Fritters
The numerous fritter recipes for sweets may all be grouped into five leading classes, viz.:—
(1) Fruit fritters.
(2) Custard fritters.
(3) Viennese fritters.
(4) Souffléd fritters.
(5) Sundry other fritters which are more or less like the four former ones without entirely resembling them.
[2419—Class 1. FRESH FRUIT AND FLOWER FRITTERS]
Subject to the treatment undergone by them, fruits for fritters are of two kinds: firm fruits, such as apples and pears, and aqueous fruits, such as strawberries, &c.
[2420[!-- TN: original reads "420" --]—FRITTERS OF FRUIT WITH FIRM PULPS Ex. APRICOT FRITTERS]
Select some apricots that are not over-ripe; cut them in two; sprinkle them with sugar, and set them to macerate for an hour in kirsch, brandy, or rum, subject to the consumers’ tastes. A few minutes before serving, dry the halved apricots, dip them in batter (No. [234]), and fry them in hot fat. Drain them on a napkin; set the fritters on a tray; cover them with icing sugar, and glaze them in a hot oven or at the salamander. Dish them on a napkin, and serve them at once.
N.B.—Proceed in precisely the same way for Apple, Pear, Peach, or Banana fritters.
[2421—AQUEOUS-FRUIT FRITTERS Ex. STRAWBERRY FRITTERS]
Select some large, somewhat firm strawberries; sugar them copiously; sprinkle them with kirsch, and let them macerate on ice for thirty minutes.
It is most essential that the strawberries be well sugared before macerating, because the heat of the fat sours them while the fritters are being fried, and they consequently become tart.
A few minutes before serving, drain the strawberries, dip them in batter (No. [234]), and plunge them into very hot fat. Drain them, dish them on lace paper, and sprinkle them with icing sugar, by means of a dredger.
[716]
]N.B.—The procedure is the same for Raspberry, Red-currant, Cherry, Orange, and Tangerine fritters. For the last-named, it is better to quarter them and peel them raw, than to slice them.
[2422—FLOWER FRITTERS. Ex. ACACIA-FLOWER FRITTERS]
Select some blown acacia flowers; besprinkle them with sugar and liqueur brandy, and leave them to macerate for thirty minutes.
Dip them in batter (No. [234]); plunge them into plenty of hot fat; drain them; sprinkle them with best sugar and dish them on a napkin.
N.B.—Proceed as above for Elder-flower, Lily, and Vegetable-marrow-flower fritters; but in the case of the last two, the quartered corollæ, alone, are used.
[2423—CUSTARD FRITTERS OR FRIED CREAM]
Custard fritters may be prepared in the three following totally different ways.
1st Method.—Cut up preparation No. [2400] with a round, square, or lozenge-shaped fancy cutter, as taste may dictate. Treat the resulting pieces of custard twice [à l’anglaise], using very fine and fresh bread-crumbs for the purpose. Press upon the bread-crumbs with the blade of a knife that they may adhere properly, and fry the pieces of cream in very hot fat. On taking the fritters out of the fat sprinkle them with icing sugar, and dish them on a napkin.
N.B.—Instead of treating these fritters [à l’anglaise], they may be dipped into batter and treated as directed in the case of Apricot fritters.
2nd Method.—Prepare a custard as for a “crème renversée” (No. [2639]), using only whole eggs, that it may be firm; and poach it in a utensil of a shape which will facilitate the cutting-up of the preparation. When the latter is quite cool, cut it up as fancy may suggest; dip the pieces in batter (No. [234]) and plunge them in plenty of hot fat. Drain them on a piece of linen; sprinkle them with icing sugar; glaze them in a fierce oven, and dish them on a napkin.
3rd Method.—Prepare some common-shaped [meringues], and keep them very dry.
When they have cooled, open them slightly on top, and, through the hole in each, fill them either with a Bavarois preparation, with some kind of ice-cream, or with a fruit [salpicon] thickened with stewed apricots or plums. Close the holes with the pieces that were cut out, and place the [meringues] in the refrigerator for an hour.
[717]
]When about to serve them, quickly treat them [à l’anglaise]; set them (opened side uppermost) in a frying-basket, and dip them for a few seconds in smoking fat. Withdraw them as soon as their crusts have acquired a golden colour; sprinkle them with icing sugar; dish them on a napkin, and serve them immediately.
[2424—VIENNESE FRITTERS]
Quantities for the paste of Viennese fritters: one lb. of flour; six oz. of butter; half oz. of yeast; five eggs; half oz. of salt; two-third oz. of sugar; and one-sixth pint of milk. This paste is prepared exactly like Brioche paste (No. [2368]).
In any case, as it has to be worked with the rolling-pin, always keep it a little firm.
[2425—HOT VIENNESE FRITTERS]
Roll out a piece of the paste given above to a thickness of one-fifth inch.
Spread upon it, at regular intervals, small quantities (about the size of a large walnut) either of stewed fruit or jam. Moisten slightly; cover with a second layer of paste, of the same size and thickness as the former; press upon it with the back of a round cutter, so as to ensure the joining of the two layers of paste, and then stamp the whole out with an even cutter two and a half inches in diameter.
Set the fritters on a tray covered with a flour-dusted piece of linen; let the paste ferment for thirty minutes, and then fry them in plenty of hot fat. Drain them; sprinkle them with icing sugar and dish them on a napkin.
N.B.—These fritters may be accompanied by frothy sauces, flavoured with vanilla, lemon, orange, coffee, or kirsch, &c., the type of which is the Sabayon with cream.
[2426—COLD VIENNESE FRITTERS]
Roll out a piece of the paste prescribed, which should be kept somewhat soft, and stamp it out with a round cutter two and a half inches in diameter. Set half of these roundels of paste on buttered sheets of paper, lying on trays; garnish them either with stewed fruit or jam; slightly moisten their edges; cover them with the remaining roundels of paste, and let the paste ferment for thirty minutes.
A few minutes before serving, grasp the ends of the sheets of paper; plunge the fritters into plenty of hot fat, and withdraw the sheets of paper as soon as the fritters fall from them.
[718]
]Drain them as soon as they begin to colour; and plunge them immediately into a light, hot syrup, flavoured as fancy may dictate. Withdraw them as soon as they are beginning to be saturated, and serve them cold.
N.B.—In the case of either of these two methods of serving Viennese fritters, the latter, which are served under the name of “fritters à la Dauphine,” may be garnished with fruit [salpicons] or cream preparations.