Cardamom & Apple Fritters

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Serves 4 | Prep: 15mins | Cook: 15 mins

A wonderful autumn or winter treat, these fritters don’t take long to whip together. Any apples will do, but I prefer tart green or cooking apples.

The sparkling cider adds a wonderful edge while the cardamom pairs wonderfully and adds some underlying warmth.

• Equipment

  • mortar and pestle

  • peeler

  • knife

  • large pan

  • spatula

  • grater

  • sieve

  • whisk

  • measure

  • tablespoons

  • fork

• Ingredients

  • 10 green cardamom pods

  • 300g apples

  • 1 tsp. cinnamon

  • 1 heaped tbsp. brown sugar

  • fresh nutmeg

  • 200g plain flour

  • 2 tsp. baking powder

  • 30g white sugar

  • ½ tsp. salt

  • 100ml sparkling cider

  • 50ml melted butter

  • 1 egg

  • canola oil, for frying

  • icing sugar

• Method

  1. Crush the cardamom pods with a mortar and pestle to remove the seeds, discarding out shell. Grind the spice to a fine dust. If you are using pre-ground cardamom then use about 1 tsp. for this recipe.

  2. Peel the apples and slice into small chunks, between ½ and ¼ on an inch. Heat some butter in a pan on medium high until beginning to toast and brown and add apples. After two minutes add the cardamom followed by cinnamon and brown sugar. Grate a bit of the fresh nutmeg over the mixture and stir. You do not want to overcook the apples, just take the raw edge off them. Turn off heat and set aside to cool.

  3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and add the white sugar and salt. Beat the egg and add it in along with the apple mixture, 50ml of melted butter and sparkling cider. Mix well to combine. If the mix seems overly wet add a touch more flour, if too dry add more cider. You are looking for it to be a thick but scoopable batter.

  4. Heat a few inches of oil in a large pan. Test a small dollop of batter. If it sizzles straight away the oil is hot enough. Scoop with a large tablespoon, using another to drop it carefully in. You can cook 4 -5 at a time, making sure the oil doesn’t cool down too much. Cook for about a minute on each side until golden brown before turning with a fork. Take out of oil and place on wire rack.

  5. You can serve your fritters simply dusted with sugar or cinnamon, or both. A simple glaze can be made with icing sugar and a drop of sparkling cider.

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