Apple Fritters

Until a few days ago, I was an apple fritter virgin. Seriously, I'd never tasted one, always pointing to Boston creme or glazed donuts at the donut shop.  But looking to turn my surplus of new crop apples into something yummy, I decided to try my hand at these treats. I was delighted to discover how easy and delicious they are -- the gratification is nearly instant!

These are old-fashioned, modest fritters. There is but one tablespoon of sugar in the entire recipe; the sweetness is derived from the apples.

The DH, an apple fritter lover from way back, prefers the supersized and frosted apple fritters that gained popularity in America along with so many "over the top" versions of almost everything.  (Note: you can make these larger and frost them, but I wanted to prepare the recipe in the spirit in which it was intended.)

This is a very simple c. 1940s recipe, part of a collection I purchased at a stoop sale in Park Slope. It uses ingredients you probably already have (see the mis en place below) and take just minutes to prepare.



Mix the ingredients together in a single bowl.



Add the sliced apples.



Mix them in thoroughly. It will seem like there's not enough batter to cover the apples (there is) but that's the point -- the apples are the stars in this confection.



Drop by tablespoon into hot vegetable or canola oil, turning a few times until the fritters are golden brown.



Drain on paper towels...



...and, using a sieve, sprinkle them with confectioner's sugar.



What's inside



The Executive Record and Travel Guide in which the recipe author (Grace Johnson, a woman who lived on 10th Street) recorded all of her recipes. You can read the story of Grace and her neighbor Jackie, who hosted the stoop sale, here.



The original recipe. Below the image, I've written out the steps more clearly.




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Apple Fritters

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup milk

1 well-beaten egg

Two medium apples, pared, cored and cut into slices

Mix all ingredients except the apples. Combine well.  Add the apples, stirring into the batter. 

Heat oil in a large (I used a 12-inch frying pan, and about 1.5 inches of oil) until hot. Temperature, if you want to measure, should be about 370 degrees.  If you don’t have a thermometer, that’s fine. Just put a small amount of batter into the oil to test.

Drop the batter into the hot oil using a regular tablespoon.  I turned them over with a fork, and when golden brown, removed them to paper towels using a slotted spoon.

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Sprinkle them with confectioner’s sugar.  Enjoy!

Pizza for Dessert!

This recipe is a pure fun -- and delicious -- trompe l'oiel of a dessert. Wish I'd made it for April Fool's Day, but didn't want to wait 11 months to post this. It's that good.  It is also very, very easy and would be a delightful baking project with children. The vintage recipe is from a collection I purchased on eBay last year.

Start by making the crust, which is much easier than pie (or pizza pie) crust.  Melted butter is simply stirred into some flour and confectioner's sugar.

Blend the mixture until it holds together.

Then simply pat it into a greased baking pan. I used a springform pan so it would be uniform and easily removable, but I think free form would work fine. And maybe look a bit more authentic.

Bake until the edges are slightly brown. Cool.

Next make the "cheese" topping by mixing softened cream cheese with sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice.

It's best to use a hand mixer for this task. I spread the mixture on the crust and refrigerated it for 30 minutes to firm it up, as I feared the strawberry mixture would bleed into the soft "cheese."

You can start the strawberries at any time. I bought a bag of whole frozen strawberries (I think it was either 12 or 15 ounces) and put them in a saucepan to cook down. I then added the cornstarch -- big mistake. I learned the hard way that adding dry cornstarch to hot liquid results in small white balls of starch, which need to be picked out one-by-one.  The way to do this is to make a slurry -- dissolve the cornstarch in a small amount of liquid -- and then add it.

Cornstarch slurry added to the strawberries, below.  I used a potato masher to break down the berries so the mixture would more closely resemble tomato sauce.

Place the "cheese" on the crust, top with the "sauce" and add some dollops of  "cheese" on top. Dot with fresh mint leaves and enjoy.

Enjoy a slice! And share the rest.

 Production notes: I followed this recipe exactly, and used a 9 inch springform pan.  Next time, I might try to simply pat the crust on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and go free form.  Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature, and make a slurry before adding the cornstarch to the strawberries.

Carol's Raw Apple Cake

This isn't a pretty dessert, and I was about to classify it among my many recent vintage recipe fails, until my son-in-law was crestfallen that, after eating one slice, there was no more left. Even the DS liked it. And so, with those endorsements, I bring you a simple raw apple cake. It is brimming with apples and is super moist as a result. It also takes just 15 minutes to make, and is super low-tech -- you only need two bowls, a spoon, a knife and a baking pan.

It's not apple season, but I wanted to bake a quick treat for the lovely workers in my house and I was a bit short on ingredients -- until I spied two apples in the fruit bowl. It was meant to be.

Start by peeling and chopping some apples.

Next, mix the wet ingredients -- just oil and eggs.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

 Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir in the apples and some nuts.

Spoon the batter into a greased pan and push to the edges. The batter is very thick.

Bake, cool and enjoy.

Production notes: I halved this recipe, using 1/4 c. oil, because I didn't have enough apples.  I used an 8 x 8 inch pan.  The batter was so thick and dry, that I added about 1/4 cup of water to make sure it held together. The only nuts I had -- slivered almonds -- worked just fine.