Time to Make the Donuts and Peach Fritters

I've never made donuts from scratch. When I was younger, I improvised by opening a can of biscuits, deep frying them, and tossing them in sugar. So, it's no surprise I jumped at the chance to learn how to make real donuts at The Chopping Block's Donut Boot Camp.

I loved all of the donuts that we made in my class last month:

• Beignets
• Apple Fritters
• Berry Bombs, which are Jam-Filled Raised Donuts with Strawberry Glaze 
• Sour Cream Cake Donuts with Vanilla Bean Icing and Pecan Streusel

Making those donuts got my wheels turning. Which donut would I recreate at home? I had never had an Apple Fritter before that day. I know you’re thinking. Who hasn’t eaten an apple fritter? That’s insane! The Apple Fritter was really good.

Here's The Chopping Block's recipe:

Apple Fritters

Yield: About 1 dozen
Active time: 30 minutes
Start to finish: 30 minutes

Oil for frying
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 large red apple, such as Honeycrisp or Fuji, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter, melted

For the glaze;
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot until it reaches 365°.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Toss in the diced apple.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla and milk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and add the melted butter. Mix until just combined.
4. Use a large spoon to carefully drop dollops of the dough into the oil. Fry the donuts 3 or 4 at a time for about 1 to 2 minutes per side or until deep golden brown. Adjust the flame under the pot as they cook to keep the temperature as close to 365º as possible.
5. Using a skimmer, transfer the donuts to a rack set over a sheet tray. Allow to cool before glazing.
6. Stir together the glaze ingredients, and drizzle the glaze over the fritters with a spoon. (Alternatively, the fritters can be sprinkled with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar while warm.)

I wanted to use a different fruit and decided on Peach Fritters. I also wanted to make them a little less cakey so I changed up the recipe a bit. The peaches I purchased were a little tart, so I added 2 tablespoons of triple sec to the diced peaches the night before and let them sit overnight. I used 1 cup of flour instead of 1-1/4, 2 tablespoons of sugar instead 1/3 cup, 2 eggs instead of one and 1-1/4 cup of peaches instead of apples.

Mise En Place

The first rule of cooking is getting all of the ingredients together first, or gathering your mise en place. It just makes cooking so much easier!

I melted the butter first to give it time to cool down before mixing the butter with the other wet ingredients. Once the dry ingredients are measured out the dry ingredients should be whisked together and set them aside.  Once the butter cools down, mix the wet ingredients together and added them to the dry ingredients. You don’t want to over-work the dough. Once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together the peaches should be folded in to the batter. Let the batter sit for approximately 20 minutes before scooping them into the oil.

Frying the Fritters

It is very important to have a frying station ready before you begin frying the fritters. You should have a sheet tray (or plate) lined with paper towel and a spider (a tool used to remove items from hot liquid), and a scoop or ladle by your side.

You want to cook the fritters in oil that is 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When frying the peach fritters remember the bigger you scoop them the longer they take to cook. If you want the Fritters to have a nice golden brown hue it’s best to make them smaller. The fritters take about 3 minutes on each side. Remove them from the pot and place them on the sheet tray. Once they are no longer oily, you can dip them in a glaze made with powdered sugar, milk and vanilla bean paste or toss them in a cinnamon sugar mixture.

We have another Donut Boot Camp coming up in a few weeks but it's already sold out! In order to satisfy that sweet tooth, try our Cupcake Boot Camp in June which has an equally enticing menu:

• Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream
• German Chocolate Cupcakes with Coconut Caramel Frosting
• Creamsicle Cupcakes
• Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting