Fruit Fritters in Beer Batter with Fresh Orange Sauce Recipe

#A light coating of batter allows fruit to be deep-fried while retaining its flavour and juice. The beer in the batter gives an especially crisp coating. Getting Ahead: The fruit, batter, and sauce can be prepared and kept, covered, in the refrigerator up to 6 hours. Add the whisked egg whites to the batter and fry just before serving.# Make the Batter: Sift the flour into a large bowl using the sieve or a flour sifter. Add the salt and make a well in the centre.

Add the whole egg and half of the beer to the well in the flour. “If too much liquid is added at this point, the batter will form lumps.”

Mix with the whisk to make a smooth paste. Mix in the remaining beer. Cover and let stand at least 30 minutes. “Continue whisking until batter is smooth” “The batter will thicken on standing.” #Make the Fresh Orange Sauce# With the vegetable peeler, pare the zest from one of the oranges. Cut the zest into thin strips.

Put the zest in the small pan and add water to cover it generously. Bring to a boil and simmer 2 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again. Transfer to a bowl.

Peel all 3 oranges with the chefs knife; working over a bowl, segment the oranges, reserving the juice. Add the segments to the strips of orange zest. “Tip orange segments and juice into bowl of orange zest” “Orange segments should be free of all pith”

Put the marmalade and orange juice in the small saucepan.

Heat gently until the marmalade is melted and smooth, stirring occasionally.

Let cool, then add to the orange segments and strips of zest and stir to mix. Taste the sauce and add sugar if needed, then chill until serving. #Prepare The Fruit# Peel the pineapple and cut it into rings. Peel the apples using the vegetable peeler. Force the apple corer into each apple, through the stalk end down to the base, and push out the cylinder containing the core and pips. “Corer removes apple core and pips neatly” “Steady hand on work surface while coring apple.”

Cut the apples across into rings about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick. “If preparing ahead, sprinkle the apples with lemon juice to prevent discoloration.”

Peel the bananas; cut diagonally into 2.5 cm (1 inch) slices. #Deep-Fry The Fritters# If necessary, thin the batter with a little more beer to the consistency of thin cream. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Sprinkle in the caster sugar and continue whisking until glossy, 30 seconds. “Add sugar while still whisking”

Add the egg whites to the batter and fold them together: cut down into the center of the bowl with the large metal spoon, scoop under the contents, and turn them over in a rolling motion. At the same time, with your other hand, turn the bowl anticlockwise. Continue folding until the egg whites are thoroughly incorporated.

Heat the nil in the deep-fat fryer to 190°C (375° F). Heat the oven to very low, for keeping fee fritters warm. “To test the oil temperature without a thermometer, drop in a cube of bread: it should turn golden brown in 40 seconds.”

Dip 4-5 apple rings in fee batter so they are completely covered. Wife fee 2-pronged fork, lift out one ring at a time and drain 1-2 seconds so excess batter drips into the bowl. Lower fee ring gently into fee hot oil, then add a few more rings, one at a time.  “Fry only a few pieces at a time” “Apple rings should have thin coating of batter” #TAKE CARE# It is important to deep-fry in small batches so the fryer is not crowded and the oil temperature remains constant.

Fry the fritters until crisp and brown on one side, 2-3 minutes, then turn with the slotted spoon and brown the other side.

Transfer the fritters to the baking sheet lined with several layers of paper towels. Keep warm in the oven with the door propped open. Dip and deep-fry the remaining apple, pineapple, and banana in the same way. “Lift fritters from fat with slotted spoon, tilting to pour off excess fat.” #TO SERVE# As soon as all the fritters have been fried, arrange them on a serving plate, sprinkle with the icing sugar, and serve. Pass the fresh orange sauce separately. “Fritters have crisp beer-batter coating” “Pineapple tops make a pretty decoration.”