Cheddar cheese beignet

Another recipe for the cheese lovers!

These cheesy and crispy parcels of joy make for an impressive appetiser or canapé ! You are probably familiar with beignets from the Disney movie “The Princess and the frog”, in which the princess Tiana makes some delicious sweet beignets. And if you are not familiar with beignets, they are French version of doughnuts introduced in Louisiana in the 18th century where they became incredibly popular.

The dough can be prepared in advance so you only need to fry them once ready to enjoy, which should take less than 10 minutes.

This recipe uses the traditional French choux pastry as a base for a savoury take on beignets. Choux is the dough used in profiteroles and éclairs, it is made using only butter, water, flour, and eggs and the moisture in the dough allows it to rise without the need for yeast when fried.

In this case, unlike in the traditional recipe, I included Cheddar cheese to the dough for a cheesy and savoury version that is just as delicious ! They are delicious on their own but they also pair amazing with some chutney or relish for that sweet and savoury contrast.

🌱Vegetarian

🍽️ 4 portions

Ingredients

• 100 g mature cheddar finely grated

• 50g butter

• 50g water

• 1 tsp caster sugar

• 75 g plain wheat flour

• 2 eggs

• Salt & Pepper

• Sunflower/olive oil for frying

Method

• Add the butter, water and sugar into a saucepan. Bring to the boil and stir until the butter dissolves. Add the flour, beating with a wooden spoon well until you have a smooth ball of dough that has left the sides of the saucepan clean

• Remove pan from the heat and stir in the grated cheddar. Then the eggs, one at a time, beating all the time until you have a smooth paste. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat

• Fill a pot or saucepan with oil and place over a medium high heat to deep fry the beignets. Leave to to reach temperature for about 5 minutes. Test the temperature of the oil by adding a small piece of batter.

• Aiding yourself with two spoons, add spoonfuls of the pastry to the pan, and fry the beignets in batches taking care not to overcrowd the pan.

• Fry for about 5 minutes or until they are nicely browned and have risen to the surface of the oil. They may flip over by themselves, or you can use a slotted spoon to flip them so they cook evenly on all sides.

• Remove the beignets with the slotted spoon and transfer to a plate cover with kitchen paper to remove the excess oil. Serve immediately grated more cheese over the beignets

FAQS and Tips

• To keep warm the beignets while you are frying the rest, place the cooked ones in an oven preheated at 100C

• When cooking in several batches, ensure the oil comes back up to temperature before starting the next batch

• You can use a deep fryer or a pan that is deep enough for the oil to fry the beignets.