My father lives in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, where there is a coffee time ritual. Neighbours take turns hosting and offering their favourite coffee time treat.
Here are some recipes to try. They need to be made just before serving.
Beignet
Beignet is a staple in New Orleans, where it was made popular by Café du Monde. It should be eaten hot and heavily dusted with powdered sugar.
Beignet dough can do double duty as cherry rolls. I make one recipe of dough and split it in half. It will make 18 cherry rolls and about 30 beignets.
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- 1 envelope active dry yeast
- 1/2 c. warm water 125 mL
- 1 tsp. sugar 5 mL
- 1 c. evaporated milk 250 mL
- 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 tsp. salt 5 mL
- 1/2 c. sugar 125 mL
- 1 c. water 250 mL
- 1/4 c. shortening 60 mL
- 7 c. flour 1.65 L
Combine yeast, water and sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Let stand five minutes. Add evaporated milk, eggs, salt and sugar.
Transfer to a lightly greased bowl, roll dough to grease top. Cover and chill four hours or keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to one week.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface, roll to 1⁄4-inch (6 mm) thickness. Cut into 2 1⁄2 inch (6.5 cm) squares.
Pour oil to depth of two to three inches (5 to 7.5 cm) into a Dutch oven and heat to 360 F (182 C). Fry dough, in batches, two to three minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on a wire rack. Dust immediately with lots of powdered sugar.
Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 F (93 C) oven up to 30 minutes.
Cherry Rolls
- 1 recipe beignet dough
- 1 can cherry pie filling
- 1 c. icing sugar 250 mL
- 1 tsp. vanilla 5 mL
- 1 tbsp. milk 15 mL
Gently roll dough between your hands to make a 12 inch (30 cm) rope. On parchment lined baking sheet, loosely coil each rope. Leave two inches (5 cm) between coiled ropes. Cover with a cloth and set in a warm place. Let rise one to two hours or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 400 F (205 C). Press the centre of each roll with your fingers until you touch baking sheet. Make indentations about an inch (2.5 cm) wide. Spoon cherry pie filling into each indentation. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Beat until smooth. Drizzle buns with glaze. Serve immediately.
Walnut Apple Fritters
I love the doughnut shape of a slice of apple in this fritter. You could also coarsely chop and stir apples into the batter and drop by spoonfuls into hot oil.
- 1 c. walnuts 250 mL
- 3/4 c. sugar 175 mL
- 1 3/4 c. flour 425 mL
- 1/2 tsp. salt 3 mL
- a pinch of ground cloves
- 3/4 – 1 c. buttermilk 175-250 mL
- 1 large egg
- oil for deep-frying
- 6 medium sized firm apples
- powdered sugar
Preheat the oven to 325 F (160 C). Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and bake for five minutes until lightly roasted but not too dark. Remove from oven and cool completely.
To prepare the batter, place the cooled toasted walnuts and sugar in a food processor and process until the nuts are ground to a fine powder. Add flour, salt and cloves and pulse a few times to mix.
In a small bowl, lightly whisk the buttermilk and egg together. With the motor running, slowly add the egg mixture to the nut mixture in the food processor, blending until just incorporated. The batter should be thick but pourable. Transfer batter to a clean bowl and set aside.
eat oil in an electric deep fat fryer or in a deep frying pan to a temperature of 325 F (160 C). While the oil is heating, prepare apples. Leave the skin on the apples and remove the cores using a corer, leaving the apples whole. Cut each apple into four or five slices and carefully dry.
When the oil is hot, dip each apple slice in the batter until completely covered, then place in batches in the hot oil and deep fry for three to four minutes, turning regularly, until cooked, crisp and golden.
Using a slotted spoon, remove and drain the cooked fritters on a cooling rack placed in a baking sheet. Continue until all rings are cooked. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.
Tips to good coffee
- A finer grind has more surface area exposed and is good for a short brew like the drip pots. If using a French press where the brew time is longer, a coarser grind will produce better results.
- Don’t let coffee sit on a hot plate. Transfer it to a thermal carafe to avoid overcooking.
- Grind the beans immediately before you brew.
- Keep brewing equipment clean. Old sediments can make for rancid flavours.
Sarah Galvin is a home economist, teacher and farmers’ market vendor at Swift Current, Sask., and a member of Team Resources. She writes a blog at allourfingersinthepie.blogspot.ca. Contact: team@producer.com.
