Beaver bites

Beavers are Canada’s national animal and also feature on Canadian 5-cent coins. Reason enough to dedicate these bite-sized delicacies to beavers! In Canada, these are sometimes also called Beaver Tails because of their shape. They are traditionally turned in cinnamon sugar after deep-frying and served with different toppings.

Makes 20–30

5 tsp dry yeast

350 ml (12 fl oz) lukewarm milk

1 pinch sugar

4 tbsp sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1½ tsp salt

2 eggs

4 tbsp canola oil

4 cups (600 g) plain flour, plus extra for dusting

For the topping:

1 tbsp canola oil

²/₃ cup (200 g) chocolate hazelnut spread

Icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting

Also:

8 cups (2 litres) peanut oil, for deep-frying

Combine the dry yeast, milk and a pinch of sugar in a mixing bowl. Set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and knead the dough in a food processor for 6 minutes. Place a small heatproof bowl of boiling water in the oven. Cover the dough with a tea towel and place it inside the oven. Leave to rise for 2 hours with the oven door closed.

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough to about 1 cm (½ inch) thick and cut out rounds with a 5 cm (2 inch) cookie cutter. Leave the dough rounds to rest for 10 minutes.

Pour the peanut oil into a large saucepan and heat to 180°C (350°F). Deep-fry the dough rounds in batches until golden brown. Transfer the beaver bites onto paper towel to drain off excess oil.

For the topping, whisk the oil into the chocolate hazelnut spread and heat the mixture in the microwave until it is liquid. Serve the beaver bites dusted with icing sugar and drizzled with the chocolate hazelnut spread.