The French are not usually fond of fried treats (unlike their Spanish or Portuguese neighbours). But these bite-size fritters are timeless goodies that have been feeding generations of French families. French regions come up with their own twists on the recipe … made with choux pastry, yeast dough, potato flour (Savoy Region) or chestnut flour (Corsica)… fried in oil or lard … referred to as “nun’s farts” (Brittany Region), “beignets” (Paris) , and on and on. They are commonly served plain, with a light dusting of caster sugar, cinnamon or icing sugar.
These French fritters called “beignets” are on the softer side. That are not sweet at all (there is no sugar in the batter actually). You also don’t need to fry them very long. They end up being lighter in color, and with less of a crunch. Texture wise, they are soft and airy, closer to a donut than a fritter. But, they are bite-size… which makes it very hard to stop at one!
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 3 peaches (about 2 1/2 cups), chopped in small 1/3 inch cubes
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Fill half of a medium-size heavy bottom pot with the vegetable oil (enough to fit 4-5 fritters at once) and pre-heat to 350 F.
- Place the cubed peaches in a bowl with the maple syrup. Stir gently to make sure all the peaches are nicely coated with the syrup and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a small sauce pan on low heat (be careful not to brown it), set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, mix the buttermilk and eggs together. Add the melted butter.
- Add all at once the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon – previously sifted together. Mix until just incorporated, do not overmix.
- Add the cubed peaches, and stir just until incorporated. Again, be careful not to overmix.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs, butter and buttermilk and mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix the batter. Stir in the peaches and pecans.
- Once the oil is hot, drop rounded tablespoons of batter into the oil. Fry on one side for 30 to 45 seconds or until golden brown, then flip the fritter and fry the other side for 30 to 45 seconds or until golden brown.
- Remove fritters from the oil with a spider or slotted spoon. Drain on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining fritters.
- To serve: sprinkle some caster sugar on top or dip into some maple syrup.
- Ideally, before you start frying, you will want to use a thermometer to check the heat of your oil. If you don’t have one, drop a tiny dollop of your batter in the oil and see how it goes. If there is no fizzle sound, if the dollop doesn’t hold together, or if it takes too long to golden, then your oil is not hot enough.
