Start with 3 apples – whatever kind you like; ideally, they should be crisp; I like Fuji or Braeburn, but if all you have are some sad, mealy Red Delicious, use them, you’ll be doing them a favor
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) apple cider
- 2/3 cup (152 g) more apple cider
- 1 egg, beaten, or egg substitute
- 3 Tablespoons melted butter or vegan butter
- oil for frying
- thermometer for checking the oil temperature
Peel and dice the three apples. Soak them in a cup of cider, and set aside to soak anywhere from an hour to a day. A 1-pint plastic takeout container is very useful for this.
Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl, and whisk to combine.
Fill a medium-sized pot 3 to 4 inches full of vegetable oil, and place it over medium-high heat, while you finish mixing your fritter batter.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in your bowl, and stir to combine. Drain the diced apple, set 2 Tablespoons of that drained cider aside, then drink the rest.
Stir as much of the apple into the batter as you can. Force the issue if you have to. “Yes, I know it’s crowded,” you can tell the apple. “Think of this as a pajama party with destiny.” (I’m not sure what that means either, but the apple chunks will be a little confused after soaking in cider all day and will probably be happy to have somebody act like they know what they’re doing.)
Check the temperature of your oil. You’re shooting for something in the neighborhood of 365°F. When the oil is hot enough, scoop 1/3 to 1/2 cup of fritter batter into it. A large ice cream scoop is about the right size.
This is the point where recipes will tell you not to crowd the pan. This means that you want to keep the oil hot enough that the fritters will cook crisply and evenly on the outside. You will probably notice that as you add fritter batter to the pan, the temperature of the oil will drop. It’s a good idea to fry one or maybe two fritters at a time. Hot oil will create a crust to keep the oil out of the inside of the fritters. If the oil drops in temperature too much, the fritters will end up greasy.
After about two minutes, flip the fritters with a slotted spoon or a pair of tongs to submerge the other side in the hot oil. When they are deeply golden brown, remove them from the oil and drain on a towel or paper towels. Wait for the oil to come back to 365°F, then gently scoop more batter into the pan. Repeat this until you use up all the batter.
Once the fritters have drained and cooled a little, glaze them.
Glaze
Mix 1 cup (114 g) of powdered sugar with the 2 Tablespoons of cider you set aside a few minutes ago. Whisk it to combine, then drizzle it over the cooling fritters and leave them to get to know each other for 10 minutes or so.
There is a jazz classic called “Green Onions” by Booker T and the MGs. I maintain that while there is some music that is as good as “Green Onions,” there is almost nothing better. A warm apple fritter, fresh from the fryer — crispy, tender, sweet, and fruity — is much the same. There are a few things as good — the laughter of a small child, seeing Casablanca for the first time (but wait until you’re at least 30, first), or drinking a perfectly made and chilled cocktail after a hard day — but very few things are better.
Especially with some vanilla ice cream.
Serving suggestion: Eat these with vanilla ice cream, while listening to “Green Onions.”
Featured Photo: Photo by John Fladd.