Little apple and walnut fritters

ingredients

• • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoon sugar
  • 65 gram butter
  • 2 tablespoon rum
  • 1 tablespoon sultanas
  • 2 tablespoon chopped walnuts
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • finely grated zest 1 lemon
  • finely grated zest 1 orange
  • 1 apple, peeled and grated (try Kempton, Ballarat or Braeburn)
  • 1 3/4 cup self-raising flour (see recipe tips)
  • 2 cup olive oil, for frying
  • icing sugar, for dusting

method

• • 1

    Add milk, salt and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to boiling point. Add butter and stir until it is dissolved. Leave to cool on a trivet or wooden board.

  • 2

    Place rum, sultanas and walnuts in a large bowl and soak for 5 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, lemon and orange zest and grated apple to bowl and stir to combine.

  • 3

    Gradually add flour and warm milk mixture to wet fruit mix by alternating a little flour and a little milk while whisking with a fork. You should end up with a wet-but-thick mixture that will drop off a spoon. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes.

  • 4

    Heat oil in a small pot on medium-high heat until very hot. Gently drop 1 tsp of mixture into oil as a test; if mixture turns golden quickly, the oil is ready.

  • 5

    Fry the fritters in batches of 4-6 by dropping dessertspoon-sized amounts directly (and carefully) into hot oil. Cook for 30 seconds until deeply golden then turn and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove and place on paper towels.

  • 6

    Sieve icing sugar over the fritters and serve immediately (see recipe tips).

notes

If you don't have any self-raising flour, make some by adding 1½ tsp baking powder to 1 cup plain flour. If the oil is not hot enough, the fritters won't cook quickly enough and they will be oily. They should turn golden very quickly. We recommend having a helper to dust the fritters and help with the serving as it is best to eat them right away.