Apple Fritter Doughnuts

It probably won’t shock anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while: I love doughnuts. But apple fritters? They occupy their own sacred corner of my heart (and stomach).

Maybe it’s because when I was little, my mom only made fritters on the most special of mornings. She’d fry them in a cast iron skillet while the kitchen filled with the smell of hot oil and apples or peaches, and then she’d shower them in icing sugar until they looked like they’d been snowed on. The mess was spectacular, the kind that meant we were all eating breakfast in our pajamas with sticky fingers.

Or maybe my fritter love story really began later—those half-feral late-teen years when I spent more time at friends’ houses than my own. The air was thick with smoke, Sublime, Mos Def, or Blackalicious was always playing somewhere in the background, and mornings meant scavenging whatever my best friend had left us from her night shift at Tim Hortons. Those leftover doughnuts were currency; anyone who dared touch the fritters or sour cream cake doughnuts without asking…well, let’s just say there were consequences.

So yes, my love of doughnuts is baked (or fried) right into my DNA. I am, truly, one with the doughnuts, maaaaaaan.

And yes, I own a deep fryer. I don’t use it every day—this is a sometimes ritual—but when the craving strikes, nothing else will do. There’s something oddly meditative about frying: the hiss of the oil, the way the dough bobs and turns golden, the quiet satisfaction of glazing each one.

So really, what are you waiting for? Go make yourself some apple fritter doughnuts. You deserve a kitchen that smells like warm apples and sugar right about now.

One year ago: Top 10 Tips for Going Paleo
Two years ago: Paleo Pear Tart
Three years ago: Autumn Bake
Four years ago: Butternut Squash and Bacon Risotto
Five years ago: Pulled Pork Wraps with Coleslaw

Apple Fritter Doughnuts

A note on oils:

I am very particular about what oils I deep fry in. I choose to never use seed oils such as grapeseed, canola, soy or "vegetable oils" because they are very high in omega-6 fatty acids and I prefer to stay away from those (they are inflammatory to the body). Instead, I chose to deep fry in peanut oil, which is quite expensive, but rice bran oil, lard or coconut oil would also work. You can fill a deep pot and use a thermometer to deep fry if you do not have a deep fryer. Please dispose of your used oil responsibly!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings: 20 fritters

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• This recipe is adapted from the Moulinex recipe booklet

For the Fritters:

• 2 oz butter room temperature
• 12 1/3 oz pastry flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 7 oz unrefined natural cane sugar
• 6 1/4 oz plain kéfir
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 apple peeled, cored and finely diced

For the Glaze:

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

 

For the Fritters:

1. In a bowl, knead butter until soft and pliable.
2. In a separate larger bowl, sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Mix the sugar into the butter until combined, then add the kéfir, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
4. Scrape the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine. The batter will be thick but not doughy.
5. Stir in the apples and ready the deep fryer to 356°F.
6. Using two large spoons (regular table size large spoons, not serving size), scoop up enough batter to fill one spoon, then using the second spoon, scrape it off into the hot oil. This will create somewhat roundish little balls of awesome. Put only as many balls into the deep fryer as allows for at least an inch of space between doughnuts. Allow balls to cook 1-2 minutes or until golden brown, then gently roll over, using a spoon, and finish cooking for another 1-2 minutes.
7. Using a slotted spoon, gently scoop out the fritters and place on paper towels to drain. Brush with icing and allow to cool.
8. Fritters are best consumed within 24 hours but can be stored overnight at room temperature in an airtight container.

For the Glaze:

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk to avoid lumps. Brush onto hot doughnuts as they drain.