Chocolate Beignets
The only thing better than Beignets are Chocolate Beignets! These golden brown treats are light, fluffy, and filled with a gooey pocket of chocolate. If you love beignets and chocolate, you have to try this recipe!
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Beignets:
- 1 and 1/2 cups warm water, between 110 and 115 degrees (F) (340 grams)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar (131 grams)
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 7 cups bread flour (845 grams)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (23 grams)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup evaporated milk (227 grams)
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into tiny pieces (71 grams)
- 5 cups peanut oil, for deep frying (992 grams)
For the Chocolate Filling:
- 1 cup (170g) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons (25g) confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
- 1 cup (227g) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Sugar:
- 1 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (170 grams)
- 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder, unsweetened or Dutch-process
Instructions
For the Chocolate Beignets:
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the warm water, sugar, and yeast and whisk well to combine. Set aside for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture has bubbled up and become foamy.
- In a large bowl sift together the bread flour, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa powder, set aside until needed.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and evaporated milk.
- On low speed, beat in half of the flour mixture (about 3 and 3/4 cups). Then slowly pour in the yeast mixture (careful here - this mixture can splash up if added to quickly!) and beat until smooth.
- Add in the butter and beat until incorporated. Finally, beat in the remaining flour mixture. Beat until dough is smooth and cohesive; about 2 minutes.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
When Ready to Fry:
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet with three layers of paper towels, set aside.
- In a large enameled cast-iron pan, heat the oil until it reaches 360 degrees (F).
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice, just until it comes together in a neat ball.
- Roll the dough out into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle and then cut the dough into 3" inch squares.
- Working in batches, fry the dough until they puff up and are golden brown in color, turning halfway through, about 30 to 45 seconds on each side.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beignets to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
For the Chocolate Filling:
- Finely chop the chocolate and place it in a shallow, heatproof bowl. Add in the salt and confectioners' sugar and set aside.
- In a small saucepan heat the heavy cream and espresso powder (if using) until the cream just comes just short of a rolling boil. Remove from heat and pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate mixture. Let sit for 2 minutes, then stir smooth with a spatula or spoon. Stir in the vanilla.
- Refrigerate until cold and stiff enough to pipe, about 2 hours, or up to 24 hours. If the filling gets too hard, simply microwave for a few seconds, and then stir smooth.
- Scrape the chocolate filling into a piping bag fitted with a piping tip of your choice (design doesn't really matter here). Poke a small hole onto the side of each beignet, insert the piping tip into the hole, and squeeze the filling into the center. Repeat with all beignets.
For the Chocolate Sugar:
- In a large bowl sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder. Repeat a few times, until smooth and well combined. Dust on top of beignets and serve at once! Beignets are best eaten within a few hours of being made.
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