I love Tastespotting. My sister hooked me on it. Its terrible for me to look at pictures of amazing looking food and not be able to make half of it. But I found these little Apple Fritter Poppers on there sometime last fall. I've since made them both as a dessert to serve at an evening meeting (they were well-liked by all!) and to serve my family for breakfast. Yep, you can make them really quickly and that makes them a good breakfast option, too! You can dip them in the Apple Cinnamon Glaze or just roll them in cinnamon sugar. Both are great! I hope you enjoy these as much as my family has!
Apple Fritter Poppers
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
2 eggs
2 Tbs lemon juice
zest of one lemon (opt)
2 tsp vanilla
2 small-medium sized apples, cored, peeled and chopped small
Oil for deep frying (canola works best)
In a large bowl, stir together all dry ingredients. Make a well and add the wet ingredients; stir together well. Add the apple and mix just until well blended.
In a deep fryer or large saucepan, heat a few inches of oil. If you have a thermometer, it should register about 350-375F (180-190C). Put in a small amount of batter to test the temperature of the oil and adjust accordingly. Drop 4-8 scoopfuls of the batter into the oil (depending on size of skillet). Do not overcrowd. The fritters should float to the top and double in size.
Deep fry until dark, golden brown on the first side--about 2 minutes--then flip and cook for another minute. Remove with slotted spoon and place on paper towel lined plate to drain. Repeat until batter is finished. Let cool completely if glazing. If using cinnamon sugar coating, dip while still warm so it sticks well.
Apple Cinnamon Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs apple juice
Place ingredients in small bowl and mix well. Dip cooled fritters in glaze to coat. Place on wire cooling rack and allow excess glaze to drip off.
Cinnamon Sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Mix together in small bowl. Roll warm fritters in sugar mix. Make sure to coat completely.
Notes: I have made these with lemon juice or lime juice. I've made them with and without zest. Both ways were good. I also didn't have vanilla one time and it wasn't the end of the world!
oh. my. word. these sound awesome!! i'm so going to try these this weekend! (for breakfast of course!! :)
ReplyDeleteAt first, I figured we wouldn't make these, but then we had one of those days that we just needed a treat. I was able to whip these up quickly one evening for a yummy dessert. We all loved them, especially the glazed! Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteCheryl
Hi, I want to make these soon, but am wondering about the canola oil. Is it available at the local markets in China? (I'm in a different city than you.) I commonly see soybean, sunflower, fish?, and olive oils, but not sure about canola. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHey felderfam--Canola (菜油) is all over our stores--even little ones! Bottles of it usually have little yellow flowers on them! That oil with the fish on it is just the brand (Arawana). Though the red label one has a funky flavor to me! I usually buy that brand of soybean oil (大豆油). You can probably also get peanut oil--it seems readily available. It is also a good choice of oil for deep frying. But it has a very distinct flavor and smell that I don't care for! Canola and Peanut oils have a high smoke point that make them better for frying (they can get hotter before smoking). I also use SoyBean oil as that's what I keep stocked usually. Its not the end of the world. It will work fine if you don't feel like finding the Canola! Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteGreat, I'll look for it next time! Let me pick your brain again..what's the difference between all the different types of flour? Last time, I just bought the 5kilo bag that was on sale. I could tell it was different than all-purpose b/c it was a little clumpy. It didn't cause me any problems baking, but just wondering if some are better than others. I tried to ask, but my Chinese is limited. :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. I made your crescent rolls last week. They were the first successful yeast dough items I've ever made. Success in the kitchen--especially here--makes life easier! So thanks for sharing..and including tips for us beginners!
Felderfam--http://www.market2meal.com/2011/03/how-to-choose-right-flour.html See if this post helps a bit. I need to update it a bit (I thought I had! Ugh!)
ReplyDeleteOkay...I think I updated it now. The best option for all-purpose flour is tejingfen. I find it from sauce/dry good sellers in the fruit/vegetable market. Another option is using high or low gluten flours depending on what you're making. What I've found is that most flours in the store are self-rising. And I've found that the ones that say jiaozifen 饺子粉 often don't work very well--not to the level I'd like anyway! And if you tell a girl on the aisle you want the best one for bread they'll likely give you self-rising!
ReplyDeleteHow many fritter balls does a recipe usually make?
ReplyDeleteOh goodness I haven't made them in quite a long time, but guessing 20-25 if you used a 1 inch cookie scoop type size?
Deleteok. Thanks.
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