Apple Fritters

by Brian Patton

My kids saw an apple fritter at a donut shop, and they were obsessed with these giant, mysterious, glistening wonders. So they bugged me to make vegan ones, and I did. They're amazing!

Makes 4 big ones.

2 medium sized apples, peeled, cored, and diced (about 400g after coring and peeling)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
220g all purpose flour
60g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of ground ginger (about 1/16 teaspoon, if you like numbers)
Pinch of cardamom (about 1/16 teaspoon, if you like numbers)
125ml plain unsweetened milk
90g applesauce
Enough oil to be one inch deep in whatever pan you’re using
Flaky salt to finish

For the Glaze 
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk

Toss the apples with the vinegar and set aside.

In a mixing bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom, whisk to combine.

In a measuring cup whisk together the milk and applesauce until combined.

Add the milk mixture and the apples to the dry mix, and fold together until there are no dry spots. Don’t over mix. Let rest for 8-10 minutes while you heat the oil.

In a deep, preferably cast iron skillet, heat oil to 375.

When the oil is ready, add 1 cup of batter to the oil, and spread it out into an elongated shape.

Fry for 3-4 minutes per side until browned. Flipping the big ones is tricky, so if you aren’t feeling confident about the flip, you can do smaller ½ cup portions of the batter to make it more manageable.

Remove and place on a wire rack or paper towels to cool and drain.

Whisk together glaze ingredients until smooth.

When cool enough to handle, dip the top side of each fritter in glaze, and sprinkle with flaky salt.