate.

Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.) said...

Interested to read everyone's experiences... I actually rolled my choux in the cinnamon sugar and baked them like regular choux. Perhaps not quite the same texture but they were SO good!

Johanna GGG said...

I have never thought of regulating the temperature for deep frying which shows just how bad I am at it - I am quite admiring that you did this as it would have been a bit beyond me

Nicole said...

I had temperature regulation issues as t first but I didn't fry them until I had the temp on the mark. I just moved my pot on and off the burner to bring the temp up and down more rapidly. Sorry this didn't work out... they really are fabulous!

Pam said...

They look great! What I'd really love is to be in NOLA eating one there right now!

Diane Zwang said...

Yes we noticed that the frying temperature of the oil was left out. I think I my husband kept the oil at 350 degrees. Frying is tricky business and sometimes a good skill not to have:)

Kari said...

I had heard of these (using the less fancy name ;) ) but never really knew what they were. They sound impressive when they come out as intended, but challenging to make and sad if they go wrong!

TeaLady said...

Not easy to fry a good beignet. Here in the Deep South of Louisiana we FRY everything so are used to oil temp change.

Good try!!

Zosia said...

My husband gifted me with a deep fryer years ago that rarely sees the light of day but I dusted it off for this recipe. I'm not sure I would have managed without it.

2paw said...

I am afraid of hot oil. I don't have a deep fryer of any kind. I know you can get nice cool to the touch electric ones now. It is nice to know other people have trying times with the baking too!!!

Kayte said...

Sometimes you learn more from how things don't always turn out as you want them to than if they do! I admire your desire to stick with it all and see it through. Another day and a fryer and you will have a success, I'm sure.