Tag: honey

INTRODUCTION

Welcome back friends! This week we’ll be frying up Tiana’s Beignets from Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.

This recipe is featured several times as it is one of Tiana’s specialties, but the most memorable is when she’s preparing them in Duke’s Cafe. She is seen dusting a large batch with powdered sugar, then lightly drizzling them with honey. They look so good!

These Beignets are fluffy and delicious! The dusting of powdered sugar and drizzle of honey give a nice sweetness, without overload. I added nutmeg to the recipe because it was mentioned as Tiana’s secret ingredient in one of my daughter’s books!

TIANA’S BEIGNETS

• 3 cups of flour, plus more for dusting
• 3/4 teaspoons of kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons of sugar, divided
• 1 cup of warm whole milk
• 1 packet of active dry yeast
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons of butter, melted
• 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of vegetable oil
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• Honey

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine the flour, salt, nutmeg and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a large bowl.
2. In a separate medium bowl, combine the warm milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar and the yeast, then allow it to sit for about 5 minutes or until foamy.
3. Beat the egg into the foamy mixture, then add it to the bowl of dry ingredients. 
4. Mix by hand until until the dough comes together, then add the melted butter and keep mixing and kneading with your hand until well incorporated (the dough will be smooth and slightly tacky to the touch).
5. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic and allow it rise until doubled in size (this could be 1 to 2 hours depending on the temperature of the room).
7. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and roll it out into a rectangular shape about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 12 rectangles, then cover them with a flour dusted towel to rest while you heat the oil.
8. In a large heavy bottomed sauce pot (I use my dutch oven), slowly heat the oil to about 325F as read on a candy or deep fry thermometer.
9. Place a cooling rack over a baking sheet next to the pot of oil and have tongs or a spider ready.
10. Scoop the powdered sugar (about 1/3 cup at a time) into a sifter and set it next to the rack and the sheet pan. 
11. Fry the beignets for about 90 seconds on each side, or until golden.
12. Use your tongs or spider to lift the beignets out of the frying oil and place them on the cooling rack for at least a minute.
13. While they are still hot sift powdered sugar over both sides, top and bottom, then drizzle with honey.
14. Enjoy!