Chinese Apple Toffee Fritters

There are a few things to keep in mind to make perfect apple toffee fritters; if the batter is too thick, the fritters won’t turn out very crispy and shall have a thick unpleasant skin once dipped in the toffee sauce. The consistency of the batter should be like that of crepes not pancakes.

The toffee sauce needs to be cooked till its glossy and sticky enough to stay set on the fritters. To check if the sauce is cooked, drop a little bit in iced cold water. If it sets immediately and doesn’t dissolve in the water then it is done. The iced water helps set the layer of toffee over fritters too. I have used brown sugar, white sugar can also be used to make toffee.

This dessert is perfect to finish off a hot and spicy Asian meal. As it gets done with few ingredients in a short time, it is just the thing for those ‘now or never’ kind of sweet cravings.

Peel the apples, cut into quarters and remove the cores.

Cut each quarter into half to make 24 pieces in all.Sprinkle 2 tablespoons corn flour and mix to coat the pieces thinly.

To make the toffee, heat oil, sugar and water in a sauce pan. Bring to boil while stirring continuously. Keep stirring and cooking till the sauce is silky smooth, glossy and thick enough to coat the apple pieces. Check by dropping a bit in iced cold water, the sauce should set immediately.

Remove from heat, keep warm while you make the fritters.

To make the batter, mix corn flour and beaten egg in a bowl. Add cold water gradually to make the batter smooth and consistency of crepes batter.

Heat oil for shallow frying in a pan. Dip a few pieces at a time in the batter, fry till golden and crisp on all sides. Don’t over crowd the pan.

Add lots of ice cubes and cold water to a big bowl. Keep a grease proof paper or a lightly greased plastic plate beside you.

Now using a pair of tongs or chopsticks, toss a few apple fritters at a time in the toffee sauce. Pick up toffee coated apples and put them in iced water for a few seconds only to set.

Place on the greased plate or paper, sprinkle with sesame seeds or crushed peanuts before serving.

Serve on their own or with your favourite ice cream flavour.