Cafe du Monde is the most famous cafe in New Orleans. Everybody goes to this Jackson Square institution for beignets and cafe au lait. These Cafe du Monde beignets are delicious served with powdered sugar, fresh blueberry sauce, any good-quality purchased fruit sauce and even eaten on their own.
Nutrition Facts
8 servings
Facts per Serving
Calories: 527 Fat, Total: 11g Carbohydrates, Total: 102g
Cholesterol: 65mg Sodium: 334mg Protein: 9g
Fiber: 5g % Cal. from Fat: 19% % Cal. from Carbs: 77%
Cooking.com Tip: If your fried foods tend to be greasy, you probably don’t have the oil at the proper temperature, leaving foods to simmer in the oil rather than frying. Before frying beignets, french fries or any foods, preheat the oil to the right temperature with the help of a deep fry thermometer. Clipped securely to the side of the pan, this essential tool ensures that the oil is hot enough throughout the frying process.
Recipe Courtesy of Cooking.com.
Ingredients
- FOR THE BLUEBERRY SAUCE: 4 pints fresh blueberries
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
- FOR THE BEIGNETS: 1 cup warm milk (about 105 to 115 degrees F)
- 1 package dry yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (or more) all-purpose flour
- Solid vegetable shortening (for deep-frying)
- Powdered sugar
Preparation
- 1 FOR THE BLUEBERRY SAUCE: Puree all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Strain through fine sieve into heavy medium saucepan. Season sauce to taste with more sugar, if necessary. Simmer sauce over medium-low heat until syrupy, about 20 minutes.
- 2 DO-AHEAD TIP:Sauce can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
- 3 FOR THE BEIGNETS:Combine milk and yeast in large bowl; let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Whisk in sugar, eggs and melted butter. Add 3 cups flour and stir to form moist sticky dough.
- 4 Knead dough on floured work surface, incorporating flour as necessary, until dough is smooth and elastic, and no longer sticky, about 10 minutes. Form into ball. Lightly oil same large bowl; place dough in bowl. Cover with kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.
- 5 Heat shortening in deep fryer to 325ºF.
- 6 Transfer dough to floured work surface. Punch dough down; cover with kitchen towel and let stand for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle dough with flour. Using rolling pin, roll out dough into 12-inch square. Using pizza cutter, trim edges slightly to form perfect square. Cut dough crosswise into 4 equal strips. Cut each strip into 6 pieces, forming 24 rectangles total.
- 7 Working in batches, fry dough rectangles in hot oil until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Using slotted metal spoon, transfer beignets to paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.
- 8 Arrange 3 beignets on each of 8 plates. Ladle blueberry sauce over and around beignets. Generously sprinkle powdered sugar over beignets. Alternatively, place beignets on platter. Generously sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve blueberry sauce alongside.
