Every two years, the gnarled old apple tree in my parents’ garden bursts into life. First, with an abundance of sweet blossom in the spring, and then with a harvest of more apples than any family could possibly hope to eat in a year, let alone in the few weeks of summer that they need to be picked.
So I’m always trying to come up with new recipes to use up the glut. This year, we’ll be munching these spiced apple fritters while sitting in the garden with a glass of chilled apple juice.
Spiced apple fritters
Pectin is a sugar that acts as the magical gelling agent in jams. Adding extra pectin to this apple sauce allows you to cut down on some of the sugar, and it will leave you with a fruitier taste, too.
Prep 15 min
Cook 25 min
Makes 25-30
For the fritters
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp salt
180g whole milk
60g dark brown sugar
2 medium eggs, beaten
40g unsalted butter, melted
2 large apples (I like granny smith)
250ml vegetable oil, for frying
For the apple sauce
250g cloudy apple juice
40g apple pectin (I use Certo)
100g granulated or caster sugar
Juice of 1 small lemon
Greek yoghurt, to serve
To make the apple sauce, put the apple juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Continue to simmer until halved in volume, then add the pectin, sugar and lemon juice. Boil for another five minutes, until the mix has started to thicken, then set aside to cool.
Sieve the flour, baking powder, spices and salt into a bowl. Warm the milk and sugar in the microwave – just 30 seconds or so, to help dissolve the sugar – then pour the mixture over the dry ingredients, followed by the eggs and melted butter. Stir until you have a thick batter, adding a little extra milk if it is too thick.
Peel, core and grate the apples, then stir them into the batter. To cook the fritters, pour the oil into a large frying pan and get it to a hot temperature, but not smoking. Spoon heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture into the pan and fry for about 40 seconds on each side, until they are a deep, toasted brown. To keep the cooked fritters warm while you fry the rest, transfer to a plate and put in an oven heated to 120C (100C fan)/250F/gas ½.
When ready to serve, enjoy with a spoonful of yoghurt and a dab of apple sauce.
