Thierry Patisserie: Beignets du Carnaval AKA Clouds with Sugar (Only for a Limited Time!)

Thierry Patisserie, 1059 Alberni Street, Vancouver

Thierry Patisserie

2059 Alberni Street, Vancouver

I know I recently blogged about Thierry’s macarons but I heard they came up with some new flavours, including my fave: lychee! So I hightailed it over as fast as I could. Unfortunately, there weren’t any lychee macarons available today. But my next favourite sweet was available (and only for a limited time!): beignets! Nobody loves beignets more than me. Although, admittedly, I have never tasted a true, original beignet from Louisiana (did you know it’s their state donut?). But, for all you ‘The Wire‘ fans out there, Cafe du Monde IS on my hit list and I have heard that they serve killer beignets.

The name ‘beignet’ translates to fried dough in French. Down south, beignets are served during Mardi Gras; the pastry originated from France where there are many variations of it. In the Southern United States, beignets are traditionally square shaped and covered under a mountain of powdered sugar. The beignets at Thierry were a little bit more delicate, shaped like canal boats with fluted tips with a light sprinkling of powdered sugar, the beignets came to the table piping hot.

Beignets, Thierry Patisserie, 1059 Alberni Street, Vancouver

The beignets really were made to order. I placed my order, paid and waited at my table for a brief 10 minutes before the scrumptious donuts were served to me. As soon as they came to the table, I could smell that wonderful fried dough aroma. Surprisingly, they didn’t smell oily though, and didn’t feel oily either. Thierry offers two sauces to go with the beignets: chocolate sauce or raspberry jam and naturally, I chose chocolate.

Chocolate sauce for Beignets, Thierry Patisserie, 1059 Alberni Street, Vancouver

I could really eat beignets just plain though, but since the chocolate was available, it made a great accompaniment. The chocolate sauce was rich but liquid enough for me to swirl and soak each beignet in for a healthy coating. The chocolate was sweet and not very bitter at all, it was smooth and silky as well.

Beignets, Thierry Patisserie, 1059 Alberni Street, Vancouver

Now onto the beignets: they were as light as clouds, airy, delicate, soft and fluffy inside with a very subtly crispy exterior. They were delicious! It was like eating clouds – only with powdered sugar and chocolate sauce!

Beignets, Thierry Patisserie, 1059 Alberni Street, Vancouver

Beignets, Thierry Patisserie, 1059 Alberni Street, Vancouver

Beignets, Thierry Patisserie, 1059 Alberni Street, Vancouver

I also loved the canal boat shape, making them easier to grab and dip than traditional square beignets. It is really hard to eat just one, in fact I devoured the entire bowl of five beignets in a very short period of time.

Beignet, Thierry Patisserie, 1059 Alberni Street, Vancouver

Beignets, Thierry Patisserie, 1059 Alberni Street, Vancouver

Beignets, Thierry Patisserie, 1059 Alberni Street, Vancouver

Each of my beignets were a different shape and size which added to their charm. And although the top three beignets were only lightly blanketed with powdered sugar, I was pleased to find that my last little beignet at the bottom of the bowl was covered and coated with a thick layer of all the sugar that sank to the bottom of the pile. Yum!

Beignets, Thierry Patisserie, 1059 Alberni Street, Vancouver

Thierry is only offering these delectable little fried fritters until Feb. 21 though so get ‘em while they’re hot! I may just revisit a few more times just to try the raspberry jam AND the lychee macarons!