Beignets de bananes

This entry was posted on April 6, 2012, in Baking, Recipes and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment


‘Beignets de bananes’ is French for ‘Banana Fritters’. You’ll find slightly different versions of them around the world. Whether it be in Thailand, Malaysia, the Deep South, China, Mexico or West Africa… many food cultures have their own adaptation of the concept.
For most of you, this recipe will be a bit of a twist. It is not banana pieces dipped in batter and fried, but it’s little fried nuggets made out of mashed banana mixed with eggs, sugar and flour. A twist for some, but it’s in fact a traditional recipe from the French Antilles (West Indies).
Kids usually can’t get enough of them – great party/indulgent playdate food. You can eat them as is, dip them in caramel sauce, or jam even. Very customizable in terms of spices as well.

Ingredients

  • 2 bananas
  • 1 egg
  • 5 tbsp sugar (I used half caster sugar and half dark brown sugar)
  • 60 g flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1+ tsp cinnamon (I like spices and usually add more than what the recipe calls for. I must have added 2 tsp – at least – this time around. Adjust to your own tastes.)
  • 1 tsp nutmeg (See comment above.)
  • Optional but recommended: zest of half of a lemon, 1 tbsp rum, 1 tsp ginger, a dash of cloves
  • Oil  (to deep fry) 

Preparation

  1. Peel and mash bananas.
  2. Add sugar, egg, and then flour and baking soda. Whisk well.
  3. Add spices, vanilla, zest and rum.
  4. Heat your oil (not too hot, as you don’t want the beignets to burn on the outside and not be cooked in the inside).
  5. Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the oil (be extra careful not to burn yourself).
  6. Turn the beignet to the other side when golden brown.

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[Comments:
This is definitely NOT a pretty treat. But it’s not about the looks for this one.
What’s great is that you can mix and match spices. It’s a very customizable recipe.
This time around, I also tried it with a chocolate chip in the middle (drop half a tbsp of batter, add the chocolate chip on top, add the rest of the tbsp on top, so that the chocolate chunk rests in the middle of the beignet). You could even try with raisins or dried fruits, for example.]

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