I have been craving apple fritters for months and every time I get in the mood I’ve been missing one ingredient or another. When I got up early this morning, all the planets were in alignment and fritters were going to happen.
Apple fritters are normally an Autumn dish for me and I must confess that in my nearly all American heart, it IS Autumn. My head is filled with pumpkin carving ideas, pumpkin bread, Halloween goodies but then I look outside. It’s nearly 29C/84F, not a cloud in the sky, people paddling by on kayaks or heading to the ocean in big boats and I want apple cinnamon fritters for breakfast.
So that’s what I made.
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1½ cups finely diced apples (any type of apples you like)
- Canola oil, for frying
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk (may need more)
- drop of vanilla extract
- Place all dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together. (flour, sugars, baking powder, salt and cinnamon)
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients
- Add milk, butter, egg and vanilla.
- Stir just until combined.
- Gently fold in apples.
- Heat oil in large frying pan to about 350 F.
- Use a mini ice cream scoop or a spoon to scoop out small balls of dough and drop them into the hot oil. (large fritters might not cook in the center - small is better)
- Cook for about 1½ -2 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and let the other side brown for about a minute or so.
- Remove fritters from oil with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.
- Mix together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to create the glaze.
- Dip each doughnut bite into the glaze, covering completely. Let excess glaze drip off.
- Place on a wire rack over wax paper and let sit until glaze has hardened.
Now for a family update.
A few people have asked how my in-laws are getting along in the nursing home. I’m pleased to report that Rob is as happy as can be. When he comes over for a visit or for a meal, he’s eager to get back to his friends and the carers who look after him. He tells us stories about what goes on there and there’s one carer who really likes him and shares all the gossip. Rob knows who’s moving in, what’s coming up in the entertainment area and where the next outings in the bus are going.
He sits outside in the sun every morning to have coffee and cake and his meals are in the dining room with his friends Maureen and Phil. The three of them enjoy a glass of wine with dinner while telling stories of their travels around the world. The dining rooms each only hold 16 people so it’s more like family than an institution.
Then we have Joan, John’s mother. She has severe dementia and she’s in a secure unit in the same nursing home. Nothing is good there, the food is awful, the staff are awful, the residents are awful and she has nothing to do. Her room is ugly and she can’t get out. She’ll tell us this every time we visit. She’s so far along in the disease that she takes one old memory and tacks it on to another old memory and then decides that it happened just outside her room yesterday.