Chef Juliette
Flan aux Carottes
A pale short-paste shell holds silken, lightly sweet carrot purée beneath neat glazed half-discs, their butter syrup catching the light: a classical tart poised between vegetable course and sweet.
Culinary Explorer
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Ordinary Souffléd Fritters
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2427, Ordinary Souffléd Fritters, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Walnut-sized pâte à choux enters moderate fat, swells hollow as the heat rises, and emerges crisp, light, and dusted with sugar. The lesson is simple: temperature must follow the fritter.
Pastries & Cookies
French
Celebration
Dinner Party
Comfort Food
10 min
Active Time
35 min cook•45 min total
Yield4 servings (about 20 fritters)
Beignets soufflés ordinaires (ordinary souffléd fritters) teach one true thing: the fat must begin moderate and grow hotter only as the choux swells. Start too hot and the shell browns before the centre can open; hold the heat too low and the fritters drink fat instead of rising. Temperature follows the fritter, never the other way round.
A saucier, a perpetual stockpot, and a salamander have no work in this recipe. The professional luxury the original did assume was a pastry cook tending a broad bath of fat by eye and feeding a dining room from a brigade-sized bowl of paste. At home, that becomes 360 grams of finished choux, a four-quart saucepan, and a clip-on thermometer. The quantity changed because a home pan must not be crowded; the order and rising-heat method remain. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The napkin-lined serving dish was service scaffolding, so a wire rack handles the draining more cleanly at home. The gradual increase in heat is the dish itself, and it stays. Watch the first two minutes closely: the fritters must expand before they colour.
Beignets soufflés belong to the pâtisserie kitchens and bourgeois dining rooms of Paris, where pâte à choux moved from the oven into frying fat and arrived at table beneath a veil of sugar. The method passed into the national entremets repertoire, with flavourings changing from kitchen to kitchen while the rising-heat fry remained constant. Soufflé here names the paste's expansion; these are not egg-white soufflés transferred from a ramekin to a frying pan.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh Ordinary Pâte à Choux
Quantity
1 scant 1½ cups (350 ml / about 360 g) Ordinary Pâte à Choux (No. 2373)
supple and orange-flower scented as directed in its formula
refined sunflower or peanut oil
Quantity
1½ quarts (1.4 litres / about 1.3 kg)
for frying
icing sugar
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 30 g)
sifted
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh Ordinary Pâte à Chouxsupple and orange-flower scented as directed in its formula | 1 scant 1½ cups (350 ml / about 360 g) Ordinary Pâte à Choux (No. 2373) |
| refined sunflower or peanut oilfor frying | 1½ quarts (1.4 litres / about 1.3 kg) |
| icing sugarsifted | ¼ cup (60 ml / 30 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 4-quart (about 4-litre) saucepan
- •Clip-on frying thermometer
- •Two teaspoons
- •Wire spider or long-handled slotted spoon
- •Wire rack and rimmed tray
- •Small sugar sieve
Instructions
- 1
Ready the choux
Measure the Ordinary Pâte à Choux (No. 2373) into a bowl while it is still supple enough to hold a rounded spoonful without running. If it has been chilled and feels stiff, let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes; cold paste enters the fat sluggishly and delays the rise. Set a wire rack over a tray, place the icing sugar in a small sieve, and keep both beside the stove.
The paste should leave a thick, reluctant ribbon when lifted. Don't loosen it with an extra egg at this stage, because a loose choux spreads in the fat and cannot build a hollow centre. - 2
Heat the frying fat
Pour the oil into a heavy four-quart saucepan, leaving more than half the pan empty for safe bubbling. Clip on the thermometer and heat the oil to 300°F (150°C). This is the moderate starting heat prescribed by the original method, now made visible on a home stove rather than judged by a pastry cook's eye.
- 3
Shape walnut nubs
Lightly oil two teaspoons. Scoop a rounded tablespoon (15 ml / about 18 g) of choux, roughly the size of a small walnut, and use the second spoon to ease it into the oil close to the surface. Add only five or six portions per batch. Crowding pulls down the temperature, glues the fritters together, and leaves them greasy.
- 4
Fry in rising heat
Hold the oil between 300°F and 310°F (150°C and 155°C) for the first 2 minutes, nudging apart any fritters that touch. As they swell, gradually increase the burner so the oil reaches 350°F (175°C) over the next 3 minutes. Turn the fritters gently as they expand to two or three times their original size. If they begin bronzing while still small and dense, turn off the burner for 30 seconds and keep them moving, then resume at gentler heat. Ça se rattrape. Expansion must come before colour.
Follow both thermometer and fritter. The number controls the fat, but swelling and colour tell you whether the paste is ready for more heat. - 5
Dry the shells
Once fully swollen, keep the oil between 340°F and 350°F (170°C and 175°C) and fry for another 3 to 4 minutes, turning often, until the fritters are evenly golden, crisp outside, and surprisingly light when lifted. Split one from the first batch: the centre should be hollow with no streak of wet paste. If it is damp, give the remaining fritters another minute before draining.
- 6
Drain and sugar
Lift the fritters with a spider or slotted spoon, pause over the pan until the dripping stops, then spread them in one layer on the rack. Let the oil return to 300°F (150°C) before starting the next batch. Dust the fritters generously with icing sugar while warm and carry them to the table at once. Crisp shell, hollow centre, sugar on your fingers. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Use a neutral refined oil and a thermometer. The recipe depends on raising the temperature in measured stages, and a dark, strongly flavoured oil hides both the choux's butter and its orange-flower perfume.
- •Small walnuts mean small walnuts. Large spoonfuls colour before their centres dry, while tiny ones become hard before they develop a proper hollow.
- •These belong to the moment they are fried. Serve them with coffee after dinner or a demi-sec Vouvray for a celebration; they need no sauce, cream, or decorative fuss.
Advance Preparation
- •The Ordinary Pâte à Choux (No. 2373) can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead. Press reusable wrap directly against its surface, chill it, then let it soften for 10 to 15 minutes before shaping.
- •Measure the oil, sift the sugar, and arrange the draining rack before dinner. Begin frying after the main course so the beignets reach the table at their crispest.
- •If necessary, fry the beignets up to 1 hour ahead and refresh them for 3 to 4 minutes in a 400°F (200°C) oven. Dust them with fresh icing sugar only after reheating; this is service insurance, not their finest hour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 90g)
Calories
345 calories
Total Fat
27 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
20 g
Cholesterol
125 mg
Sodium
240 mg
Total Carbohydrates
21 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
5 g
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