While researching for another post I ran across an interesting food item that I was not previously aware of.  That item was fried Coke, the culinary sibling of braised heroin.  Seriously though, fried Coke, this is a dish made from frying dough made with Coca-Cola, on which Coke syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon and a cherry [...]]]>

While researching for another post I ran across an interesting food item that I was not previously aware of.  That item was fried Coke, the culinary sibling of braised heroin.  Seriously though, fried Coke, this is a dish made from frying dough made with Coca-Cola, on which Coke syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon and a cherry are added.  Created for the 2006 State Fair of Texas the official recipe has never been revealed.  Noting the decided lack of alcohol and paying homage to my favorite drink I set out to create my own version.  Read on for fried Captain and Coke.

Realizing some of our meals lately were fairly high in calories I decided to make a spinach salad for dinner the other night.  Unfortunately for dessert I invented this fried Captain and Coke, which by my estimation contains around 1000 calories.  Oh well, there is always tomorrow.  Not having a recipe for fried Coke I was free to interpret.  Having made pate a choux buns recently for another experiment, I figured a variation on this dough should fry up nicely yielding a nicely textured beignet.  Not a big fan of Cola syrup, I am topping my fried coke with a combination of cinnamon sugar, fresh strawberry syrup and Captain Morgan whipped cream.

Fried Coke:
1 cup coke
4oz unsalted butter
1 cup of AP flour
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp cinnamon sugar (2tbsp sugar mixed with 2tbsp cinnamon)

In a sauce pan bring the coke and butter to a vigorous boil.  Remove from the heat and add the flour, stirring constantly.  Return this paste to low heat and cook until all the flour is incorporated and the dough forms a single ball.  Remove the pan from the heat and place the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer to cool.  After cooling for about 10 minutes (don’t want to scramble your eggs) turn the mixer on low and add the eggs one at a time, waiting for the previous to be completely incorporated before adding the next.  Add the vanilla and mix until smooth.

Preheat your deep fryer to 360 degrees F.  Using two spoons drop dough about ½ to 1 teaspoon at a time into the hot oil.  Fry for about 5 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.  Remove from the oil and place on a cooling rack placed over a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and either enjoy immediately (they are pretty dang tasty) or construct with the following to recreate the fried Captain and Coke I made.

Strawberry Syrup:
16oz Strawberries (cut into slices)
2tbsp Orange Juice
2tbsp Sugar
¼ cup water

In a sauté pan add strawberries, OJ, sugar and water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cook until the syrup thickens.

Captain Morgan Whipped Cream:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water heated to create a sugar solution)
1 shot of Captain Morgan (or other spiced rum)

Combine whipping cream, simple syrup and spiced rum.  Pour the mixture into your whipped cream maker and charge.  Alternatively you can whip by hand until soft peaks form.

To assemble, add a small amount of strawberry syrup to the bottom of a sundae glass, fill the remainder of the glass with coke beignets.  Top with more strawberry syrup and a healthy dollop of Captain Morgan whipped cream, serve while the beignets are still warm.  Enjoy.