Haitian Benyen (Beignets De Carnaval)

June 5, 2020

10 minutes

medium

serves 10

In honor of National Donut Day I thought I would make the Haitian dish closest to a donut which are Beignets in French. The actual translation in English is donut but these aren’t quite like donuts, they’re more like a sweet fritter. In Kreyòl we call them Benyen, now I didn’t grow up in Haiti but I know that the proper term for them is Benyen De Kanaval (Beignet De Carnaval). It is typically made during carnival time in Haiti, a street food that you can find literally everywhere during that time.

Making this isn’t a difficult task, you want to start off with very ripe bananas as you can see mine were on their way out but I used them anyway RIP. The riper the banana the sweeter it will be; I think someone else might think there was still a little more room for sweetness but it was just right for me.

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Ingredients

Adjust Servings

	1 cup flour
	½ teaspoon baking soda
	⅛ teaspoon salt
	⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
	⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
	2 overripe bananas, mashed
	1 egg
	¼ cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
	¼ cup + ½ teaspoon evaporated milk or whole milk
	2 tablespoons butter, melted or softened
	½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1.

In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

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2.

In a medium bowl mix sugar, butter, egg, banana, and milk together until well combined.

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3.

Add flour mixture into the liquid mixture a little at a time. Once we’ll be combined add vanilla.

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4.

Add about 1 cup of vegetable oil to a small pot on medium heat and fry benyens for about 30 seconds on each side or until golden brown then remove and place on a cookie rack.

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5.

Sprinkle either granulated sugar or powdered sugar on top and enjoy!

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Notes

Drain them on a cookie rack to keep them crunchy as opposed to putting them on a plate lined with a paper towel. Add one more banana if you like.