Souffléd Fritters “en Surprise”

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4 to 5 quart high-sided heavy pot
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Wooden spoon
• •Two teaspoons
• •Wire draining rack
• •Spider or slotted spoon
• •Piping bag with an 8 to 10 mm plain tip
• •Small paring knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the surprise

   Prepare the filling before touching the choux. Whisk jam, crème frangipane, or pastry cream until smooth and pipeable. Stewed fruit must be reduced until no loose syrup runs from it. For a fruit salpicon, cut the fruit into dice no larger than 3 mm and bind it with just enough thickened syrup or fruit purée to hold together. Fit a piping bag with an 8 to 10 mm plain tip and load it. Keep a cream filling chilled until the first batch is nearly ready.

   A loose filling soaks the shell and escapes through the opening. It should hold a mound on a spoon but yield readily to the piping bag.
2. 2

   Cook the panade

   Put the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring them to a full boil so the butter is completely melted, then take the pan from the heat and add the flour all at once. Beat firmly with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains. Return the pan to medium-low heat and work the panade, the cooked flour base, for 2 to 3 minutes, until it forms a smooth ball and leaves a thin film across the pan floor. This drying gives the eggs somewhere to go and the beignets room to swell.

3. 3

   Finish the choux

   Transfer the panade to a bowl and beat it for 2 minutes to release its fiercest heat. Add the beaten eggs in four additions, beating each one completely into the dough and holding back the final spoonful until you judge the texture. The pâte à choux is ready when it is glossy and falls from the spoon in a heavy V. If it remains stiff and breaks off in a lump, add the reserved egg a teaspoon at a time. Stop as soon as the V forms; too much egg gives a loose dough that spreads before it can rise.

4. 4

   Fry until hollow

   Pour the oil into a high-sided, heavy pot, leaving the vessel no more than half full, and heat it to 165 to 170°C (330 to 340°F). Using two lightly oiled teaspoons, ease four or five walnut-sized portions of choux into the oil. Fry for 7 to 9 minutes, turning them as needed, until they have swollen generously, become deep butter-gold, and feel light when lifted. Split the first tester: the centre should be mostly hollow with a dry, tender web, never a streak of raw paste. If a beignet colours before it swells, lift it out, lower the oil to 165°C, and return it once the temperature settles. Ça se rattrape, provided the crust has not gone dark.

   Do not crowd the pot. Too many pieces pull down the temperature, and choux left wallowing in cool oil becomes heavy before it can expand.
5. 5

   Open and fill

   Lift one batch onto a wire rack and move the oil pot to an unlit burner before handling the piping bag. After 30 seconds, hold each beignet in a folded cloth, make a small opening in its side with the point of a paring knife, and insert the piping tip. Fill until the shell feels slightly heavier and a trace of filling reaches the opening. Work while the shells are hot and pliable. If a batch has cooled and begins to tear, warm it on the rack in a 160°C (325°F) oven for 3 minutes, then open it again. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Repeat and serve

   Return the oil to 165 to 170°C and repeat with the remaining choux, frying and filling one small batch at a time. Arrange the beignets loosely on a platter and serve within 15 minutes, while the shells remain crisp and the filling is still hidden inside. No powdered disguise is needed. The surprise has already done the work. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose one filling and make it decisive. Raspberry or apricot jam gives a bright fruit centre; pastry cream is gentler; cooked crème frangipane brings almond richness. Mixing several fillings on one platter is pleasant, but mark them discreetly so nobody receives a guessing game they didn't request.
• •Load the piping bag, set out the knife and rack, and clear an unlit burner before heating the oil. This is how one cook replaces the brigade handoff safely, without leaving a live pot unattended.
• •Fruit for salpicon must be finely diced and tightly bound. Large pieces block the piping tip, while loose syrup softens the beignet from within.
• •Filled beignets wait poorly. Serve them within 15 minutes, with coffee or a lightly sweet sparkling wine, and let the crisp shell and hidden filling provide all the ceremony.

Advance Preparation

• •Jam and stewed fruit can be readied several days ahead. Fruit salpicon, pastry cream, or cooked crème frangipane can be prepared a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.
• •The pâte à choux can be made up to 4 hours ahead, pressed with reusable wrap directly against its surface, and refrigerated. Let it stand for 10 minutes while the oil heats so it is supple enough to portion.
• •Do not fry and fill the beignets ahead. Unfilled shells can be revived for 4 minutes in a 160°C (325°F) oven, but the essential sequence remains frying, opening, filling, and serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 120g)