Cafe du Monde-style beignets with blueberry sauce

"But we already have a beignet recipe here!", you might say.

Ah, but this is a Cafe du Monde-style recipe! Cafe du Monde is a world-famous restaurant in New Orleans, known for its 24-hour beignets and cafe au lait. The main difference is this recipe uses yeast, so it's a true dough, unlike the previous recipe, which is a batter. The blueberry sauce really elevates the flavor, and is sure to become a favorite treat!

Cafe du Monde-style beignets with blueberry sauce

Blueberry Sauce:
 
2 cups fresh blueberries or 2 cups frozen blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

1. Puree all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Strain through fine sieve into heavy medium saucepan. Simmer this sauce over medium-low heat until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Let cool.

Beignets:

1 cup warm milk (about 105 to 115 degrees F/ 43-45 C)

1 package dry yeast

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 medium eggs

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1 tsp. salt

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting and kneading

Solid vegetable shortening (for deep-frying)

Powdered sugar (for dusting)

1. Combine the warm milk and yeast in large bowl; let it stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the granulated sugar, eggs, and melted butter. Add 3 cups flour and stir to form a moist, sticky dough.

2. Knead the dough on floured work surface or in a mixer with a dough hook, incorporating flour if needed, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky; this should take 10 minutes.

3. Gather the dough and form into a ball. Rub lightly with oil and place in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let this dough sit in a warm place undisturbed for 40 minutes; the dough will double in size.

4. Heat the shortening in deep pan to 325ºF/ 163ºC.

5. Transfer dough to floured work surface. Punch the dough down; cover with kitchen towel and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

6. Sprinkle the dough, still resting on the floured surface, with flour. Using rolling pin or glass, roll out the dough into a 12-inch square. Using pizza cutter or food scissors, trim edges slightly to form a perfect square shape.

7. Cut dough crosswise into 4 equal strips. Cut each strip into 6 pieces, forming 24 rectangles total.

8.  Fry 3 dough rectangles in the hot oil until they're golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side (Frying too many beignets at once will cool the oil and result in soggy beignets). Using a slotted metal spoon, transfer the cooked beignets to paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain and cool.

9. Repeat the above steps for cooking.

10. Place a beignet on a plate and dust with powdered sugar. Serve the beignet with some of the blueberry sauce.