Welcome to Sophistimom’s Trick-Or-Eat post. Today, nine favorite food, craft & lifestyle bloggers await behind nine haunted houses with an array of holiday treats created just for you. At the end of this post, you will find two of these mystery houses. To join in the holiday fun, simply click on one of the buttons and you’ll be linked to the next home on the block. You can also discover all of the Trick-Or-Eat contributors and find direct links to their posts at www.Trick-Or-Eat.com. Happy Halloweening!
In New England, where I come from, only friendly spirits roam our antique houses’ halls. Pierre of Kitchen Scraps did a lovely job on my house, didn’t he? It’s a Cape Cod with nothing spooky or creepy—just the way I like to celebrate Halloween. I love the way he made the windows glow! If I could live in any house, I would dream up something like this.
While you’re stopping by for Trick-or-Eat, help yourself to this recipe for pear beignets with cardamom crème anglaise. They are worth dying for—well, maybe not, but definitely worth smelling your whole house up with deep frying oil. When I knew I’d be making them, I invited friends over and tried out four other recipes for doughnuts. We had glazed French cruellers, Pumpkin Poppers, Citrus Twists, and Vanilla Bean Boston Creams! Come back everyday this week when I will post each of the recipes.
Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the rest of the Trick-or-Eat fun!
Be sure to read to the bottom of the post, to follow all nine trick-or-eat blogs!
pear beignets
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 cups vegetable oil
2-3 Bartlett pears
3 cups (450g) flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 — 2 cups sparkling apple cider
1. Fill a medium sized paper bag with granulated sugar, cardamom, and nutmeg. Set aside. Fill a large, heavy bottomed pot with oil and set over medium-high heat. While oil comes to 350-375 degrees (180 degrees celsius), prepare the pear slices and batter.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Remove 3/4 cup of the mixture and place in a shallow dish such as a pie plate. Set aside. Make a well in the remaining flour mixture and pour eggs, butter, and cider into the well. Stir with a fork, slowly incorporating all the flour from the sides of the well.
3. Slice pears 1/3 inch thick. Working with two slices at a time, dredge the pears in the reserved flour mixture and tap off excess. Dip in batter and carefully lower into the hot oil. Use a slotted spoon, and cook the beignets for up to 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the oil when both sides are cooked and golden brown.
4. Place beignets on paper towels for a minute to cool slightly, then transfer, one at a time, and gently shake in the paper bag filled with sugar and spices. Serve with crème anglaise.
cardamom crème anglaise
1 1/3 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup milk
1 vanilla bean
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/3 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks
1. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine cream, milk, vanilla bean, and cardamom.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until thick and light yellow. When the milk mixture comes just to a boil, ladle in about a 1/2 a cup of the hot liquid, and while whisking, add to the egg yolk mixture. Add the contents of the bowl back into the sauce pan, and return to the stove.
3. Set the heat to medium low, and with a wooden spoon, stir the mixture constantly until it starts to steam, and the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Set a sieve over a glass bowl and strain the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and cool. When the bowl is no longer hot, transfer to the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Be sure to check in all week for doughnut week on sophistimom!
Oh, one more thing, can you take a guess at who the mastermind of this Halloween celebration is? It was no less than Brooke of Tongue-n-Cheeky (formerly Conversations With a Cupcake). BRILLIANT!
FABULOUS!
Wow, these look good!
Mother may I. I want one of each, Jaime. Can’t for the life of me wait to see what else is coming. YUMM!!
Oh, Brooke, we all had like 3 of each! My body started to go into some sort of shock. But they were sooooo good.
BIG TIME DROOL!! Looks absolutely wonderful.
These look absolutely amazing!
I can’t imagine anything tasting better than this. I will be making this–and I don’t say that to just anybody about any recipe.
(I’m only half kidding.)
Love it.
These are really cool, and they look amazingly good.
Those look so delicious – thanks for the recipe!
oh my gosh – i think i gained weight just LOOKING at these! absolutely delicious! thanks so much!
Oh.My.Goodness. If my post doesn’t make sense, it’s because the keyboard shorted out from the drool. Jaime, you are amazing!
(You might want to do an edit on step one.)
Wow, next time you do a party like this, invite us all!!! These look amazing!!!
Jamie, I have been following your blog for quite some time and my sis-in-law Shannon said it was time I revealed myself…You are truly amazing. THank you for generously sharing your creativity and genius with so many. I have tried many of your recipes and I share your taste in childrens literature. So thanks again, and keep up the great work!
Thanks, everybody!
@Connie–Thank you for the heads up. The recipe no longer calls for “butmeg”
What a great way to enjoy the seasonal pears! They look so good!
YUMMY. This trick or eat is such a good idea. I had so much fun going to all the house!
Oh my, these look awesome Jaime! Do you think I could just use regular cider instead of sparkling?
These look delicious! Beignets are new to me, but I’d love to try them.
Wow, these sound yummy… my husband took a peek over my shoulder and said “print the recipe, I will make them!” … I think that counts for the treat part, being treated to a wonderful recipe and I don’t have to make it! Thank you!
These posts have been so fun today, and I am discovering blogs I didn’t know about. Thanks!
Great idea to celebrate Halloween… and, of course, as always… yummy looking recipe!
wow those look good!!!!
These were so good!!! I made them tonight as a treat and were fabulous and the sauce is a must! They tasted really good warm with the sauce cold. For some reason I had a hard time finding Sparkling Cider in the grocery store! After living in CA for 2 years and being able to get it any time of the year that was a bit strange.
oh. my. gosh.
That looks like heaven. All my favourite things in one perfect dish.
I’m seriously making that for breakfast. Can’t wait any longer.
[...] Pear beignets with cardamom creme anglaise, courtesy of a recipe I saw yesterday on the Sophistimom blog! [...]
Ohhh….these look very delish! And would be welcomed by a certain fellow. I may have to try these. Thank you!
[...] recipe for pear beignets sounds so [...]
Wow! Totally fabulous recipe! I can’t wait to try it…absolutely adoring all the photos from your donut party! Absolutely a treat to stumble upon this blog!
Carina Gardner
I tried this recipe last night and it was luscious! Thanks for sharing
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[...] That pumpkin torte I made the other day was really delicious, so I thought I should fry some of the batter for our little party. [...]
[...] That pumpkin torte I made the other day was really delicious, so I thought I should fry some of the batter for our little party. [...]
Baking powder or Baking soda??
baking powder.
[...] Pear Beignets with Cardamom Creme Anglaise from Sophistimom [...]