Fritole

By
D2Kagw
on July 9, 2011

My Nonna's age-old recipe for the most delicious Italian treat there is!

This stuff is 100% delicious.
For those of you who've never heard of them before, they're like little doughnut balls filled with dried fruit and lots of booze.

The batter is easy to make, but be prepared to be standing over a deep fry for the next few hours.

Also note, the batter will last a day in the fridge, but the Fritole are best eaten on the day their cooked. They're not so bad the day after, but they start to become rubbery and tough if not stored correctly.

Method

Few notes before we get started, this recipe needs authentic Italian Vanilla Powder.
Don't think that you can simply replace it with vanilla essence or a vanilla pod, there's some other added ingredient in this powder that makes your food taste 'authentically italian'.
Most traditional grocers stock it, but you may need to hunt it down (buy a big pack, because it'll last you forever).

Ok, so lets get started!

1. Grab all the zest off the orange and lemon, then juice 'em
2. Peel then grate the apple
3. Soak the sultanas and apple in the Marsala for as long as you can bother (a good day of soaking will result in a tastier dish, but seriously, who has time)
4. Throw the eggs, milk, 1 1/2 cups of the sugar, vanilla powder, orange and lemon juice & zest into a bowl and mix until combined
5. Sift the flour and salt into the bowl and mix until combined
6. Fold in the sultanas, Marsala and apple
7. The mixture should have the consistency of toothpaste, thick enough to scoop and mould with a spoon, but runny enough that it's not thick and sticky - add more flour or Marsala to even out the mixture

Now, you're ready to fry.

Setup your deep fryer and your workflow - it's important you get it set up well so not to make a giant mess.

You'll need:
* a large tray with tissue paper to soak up excess oil
* a scoop to pick out the Fritole once they're cooked
* some teaspoons to scoop and form into spheres, or even better a piping set - it really helps when trying to make evenly sized fritole
* Caster sugar on hand to ice the babies when they're removed from the fry oil

Depending on the size of your deep fry you may be able to do many Fritole at a time.

One by one, scoop some batter (you only want about a teaspoon worth per Fritole) and drop it in the fry oil. Allow to cook for a moment and turn it using a spoon so it's evenly cooked.

Remove from the heat and put into the tray.

Regularly sprinkle over with sugar.

Each fritole should be a deep brown, but not burnt, and should be well cooked in the middle, not soggy or dough like - think of a Doughnut!

These guys are brilliant while they're still hot, so don't be surprised if most of them are eaten by the time you're done cooking :D