Deep-Fried Apple & Cinnamon Fritters with Mince Pie Ice Cream

Homemade donuts and the fastest, easiest ice cream you'll ever make ;)

Okay. So.

Embarking on this week’s recipe, I agonised. You see, I wanted to call these crunchy, sugary, pillowy little dreamboats ‘donuts’ in the title but then I feared there would be a backlash from the Donut Purists who would demand a hole or glaze (sorry there was no other way to word that). But basically, these are fritter-like donuts or donut-like fritters – and sure look: whatever they are, they are deep-fried and tossed in cinnamon sugar so really, why quibble? They are delicious.

I decided to do a nod to Christmas in this week’s recipe with my super-easy-no-machine-or-annoying-churning-required mince pie ice cream recipe. I split up this week’s videos as well so if you’re only after one recipe demo or the other that should simplify things. Also I just really wanted to show off how quick the ice cream one is! Check out that sexy 3:04 minute time stamp ;)

These are a hit for dessert or a very top-shelf breakfast. And the mince pie ice-cream goes very well with any and all ice cream vehicles – your bread and butter pudding, your brownies etc etc. This recipe makes 25 little fritters and two tubs of ice cream (about 700ml) and I’d say people would have two or three fritters for a serving so you can half or double the recipe as you need.

If you’re doing them for a crowd, you can make them in advance and leave them on a tray under a cloth on the kitchen counter then right before serving, pop them in a very hot oven (200°Fan) for about three to five minutes so they crisp up again and then toss them in the cinnamon sugar and serve. I have also experimented with freezing these bad boys and am happy to report it works quite well. Just pop them in the freezer in a freezer bag then when you want to have them, defrost and reheat them in the oven as above and then toss in the sugar. All great options!

Right on with the show! As always the recipe videos are at the end of this piece and are perhaps even more deranged than usual this week (well, the fritters one is, the ice cream one is pretty sedate).

Deep-Fried Apple & Cinnamon Fritters with Mince Pie Ice Cream

Makes 25 fritters & approx 700ml ice cream

Ingredients for the ice cream:

200ml condensed milk

4 tbsps maple syrup

500ml cream

8 tbsps mincemeat (fruit mince)

In a bowl, stir the condensed milk and maple syrup together. Whip the cream until thick, then fold in the condensed milk mixture. Divide between two freezer-friendly boxes.

Add 4 tablespoons of mincemeat to each and stir through gently to get a kind of rippled effect.

Put in the freezer overnight and that, my friends, is it! No ice cream maker, no pulling it out of the freezer endlessly to break up the ice crystals. It is a magic ice cream recipe.

Ingredients for the fritters:

Approx. 500ml sunflower oil – you may need slightly more or less depending on what pot you use (I use quite a small one and fry the fritters in batches of three)

250g flour

75g sugar

2 tsps cinnamon

2 tsps baking powder

150ml milk

2 eggs

2 apples peeled, cored and chopped into roughly 1cm cubes

75g additional sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon for coating

First pour your oil into a pot. As you can see I use quite a small one when I’m deep frying and for this recipe, I fried the fritters in batches of three. Place the pot over a low-medium heat (on electric I choose the medium setting, on gas the oil heats a bit quicker and I set the heat a little lower). The trick with deep frying is to heat the oil slowly. If it gets too hot, it’s hard to cool it again so best to go slow and test it at intervals to get the right temp. (You can also use a thermometer obvs! But I prefer not to for these recipes as not everyone will have one).

So while your oil is heating (well out of the way of little hands/your own elbows!!!), make the batter. Whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, milk and eggs. Once smooth stir in the apple.

Now back to the oil, to test if it’s hot enough yet, carefully (just assume that you do everything carefully with the hot oil okay? So I don’t need to keep saying it – we’re all adults here!), drop in a tiny bit of the batter. It should drop to the bottom and immediately pop back up to the surface and start to fizz a bit. That means the oil is ready. Now start cooking the fritters.

Have a large plate ready beside you covered in a clean cloth or kitchen paper on which to place the batches of fritters. Carefully drop in (NOT FROM A HEIGHT!) little spoons of the batter. Aim for a large teaspoon amount to a small tablespoon. If that’s not to confusing (if any of this is confusing, check out the video to see it in action).

Cook the fritters for about three to five minutes, turning them over halfway through. You want them nice and golden and it’s a good idea to break open the first one or two to make sure the batter is getting cooked all the way through – if it’s not you may need to increase the heat on your oil slightly. Cook all your batter and toss the fritters in the cinnamon sugar then serve or store as described above depending on when you want to serve them.

Enjoy! And don’t burn the fuck outta yourself or anyone else.

A note on disposing of your oil: Allow the oil to cool completely in a safe place then pour into an empty plastic bottle or carton and place in the rubbish bin. Lol there’s my oil relaxing in the yard post-frying.

VIDEOS HERE!

Mince Pie Ice Cream:

Deep-Fried Apple & Cinnamon Fritters