BeaverTail is a popular food in Toronto and around the world (basically fried dough coated in cinnamon sugar), with many recipes depending on its location.
Who came up with the idea for BeaverTails?
The recipe for this sweet treat came from Grant Hooker’s German-Canadian grandmother, who used to make the bread for breakfast and top it with cinnamon sugar, butter and jam, or butter and honey. ‘keekla’ (Küchl or Kökle), a German dish that translates as ‘little cake’.
In 1978, they offered their first baked goods for sale at the Killaloe Craft and Community Fair. They established the first BeaverTails kiosk in Ottawa’s Byward Market two years later.
What is it?
The BeaverTail is a hand-pulled dough pastry recipe to mimic the long, flat tail of a beaver with whole wheat flour. Then, various wonderful decorations are on top, ranging from the traditional cinnamon and sugar to whipped cream and Nutella.
Contrary to common misconception, Quebec did not originate the Queues de Castor, in Canada’s second official language. However, did you know that they were also not created in Ottawa?
What materials do BeaverTails contain?
BeaverTails food’s original form is dusted with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Still, you may also top your pie with ingredients like chocolate hazelnut spread, maple cream, crushed chocolate bars or cookies, fruit, or even another Canadian tradition called poutine.
Utilizing ingredients from the cupboard, the dough comes together. They are a straightforward treat that doesn’t require any specialized ingredients to make.
In Toronto, beavertails can be prepared with whole wheat flour, all-purpose white flour, or a combination of the two. Since the dough is lighter and airier when made with all-purpose white flour, I prefer using it.
- Warm Milk: Milk is added to the dough, but it must be warm milk; otherwise, the dough will cool, and the rising process will be hampered (the milk needs to be microwaved for a few seconds until warm to touch)
- Melted butter – may be uniformly integrated into the dough.
- Vanilla: A tiny bit of vanilla in the dough creates the ideal amount of vanilla taste.
- A little salt
- Eggs
- Cinnamon and Sugar
- Warm water, instant or dry active yeast and sugar make up this recipe. Warm water, sugar, and yeast are initially blended to activate the yeast until it begins to puff up and form bubbles.
Because BeaverTails are so recognizable, references to Toronto, Canada have appeared in games like Trivial Pursuit and on shows like Jeopardy and South Park. Even an ObamaTail exists; it was made particularly for President Barack Obama on his visit to Ottawa in 2009 during his first tour to Canada as a representative of the United States. His pastry had a big chocolate and maple syrup-flavored “O” on top of the cinnamon and sugar.
Is it a Canadian-only brand?
The crisp but chewy texture and doughnut-like flavor of the BeaverTail won over tourists and locals in Toronto. As the word got out, the number of franchises increased over time. More than 140 places worldwide now have BeaverTails kiosks and food trucks. Throughout Canada, they sell at popular tourist destinations, including Niagara Falls, the Toronto shoreline, and Banff, a mountain resort town.
Additionally, beavertails are sold in Japan, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mexico, and France.
Is it available in the US?
Although the pastry shops started to grow in 2009, MyRecipes claims that BeaverTails food had just recently been available in the US. BeaverTails have been accessible in the US since about 2018. Additionally, franchisees are located around the nation in places like Utah, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Its Midwestern US cousin, the Elephant Ear, simply a less oblong (but equally enormous) piece of fried dough, is significantly less well-known than the BeaverTail.
How to make BeaverTails?
You may make BeaverTails recipes as national or as local as you choose, with the latter respecting Canada’s various regional cuisines. For instance, you may garnish the deep-fried dough with fresh salmon, cream cheese, and capers in Vancouver and Whistler on the west coast. In homage to Montreal’s renowned smoked deli meats, the Mont-Tremblant Ski Resort offers steak tails and ham-and-cheese tails. Even in Halifax, on the east coast, humans found a luscious lobster tail.
The best carnival food in Canada is BeaverTails! Cooked in a golden brown, cinnamon-sugar-coated, light, airy dough!
Beavertails Recipe
1, Combine the coating ingredients (sugar and cinnamon) on a big platter, then set it aside. Large bowl should be greased with oil or frying spray and kept aside.
2, Combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water in a large basin or the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Wait for five minutes. Then, combine warm milk, sugar, butter, salt, vanilla, egg, and oil.
3, Add the flour gradually, 1/2 cup at a time. After each addition, stir and clean the bowl’s inside. Mix the ingredients until smooth dough ball forms.
4, Place the dough ball in the oiled basin, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it in a warm place to rise for 30 to 45 minutes or until doubled.
5, On a level, floured surface, such as a kitchen counter, place the rising dough. Gently deflate and flatten into a rectangle. Make 8 equal pieces of dough. Give each component a narrow oval form (beaver tail shape). Cut little square portions out of the tops of the beaver tails using a sharp knife (to replicate a beaver tail).
6, Put the beaver tails on a baking sheet dusting with flour and cover with a lint-free cloth. Set aside 10 minutes for rising.
7, Heat enough oil to reach 2 inches up the sides of a large pan or deep pot over medium-high heat.
8, Fry the beaver tails in batches for 2 to 3 minutes each side, or until golden brown. Take out of the oil, pat dry with paper towels, and then quickly coat in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. To cool, place on a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining beaver tails.
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