The proper name for these little fried pastries or fritters is beignets soufflès. But the slightly rude and goofy nickname seems to have been around for at least the past two centuries, possibly longer — and no one now knows for sure where it came from. The great cookbook writer Richard Olney points out in Simple French Food
There is also a pointed regional joke in this version of the recipe at the expense of the Breton side of the country. See the giant “Breton’s Fart” variation further down the recipe, which produces something like the giant pancake sometimes known as “Dutch baby”.
See the Recipe tab for the details.
This version of the recipe assumes you’re going to throw it together just before your guests arrive for dinner. (If this doesn’t qualify Olney as a superhero, I’m not sure what does. Some superheroes don’t need capes: they’ve got aprons.)
…Me, I’d do the heavy lifting on this recipe in the afternoon, and fry the things then. Give the finished farts five minutes in a hot oven at dessert-time, and I don’t think anyone’d complain too hard.
(gazes up-article at the phrase “the finished farts”) …Never mind. Where were we?
The ingredients:
Combine the butter, sugar, salt, and lemon rind with 1 cup water in a saucepan and bring the mixture slowly to a boil.
When the butter has completely melted, remove the pan from the heat. While the pan is heating, break each of the eggs into a separate custard cup or similar small dish and have these ready.
When the pan is removed from the heat, add all the flour at once, stirring, first carefully, then, when the flour is absorbed, vigorously with a wooden spoon.
When you have a compact, thick paste, turn the heat to medium high and return the pan to it. Cook this mixture for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping the sides and bottom, until the batter clings together in a solid mass, leaving the bottom and sides of the pan clean, and takes on a glossy look.
Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove. Beat in the vanilla, and the rum if used, giving the batter a chance to cool a little.
When it has, make a well in its center, pour in 1 egg, and beat this into the mass. When it is incorporated, beat in another egg and proceed until all the eggs are used. The resulting pastry should be flexible and soft, firm enough to hold its shape and not at all runny.
Set it aside and let it rest for about 45 minutes, or for the duration of supper.
When ready to make the fritters, fill a deep skillet or deep-fat fryer two-thirds full of oil and heat to 360 deg.F (not too hot, or the exteriors will brown before the center is cooked).
If you are using a deep-fat fryer, do not use the basket, but a slotted spoon or wire mesh skimmer instead.
Drop the batter into the hot oil a teaspoonful at a time, dipping the spoon into the oil after each scoop. Don’t overcrowd the pan, since they puff up to about four times their original size.
Nudge them to roll over, so that they color evenly on all sides. When golden brown, drain on paper towels and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
Serve hot.
Pet de Breton: This recipe makes 1 large fart.
Make the batter with the same ingredients the same way as explained above, including the 45-minute rest.
Preheat oven to 375 deg.F. Pour the batter into a large greased pan (a 10-inch or so heavy cast-iron frying pan works well for this) and set in the oven.
Bake for an hour. Remove, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, tear apart, and eat as soon as it’s cool enough to handle.
Enjoy!
They”ll be listed here, bear with us
Stuff we’ve seen and found interesting, things we want, things you might want, who knows…?
Other people’s recipes that have worked really well
