The “Bugnes” means “Beignet” in French. It is a type of deep-fried pastry from Lyon, the third-largest city and second-largest urban area in France. They are usually made and consumed during “Carnaval” or Mardi Gras.
Bugnes / Beignet / Donut…Same thing
Every country has its version of fried dough or fritter. This is one of the traditional French recipes that use baking powder as a leavening agent and flavored with a lemon or orange zest, deep-fried, then covered in sugar or dusted with powdered sugar.
In a bowl mix the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, eggs, melted unsalted butter, and flavor it with vanilla, lemon, or orange zest. Knead the dough until the smooth texture, make sure not to overwork or over-knead the dough. Cover and let the dough rest for about an hour or two. Now, flour your working surface and roll out the dough bout 1/2 cm thin and cut into a diamond shape. Using a knife make a small incision in the center and transfer them to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. In a large pan, heat up the oil to 350 Fahrenheit and fry the Bugnes in batches until golden brown. Enjoy them with as much or as little powder sugar you’d like. For some of them, we dipped in Nutella and covered it with shredded coconut. You can also roll them in a cinnamon-sugar mixture as soon as they come out of the fryer.
Bugnes Lyonnaises (Beignets De Carnaval)
Ingredients
- 2 & 1/8 cups flour
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 5 tbsp melted unsalted butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 Lemon or orange zest medium size
- Powdered sugar to drizzle on to of the beignets
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until you get a homogeneous dough. You may need more flour, we recommend adding a tablespoon at a time to ensure your dough isn’t too dry, a little sticky is fine. Cover with a plastic wrap or cloth let it rest for an hour or two.
- Flour the surface you will be working on and roll out the dough until you get a 1/2 cm thick sheet as seen in pictures.
- Use a knife, pizza cutter, or a pastry wheel cutter (which tends to give beautiful lines)to cut out a diamond shape or different shapes (have fun with it) then fry them until golden brown.
- Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy.
Did you make this recipe?
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