Mardi gras 2023: bugne, waffle, earbud… our carnival donut recipe ideas

MARDI GRAS. Donut, bugne, pancake, this Tuesday, February 21, 2023, we eat fat. What are the different donut recipes depending on the region? Where does the custom of disguise come from? What is the French Mardi Gras tradition?

[Mis à jour le 20 février 2023 à 16h15] Like every year, Mardi Gras is an opportunity for those with a sweet tooth to get through the winter cold with their bellies full of good things. And it is an understatement if in France, in terms of traditional beignet recipes, the possibilities are endless: from crispy bugnes from Lyon to the well-buttered Nord-Pas-de-Calais waffle, via the soft donuts of the recipe nun’s farts from Franche-Comté.

Go even further south of France with donuts flavored with lemon zest or myrtle eau-de-vie from the Provençal or Corsican atria recipe… And for those who have little time to cook, we give you the simple recipe for donut dough, to decorate with chocolate, icing sugar, honey, maple syrup, jam… To each his own. All our recipe ideas below, and get to your stove!

Each region has its own Mardi Gras recipe. There is something for all tastes and for all traditions, and of course, each region claims to have the “real” Mardi Gras recipe. It’s up to you to choose from the traditions of our regions of France:

• THE waffles authentic, tasty and crispy in the North, with butter of course! You can garnish them with chocolate, jam or icing sugar.
• In Dunkirk, for the last day of the “Trois Joyeuses”, we eat pancakes, waffles, apple donuts or ch’nord crispswith orange zest.
• THE Bugnes of Lyonspecialties of ancient Rome, which in Italian are called chiacchiere, and which the French wrongly appropriate!

  

• THE Nice braidspuffed and crunchy at the same time, famous during the Carnival of Nice.
• THE Pets Of Nun or beugnets in Franche-Comté made with choux pastry fried in a ball.
• THE fruit bats in Strasbourg, with varied geometric shapes, often fluted and flavored with kirsch.
• THE wonders from Provence or Gascony, nicely browned and crispy, with orange blossom.
• THE crochepettes in the Landes, specially inflated donuts.
• THE pellets from Perpignan, or more broadly from Roussillon, light and round.
• THE Bottereaux in Vendée, from a leavened and firm dough.
• THE beugnot in the Vosges.
• THE Headsets in Provence or Corsica.

Do you lack inspiration this year to celebrate Mardi Gras in the rules of gluttony? Find all our best recipe compilations below:

Are you getting into homemade donuts but don’t have much time? We reveal to you the best donut dough recipeeasy and quick (5 minutes of preparation, 15 minutes of cooking!) for homemade donuts that have nothing to envy to regional recipes, with a dough flavored with lemon or orange zest, which is sprinkled with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon or which can be garnished with jam or Nutella… Bon appétit!

Why do we feast on marvels, bugnes and other donuts (but also waffles, pancakes and churros) at Mardi Gras? According to Nadine Cretin, holiday historian interviewed by Madame Figaro, eating in abundance is traditionally customary on the eve of the fast of Lentbut also the return of springwith a “feast that included meats and fatty broths and ended with simple pastries: crepes or donuts, bugnes lyonnaises, wonders of Aquitaine or waffles“.

For the one who is also the author of “Festivals of the table and food traditions” (Ed. Le Pérégrinateur) and of “Fête des Fous, Saint-Jean and Belles de Mai. The festivals of the calendar” (Ed. Seuil) the Mardi gras “implied prosperity, fertility, the return of lactation in stables and sheepfolds, the renewal of nature”.

It is in the independent municipalities of Italy that the carnival as we know it today would have been born. Notably in Venice: from the 11th century, the period preceding Lent gave rise to celebrations encouraged by the authorities, who saw it as an opportunity to strengthen civic spirit. Masks appear in the 13th century: they reinforce anonymity and allow excesses. The social roles are reversed, the games and amusements reinforce the animation of the districts.

The Italian tradition is spreading, particularly in central Europe (Switzerland, West Germany, Belgium, northern France) and then in the Americas. Today, all disguises are allowed. Among the most frequent, those from the Commedia dell’arte, a genre of popular Italian theater that appeared in modern times. Harlequin, good living, wears a suit patched with multiple colors, the obsessed old Pantalone walks around with tight stockings, affirming his virility. As for the coarse Polichinelle, he is distinguished by his protruding belly and his falsetto voice…These costumes, designed in the 16th century, allowed the characters to be immediately recognizable to the public, regardless of the theater group or the place of representation… At this time of the year and in memory of this tradition, the stores offering costumes were taken by storm.

Each year, sweet dishes are distributed in schools, to satisfy the taste buds of gourmet children. The latter were also the first to get their hands dirty: at the time, children dressed up to ring the doorbell, in order to gather all the ingredients needed to prepare pancakes, as well as to Candlemas. A recipe that is child’s play: a well of flour, a few whole eggs, butter and (a little) sugar, all gently whisked in with milk. Breton grandmothers recommend adding rum and beer… in moderation!

In 2023, Mardi Gras is set for February 21, a frequent situation because Mardi Gras takes place more in February than in March. The next Mardi Gras dates fall either in February or March, but, as the name of the celebration suggests, always on a Tuesday. What are the exact days concerned until 2025? In 2024, Mardi Gras is set for February 13, followed by March 4, 2025 and February 17, 2026.

Easter comes as always 47 days after Shrove Tuesday. This festival is directly linked to the carnivals that take place around the world. It marks the last day of the festivities, as is the case of the Carnival of Dunkirk which celebrates the last day of the “Trois Joyeuses”.

Mardi Gras did not have the privilege of being a holiday. There are only eleven public holidays in France which are: New Year ; Easter Monday ; Labor Day, Armistice of 1945 And Ascent in May ; Whit Monday in June ; National holiday of July 14; Assumption in August ; Toussaint ; Armistice of November 11 1918 and Christmas.