Chocolate Goes with Everything

• Even though chocolate is rich, its hints of bitterness balance the even richer flavor and texture of beignets. If you add other slightly bitter flavors to the chocolate, such as hazelnuts, espresso, cinnamon or citrus, it pairs even better with the pastry. To keep the balance of flavors, choose dark chocolate that has stronger bitter notes than milk chocolate, whose sweetness won't stand up as well to the sweetness and richness of beignets.

Fruitful Pairings

• Most any type of fruit sauce works well with beignets, with bright, fruity flavors offsetting the rich pastry dough. Lemon, lime or orange sauces along with bits of zest from the fruits provide a sharp contrast, while less tangy fruit sauces, such as raspberry or strawberry, provide less acidity, but still enliven the beignets. Fruit sauces can be smooth glazes, made from powdered sugar and crushed fruit, or they can resemble preserves, with bits of crushed fruit.

Custard and Cream Sauces

• Cream sauces give a smooth textural contrast to either sweet or savory beignets. Serve sweet custard sauces, such as creme anglaise, in a small bowl for dipping alongside breakfast beignets, and flavor them with cinnamon, vanilla, caramel or a teaspoon of flavored liqueur. Serve savory cream sauces, made without sugar or eggs, as a bed and as a topping sauce for luncheon beignets meant to be eaten with a knife and fork.

Savory Beignets

• While it's unlikely that you'll find a seaweed and tofu beignet in New Orleans, such savory beignets do appear at Alma restaurant in Los Angeles, served with a lime mayonnaise sauce that would also work with more classic savory beignets. More traditional Louisiana savory fillings include crab, mushroom or cream cheese with herbs. Yogurt or sour cream, flavored with chopped fresh herbs, garlic, salt and a splash of lemon juice gives you another option for a cool sauce for savory beignets of any sort.