Food & French

Passport & Plate - The Ultimate Banana Beignet

Canada | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:

1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup of dried unsweetened coconut (can be toasted if preferred)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 pinche of salt
1 tbsp raw cane sugar

Wet:

1 banana (mashed)
1 egg
1 tsp of vanilla essence
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Greek yogurt (plain)
1 tbsp brandy or rum

Frying:

2-3 cup(s) canola oil
Deep fryer or pot for frying

Toppings:

Option 1: Spiced Sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup of white sugar

Option 2: Lemon Sugar
1/4 of lemon zest
1/4 of white sugar

Option 3:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

 

How to prepare this recipe
1. In one bowl, sift together the cake and all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt together. Then add the raw cane sugar and dried coconut and mix together evenly.
2. In another bowl mash banana, be sure to leave some chunks of banana. Then add milk, Greek yogurt, egg, and vanilla essence.
3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together gently until you have smooth batter.
4. Lastly, you add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and rum to the batter and get ready to fry.
5. In a fryer or pot add 2 cups of canola oil and heat until hot. To test the temperature of oil, place the handle of a wood spoon in the oil and if it bubbles the oil is hot enough. Do not forget that you should turn the temperature down to medium heat so the oil is not so hot that it burns the beignets or that the centre of the beignets do not cook.
6. With an mini ice cream scoop or two teaspoons drop batter by spoonfuls batter into oil and fry.
7. On the side, set up a colander with paper towel to soak off the oil once beignets have been fried.
8. Beignets should float and should be flipped a two or three times until golden brown.
9. Once golden brown, beignets should be placed on paper towel to drain and cool, then eaten as is or topped with the simple toppings listed below.

Toppings

Option 1
Mix together white sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a stainless steel bowl. Toss in cool and drained beignets in the mixture, using tongs shake off excess sugar, place beignets on a platter and serve.

Option 2
Grate the zest of a lemon, toss with white sugar in a stainless bowl, with tongs dip each beignet in mixture, shake off excess, then serve.

Option 3
Once beignets have drained and cooled somewhat place some confectioners’ sugar in a brown paper bag and toss a few of the beignets in and shake. With tongs, take out the freshly powdered beignets, dust them off a bit and serve. Or, you can place beignets on a platter and do a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

 

The story behind this recipe
My recipe is a fusion of my Jamaican-Grenadian heritage and Canadian roots. Through the use of tropical fruits and the spices from my mother's country, Grenada-also known as the Isle of Spice-I came up with this recipe. The birth of the recipe occurred while on exchange in Brussels. I decided to host a Grenadian-Jamaican dinner party for my friends and I remembered that my mother made a coconut-cherry cake, in addition to a spiced raisin coconut cake and I used those flavour profiles to create a small delectably packaged dessert. I replaced the cherries with bananas, added some Jamaican flavour with the use of rum. I adapted the recipe of a non-yeast based beignet, which pays homage to the doughnut in Canadian and French-Canadian cuisine. The reason why I named it a beignet is because it has the lightness of a French or Louisiana style beignet, but not its common chewy but fluffy texture. The dessert was an experiment that allowed me to have a little reminder of home, of the flavours, spices and sweets. And I was so happy to share this dessert with my friends. This recipe exhibits my creativity and my ability to meld flavours or reinterpreting them into something new, while still maintaining the traditional, simple, and homey essence of my multicultural heritage. I think this ability to meld new, but also respect the traditional essence of food is something that would benefit me if chosen to go to Italy. From my understanding, the heart of Italian cuisine is in its simplicity of flavours and seasonings, which I appreciate. I believe that this creates incredible and beautiful layers of deliciousness that engages the palate and senses in every way. Hopefully through my recipe, I can transport the simplicity of my multicultural heritage and I hope that Italy can do the same for me. Personally, I know it will.