Beignets New Orleans
New Orleans is famous for its beignets (sometimes misspelled as benya). Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans is world famous because of its legendary beignets and coffee.
Beignet is a specialty in the French Quarters in the Big Easy. They are square in shape, about 2 inches x 2 inches deep fried nuggets of sweetened dough.
After deep-frying, they are dusted and sprinkled with lots of powdered sugar. Beignets are served as a dessert with French cafe au lait.
Cafe Du Monde Beignet Copycat Recipe
I have an easy beignets recipe using choux pastry. This is the real and authentic New Orleans beignets recipe and Cafe Du Monde copycat.
Cafe Du Monde’s famous beignets. Image credit: NewOrleans.com
What Does a Beignet Taste Like?
Beignets are fried fritters with a dense and doughy interior. These sweet fried dough are crispy on the outside but soft and pillowy on the inside.
They taste lighter and airy to the palate. They are basically donuts in squares without a hole.
Beignets Main Ingredients
- Cake flour and bread flour
- Yeast
- Eggs
- Butter
- Milk powder
- Sugar and salt
How to Make Beignets New Orleans?
New Orleans beignets are made with a yeast dough.
First, you make the dough by mixing sugar, salt, milk powder, unsalted butter, eggs, yeast and flour to form the dough.
Next, you wait for the beignets dough to rise for one hour.
The final step is cutting the dough into squares and deep fry in batches until golden brown. To serve, dust powdered sugar generously on the beignets and serve warm.
This beignet recipe is very easy, fail-proof and delivers amazing results. If you love sweet desserts, you will definitely love this easy recipe!
Frequently Asked Questions
Difference between Donuts and Beignets?
Donut and beignets are very similar. Both are made with a yeast dough. The dough needs to rise before deep-frying. The real difference is in its shape.
Donuts are round with a hole and have a variety of sweet glazes. Beignets are squares or rectangles in shape without holes. They don’t have a glaze but dusted with powdered sugar.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 165 calories per beignet.
What to Serve with This Recipe?
This dish is best served with a cup of coffee. For an afternoon tea or dessert party, I recommend the following recipes.
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New Orleans Beignets
Soft, pillowy and the best New Orleans beignets. This beignet recipe is fail-proof and easy. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.
Ingredients
- 8 oz. (230 ml) warm water
- 1 oz. (30 g) active dry yeast
- 1 oz. (30 g) sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 oz. (30 g) milk powder
- 3 oz. (85 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 6 oz. (170 g) cake flour
- 11 oz. (311 g) bread flour
- 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
- oil for deep-frying
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Mix the water and active dry yeast together, let sit for 10 minutes.
- On a stand mixer using a whip attachment, mix the sugar, salt, milk powder, unsalted butter and vanilla extract until light and foamy on high speed. Add the eggs, one at a time, on medium speed. Add the yeast mixture to it.
- Change the whip to hook attachment and add the cake flour, bread flour and baking powder. Beat on low speed and then on high speed, until the dough separates from the side of the bowl. Let the dough rise for one hour.
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface, roll it out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch to 2-inch squares. Heat 3 inches of oil in a frying pan on medium-low heat. When the oil is fully heated, drop the dough and fry them in batches. Keep turning the beignets and deep fry until golden brown. Transfer the beignets out with a strainer and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle the powdered sugar generously and serve warm.
Nutrition Information
Yield
20Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 165Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 28mgSodium 100mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 1gSugar 7gProtein 4g
Janet
Can I use all purpose flour to replace cake flour?
Rasa Malaysia
Yes!
Tracie
Can I use an air fryer for this?
Rasa Malaysia
I don’t think so.
Laurie
No, although it’s called a “fryer”, it’s truly a convection oven. The convection function circulates hot air around the food making it crispier than in a regular oven, but it is not actually frying it.
Sonia
Sorry I don’t understand the cake mix flour … is it from a box? Any flavor of cake? Thanks
Rasa Malaysia
It’s cake flour. Not cake mix flour.
MaryAnn Long
My mother made round balls and used granulated sugar to roll
the deep=fried balls which she called “Punchcus” Polish.
I’ll try this recipe to see if I can match my mother’s version.
Thanks for this recipe. I’m now an 81 year old lady with fond
memories of this treat.
Rasa Malaysia
Awww, thanks for your comment. I hope you like my recipe!
Juanna
hi what brand of milk powder?
Rasa Malaysia
It doesn’t matter, just dry milk for baking!
Meli
What is “milk powder”?
Rasa Malaysia
Dry milk.
Susan
Hi Rasa. I’m sorry but I don’t understand the 8oz 1 cup +1 teaspoon. So how much water do I need? 1 cup + 8oz + 1 Tablespoon ???
Please clarify
Rasa Malaysia
8 oz water is 1 cup + 1 teaspoon water. :)
Laurie
1 oz yeast = 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon. Is that the correct amount of yeast for under 4 cups of flour? Thanks!
Rasa Malaysia
Please use a scale, that’s the most accurate measurement.
Laurie
I did, 1 ounce of yeast came out to 3T+. I ended up using the equivalent of one package, 2 1/4 teaspoons. It was more than enough and they were delicious. Thank you!
Betty J. Sapien
I need to watch my sodium levels, why and what makes the sodium levels so high in these Beignets? Can I avoid the salt in this recipe?
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Betty, I don’t know the nutrition is generated by the program. Even if I remove the 1 teaspoon of salt, it still shows 67 mg of salt, I supposed the flour has salt inside? You can skip salt completely if you want.