History of Beignets
History and Recipe
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Beignets
 Photo taken at Cafe du Monde in the New Orleans French Market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coffee is strong at the Cafe du Monde.
Donuts are too hot to touch.
Just like a fool, when those sweet goodies cool, I eat 'til I eat way too much

- by Jimmy Buffett, American musician and songwriter, from his song "Te Wino and I Know," on the album Living and Dying in Three-Quarter Time, 1974.

 


The word beignet (pronounced bey-YAY) comes from the early Celtic word bigne meaning "to raise." It is also French for "fritter." Beignets, a New Orleans specialty, are fried, raised pieces of yeast dough, usually about 2 inches in diameter or 2 inches square. After being fried, they are sprinkled with sugar or coated with various icings. It is like a sweet doughnut, but the beignet is square shaped and without a hole. Beignets are the forerunners of the raised doughnut. When you hear people in New Orleans say, "Goin'  fo' coffee an' doughnuts," they mean coffee and beignets. In 1986, beignets became the Louisiana State Doughnut.

Beignet is one of the most universally recognized names for fried dough desserts which are basically fritter batter. For many years, beignets were shaped into balls or squares and covered with mocha frosting. Later the beignet was cut in the shape of a doughnut, and the raised doughnut was born.

Beignets have been associated with Mardi Gras in France since at least the sixteenth century, and many recipes for beignets appear in French works around the same time. According to Food Historian Cathy Kaufman in her article, Where does the New Orleans’ Mardi Gras Beignet Come From?, in the February 2009 Prandial Post:

There is more circumstantial evidence supporting an Andalusian introduction of beignets into Mediterranean France. The Spanish name for yeasted fritters is “buñuelos,” and while I have not traced the etymology of the Spanish term, I would be surprised if it did not share a common root with the Provençal bugne.  Moreover, pets de nonne, deep-fried balls of airy choux paste, were known as “Spanish beignets” in the late Middle Ages, again associating deep-fried dough with Spain. Keeping in mind that Andalusia was under Islamic rule from the eighth until the end of the fifteenth century, many Islamic foods had ample opportunity to be integrated into what has evolved into Spanish cuisine.

Another reason to believe that beignets may have migrated from the Islamic to the Christian worlds is that the deep-frying used to prepare beignets is a relatively expensive technique, requiring a profligate use of fat and preferring metal pans to clay to withstand the high temperatures that the hot fat reaches. Deep-frying thus would have been more typically practiced at the elite end of the spectrum, so that recipes for fritters likely were distributed at the courtly level, only later to be diffused downwards.

The French colonists of the 18th century brought the recipe and custom of making beignets to New Orleans. Some historians believe that the Ursuline Nuns of France, who came to Louisiana in 1727, brought this simple pastry to New Orleans, but this is not based on any facts. According to the 1902 Picayune Creole Cook Book, published by "The Picayune," a leading New Orleans newspaper:

The ancient French colonist brought the custom of serving sweet entrements and eatres, such as Beignets, Compotes, Souffles, Gelees, etc., from the old mother country to Louisiana. The Creoles applied these to the various delightful and refreshing fruits, which abound in Louisiana . . . The custom of serving these sweet entrements spread from New Orleans to other portions of the United States, till now no fastidious chef would think of keeping a fashionable hotel or restaurant with including some of these in the daily bill of fare.

Beignets were most often enjoyed with café au lait. In New Orleans, café au lait is strong dark roast coffee and chicory, served with equal part hot milk. In the early history of Louisiana, chicory was added to coffee to stretch dwindling supplies. It was found that, in addition to stretching supplies, the chicory also created a smoother, richer brew. The addition of hot milk to strong coffee and chicory created one of the oldest and greatest coffee traditions in the world.

Cafe du Monde, New OrleansThe original Cafe du Monde coffee stand was established in the New Orleans French Market in 1862 and still operates today. The cafe is considered a New Orleans landmark that’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In fact, it is traditional to there for dark coasted coffee with chicory and beignets when visiting the city. At Café du Monde, there is only one food item you can order - beignets. The store is called a coffee stand, but it’s very large, with dozens of tables outside under the trademark green-and-white striped canopy, and more inside. On every table are plates of rapidly disappearing beignets. Café du Monde serves beignets in orders of three, and since that’s the only food item on the menu, you don't have to say what it is you’re ordering. You simply say, “I’ll have an order and a café au lait.”  Expect a wait in line if you arrive during peak hours (even longer if you want a table).

Beignet Recipe

1 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, room temperature & beaten
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup evaporated milk
4 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons instant active dry yeast
Vegetable oil*
Powdered sugar for dusting

* Use just enough vegetable oil to completely cover beignets while frying.

beignet and coffeeUsing a mixer with a dough hook, place water, sugar, salt, egg, butter, evaporated milk, flour, and yeast in the bowl. Beat until smooth. If using a bread machine, select dough setting and press Start. When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface. form dough into an oval, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until well chilled (3 to 4 hours) or overnight.

To prepare dough, remove from refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured board to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into approximately 3-inch squares or circles.

In a deep fryer or large pot, heat vegetable oil to 360 degrees F. Fry the beignets (2 or 3 at a time) 2 to 3 minutes or until they are puffed and golden brown on both sides, turning them in the oil with tongs once or twice to get them evenly brown; beignets will rise to the surface of the oil as soon as they begin to puff. NOTE: If the beignets don't rise to the top immediately when dropped into the oil, the oil is not hot enough. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels, then sprinkle heavily with powdered sugar. Serve hot.

NOTE: The dough can be kept for up to a week in the refrigerator - it actually improves with age; just punch down when it rises. Dough can also be frozen; cut and roll, or shape doughnuts before freezing.)

Makes 18 beignets.