Back from Canada, Avril Ann Braganza shares the joy of relishing BeaverTails with all kinds of toppings in the country of its origin. She also shares an easy recipe to make the fun pastry at home
There were only two days to go until the end of my Canada holiday and I hadn't tasted BeaverTails yet. This was my second trip to the home of the Rocky Mountains and the Niagara Falls—16 years later! Who knows when I'd be back; I couldn't risk returning to India without trying a BeaverTail. I kept postponing trying it out and now I was regretting it, even more so because I did not get a chance to try it at the original BeaverTails stand at Byward Market in Ottawa, a stop even for Barack Obama during his first official visit to Canada! But as luck would have it, as we walked along Clifton Hill after our hectic day-trip to Niagara, there stood my last chance to try this Canadian pastry.
Simply put, a BeaverTail is a fried dough pastry garnished with toppings of your choice. Made with whole wheat, the dough is hand-stretched to resemble the tail of a beaver — Canada's national animal. As per the BeaverTails website, "The pastries are then float-cooked on high quality canola oil and served piping hot, topped with butter and a choice of delectable flavors", including cinnamon and sugar, maple, apple cinnamon, chocolate banana, peanut butter, choco vanilla, chocolate hazelnut, killaloe sunrise (cinnamon, sugar and lemon) and triple trip (chocolate, peanut butter and Reese's Pieces). I'm torn between trying cinnamon and sugar, apple cinnamon, chocolate hazlenut, and maple, but go for the maple flavoured spread (could we get more Canadian?)
A short while later, my order—wrapped in the red BeaverTail paper package — is in my hands. Warm and crispy with maple syrup oozing, it's love at first bite; the perfect comfort dessert after an exhausting day! Gulp it down as quickly as you can, because it tastes best when it's piping hot and more importantly, that way you won't have to share it with anyone!
*****
Recipe:
Ingredients
1.5 cups warm water
5 tsp dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
Sugar: granulated (dusting), 1/3 cup (mixing)
1.5tsp salt
1tsp vanilla
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
Cinnamon
Oil to fry
4.5-5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Method
Take a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, warm water and a pinch of sugar. Let it stay till the yeast swells. After a few minutes, stir in the vanilla, eggs, remaining sugar, milk, oil, salt, and most of the flour to make the dough. Knead it for 5-9 minutes, adding flour as needed.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and seal it with plastic wrap. Let the yeast rise for 30-40 minutes. Once it has risen, gently deflate the dough and pull off small, golf-ball sized pieces. Roll each one into an oval shape and cover with a tea towel when rolling the next batch.
Heat about four inches of oil to about 196 °C. Right before putting in dough pieces, stretch them to a tall oval shape, so it looks like a beaver's tail. Gradually, add them to the fryer, 1 - 2 at a time. After all pieces have been added, flip them over and remove when the undersides turn a deep, brown. Place them on a paper towel. To have it the classic way, pour in the castor sugar and add cinnamon. Gently shake the bowl so that all pieces are generously covered with the sugar and cinnamon. Pick up the BeaverTails, shake off the excess coating, transfer them to a clean plate, relish!
Recipe by Wikihow
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "BeaverTails")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}