3/4 cup ; water
6 tbsp butter, unsalted, cut into slices
1 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup flour, sifted
3 large egg, room temperature
1 oil, for shallow frying
1 sugar, powdered, (garnish)
BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE SAUCE
4 oz chocolate, semi-sweet
1 oz chocolate, unsweetened
1/2 cup ; water
2 1/2 tbsp butter, unsalted
1/2 cup sugar, powdered
APRICOT SAUCE
1 cup apricot preserves
3 tbsp apricot brandy, or water
Directions
Pour the water into a small, heavy saucepan, and add the butter,
granu- lated sugar, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil, at which time
the butter should be melted. Add the flour all at once. Lower the
heat, and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for a minute
or two, until the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan.
Remove the pan from the heat, and beat in the eggs, one at a time,
incorporating each egg thoroughly before adding the next. Continue
beating until thick and smooth. Allow the mixture to cool while
heating the oil.
Pour enough vegtable oil in a large skillet so that it is at least 1
inch deep. Heat to 360 degrees.
Drop the mixture by heaping teaspoonfuls into the hot oil, frying
only a few beignets at one time so that they are not crowded. Fry for
about 4 to 5 minutes, or until they are crusty and a dark golden
brown, turning occasionally with a spoon so that they color evenly.
Note: It is important that the fritters are crusty, if undercooked,
they will deflate before being served.
Using a 10-inch skillet, you should be able to fry 10 fritters at a
time (one-third the mixture).
When they are sufficiently cooked, remove the fritters with a slotted
spoon, and drain on paper toweling. Place successive batches in a 250
degree oven to keep hot while frying the remainder.
Place the beignets on a heated serving platter, and dust the tops
generously with confectioner's sugar put through a wire sieve. Pass
the sauces separately.
Chocolate sauce: Chop the chocolates into coarse pieces and place in
the top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water. Add the
water, butter and sugar. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is
melted and the mixture is well blended and smooth. Remove from the
heat, but keep the sauce over hot water until ready to serve. It
should be served warm.
Apricot sauce: Turn the apricot preserves into a small saucepan. Add
3 tablespoons of the brandy or water, and simmer, stirring, just until
thoroughly heated. Add additional liquid, if necessary, to bring to a
sauce consistency. Serve Warm. Note: if there are any large pieces
of fruit in the preserves, break them up while heating. Submitted By
SAM WARING
1995 111938 GMT
Servings: 30 beignets
Beignets With Chocolate & Apricot Sauce Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Chocolate; Dessert; Fruit; Sauce
The History of Recipes
Recipes as a concept can be traced back into ancient history, in fact as far into history as pharonic Egypt, and possibly even further. Interesting though that maybe, in the main part, these early cook books were just very simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for food preparation.
Progressing into The time of the roman empire around 25BC a man called Apicius assembled some documents showing how to cook the recipes cooked by wealthy Romans. In his scrolls, he tells us how the meals were split into starters, entrees and afters, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. Aspicius recounts how the ancient cooks made use of a wide range of aromatic flavors, including a few you will know for example bay, fennel and asafoetida. Over the following few centuries, the powerful families of Europe strove to serve up the most extravagent meals, and because of this the best chefs and their collection of recipes were highly sought after. Even so, it was during the 1800s that formal cookery and cookery books really came of age. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the USA, dedicated years of their lives to assembling, trying out, and publishing recipes common in their social group. When we get to the 1900s, recipe publications were greatly in demand mostly as a result of higher levels of literacy, people having increased spare time and being a little richer. |
We hope you enjoy this Beignets With Chocolate & Apricot Sauce recipe.
