Have you ever heard of a beignet? These square-shaped, deep-fried pastries with French roots are popular in New Orleans Creole cuisine. They’re typically served hot and fresh with a coating of powdered sugar for breakfast or dessert. Sounds pretty good, right? You’d usually be hard-pressed to find these babies in Sydney. But thanks to an innovative new business filling the square-shaped hole in the local doughnut market, you can get them delivered right to your door.
“There's something about beignets that appeal to everyone young and old. Kids love them because of the cloud-like copious amounts of sugar, adults love them with a cup of bitter coffee for balance,” Bec Deasy and Joshua Dinata from Babycheeks Beignets tell us. “There is also something moreish about the texture – it's crispier, lighter and chewier than the usual holed doughnuts. It’s like a cross between the average holed doughnut and the Chinese doughnuts (You Tiao, 油条).”
The pair, who are cousins, started up Babycheeks on Instagram recently as a weekend side hustle – Bec works in production and media and Josh has previously worked as a chef and restaurant/bar owner briefly in Indonesia (where their families are from). The pair home cook, fry, and deliver orders on the same day to ensure freshness.
“We've always had a deep appreciation for the simple doughnut and with so many exciting and adventurous flavours already on offer in Sydney, we thought to kick it back and hero the foundations that make a great doughnut – good fried dough and powdered sugar. Our crux is about appreciating simplicity but in saying that, we're not against playing around with flavours in the future.”
The business has absolutely taken off, with customers needing to get in quick before the week’s batch sells out. If you want to get your mitts on a batch of beignets, give them a follow on Instagram – @babycheeksbeignets – and slide into the DMs to place an order. A website is in the works, but this is the only channel to order for now. The soft launch prices for July are 20 pieces for $25, 30 pieces for $33, or 50 pieces for $50 (larger quantities can also be accommodated). Delivery is $5 within a 30km radius of the Sydney CBD. Anyone beyond this radius can message the team to work something out. Order cut-off is usually the day before batch delivery, which is updated on Instagram, unless sold out prior.