The beignets are crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and stand up perfectly to the cream and ganache. This dessert is visually impressive and sure to be a show-stopper at your next dinner party.
Makes: 6 dessert glasses
Prep Time: 4.5 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
For the beignets:
- 236 ml / 1 cup warm water (105-110ºF)
- 15 g / 3 tbsp. sugar
- 9 g / 2 1/4 tsp. (1 envelope) active dry yeast
- 1,100 L / 5 cups vegetable or peanut oil for frying
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 42 g / 3 tbsp. Mirage margarine melted and cooled in the microwave
- 5 g / 3/4 tsp. salt
- 420 g / 3 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 30 g / 1/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting
For the tiramisu cream:
- 454 g / 2 cups mascarpone cheese
- 90 g / 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 44 ml / 3 tbsp. coffee liqueur
- 237 ml / 1 cup espresso or strong coffee, cooled
- 237 ml / 1 cup heavy whipping cream
For the chocolate ganache:
- 226 g / 8 oz or about 1 1/3 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 237 ml / 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 14 g / 2 tbsp. Mirage margarine
Directions
For the beignets:
- In a mixing bowl, combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes until yeast is bubbly and foamy. If the yeast does not appear this way, start over.
- Attach the dough hook to your mixer and add both eggs and margarine to the bowl. Mix until incorporated.
- Mix in the salt and flour (1 cup at a time) until fully incorporated and smooth dough forms (dough will be slightly sticky). Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with plastic wrap. Dust with a bit of flour so it doesn’t stick to the plastic wrap as it’s rising. Allow to rise at room temperature for one hour.
- Flour your work surface well and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from the bowl and place onto the floured surface. Roll out dough to about 0.6 cm / 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough into 3.8 cm/1 1/2 inch rounds with a round pastry cutter and place onto the baking sheets, lightly dust with flour, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one more hour.
- Heat oil in a large skillet and bring to 176ºC / 350ºF (the oil level should be about 3.8 cm / 1 1/2 inches deep). Place four to five beignets at a time into the oil and fry for 2 minutes per side or until nice and golden. Remove from the oil and drain on a cooling rack. Allow to cool fully before assembling.
For the tiramisu cream:
- Combine all ingredients except the whipping cream and whisk by hand for a minute until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whip cream with a hand or stand mixer until stiff. Fold into cheese mixture until combined. Reserve in the fridge until ready to assemble.
For the chocolate ganache:
- Put the chocolate chips and margarine in a heat-safe bowl.
- In a heavy bottomed pot, gently heat cream over low heat, stirring occasionally. Just as soon as you see a simmer, remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips and margarine, swirling the bowl to make sure all of the chocolate chips are covered.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap for 5 minutes without stirring. Remove lid and swirl the chocolate chips with a whisk starting in the centre and working outward until smooth.
To assemble:
- Layer dessert glasses with beignets, cream, and ganache and repeat until full. Serve immediately.
Chef Notes
- The longer the ganache sits, the thicker and less pourable it becomes.
- This dish can also be prepared on a plate like a sandwich.
