Crullers
One cup sugar, one-third cup butter, one-half cup milk, onethird teaspoon soda, one and one half tablespoons brandy or wine, two eggs, nutmeg and salt; flour enough to roll nicely.
A typical late-nineteenth-century fried cake, written in the shorthand of a cook who already knew what crullers looked like. The recipe gives no flour quantity and no frying instruction, so both need filling in.
- Flour, the missing number"Flour enough to roll nicely" will take somewhere around 3 cups for this quantity of liquid, though the exact amount depends on the flour and the size of the eggs. Add it a half-cup at a time until the dough is soft but not tacky; too much makes the crullers tough and bready.
- Soda with no acidOne-third teaspoon of soda has little to react with here: the milk is sweet, and a tablespoon and a half of brandy or wine adds only a trace of acid. Baking powder in its place (allowing rather more than the third of a teaspoon, since it is weaker by volume), or souring the milk, gives a better rise.
- Frying, which the recipe omitsCrullers are deep-fried, not baked. Bring 2 to 3 inches of neutral oil or shortening to 365–370F and fry the cut strips or twists about 1 1/2 minutes a side, until deep gold; below 350F they absorb fat, above 380F the outside colors before the center sets.
- Rolling and cuttingRoll to about 1/3 inch. The traditional shape is a strip four or five inches long, slit down the middle and one end drawn through, or simply two strips twisted together. Chill the dough 30 minutes first so it handles cleanly.
- The brandyBrandy, wine or rosewater turns up often in nineteenth-century fried-cake recipes. Alcohol limits gluten development, and it is frequently said to make fried dough less greasy, though that is hard to confirm. It also contributes flavour, and can be left out.
- Nutmeg and saltNo amounts given. About 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon salt suits this batch; nutmeg is a common seasoning in period fried cakes.
- YieldAbout two dozen crullers. Drain on a rack rather than paper and dust with sugar while still warm.
Cruller is generally derived from the Dutch krullen, to curl, and the twisted cake came to America with Dutch settlers in the Hudson Valley — Washington Irving names the "crisp and crumbling cruller" among the Dutch tea-table cakes in his 1809 History of New York (the Knickerbocker history). By the time collections like this one were printed, the cruller had spread well beyond Dutch households and become one of the standard sweet fried cakes of the American kitchen, usually rolled and cut rather than dropped or ring-cut, and raised without yeast.