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Batter, French
Melt an ounce of butter by pouring over it about an eighth of a pint of boiling water, and again cool it by means of three-quarters of cold water. Mix it gradually and smoothly with six ounces of dried flour. A very little pinch of salt must be put to the batter if it is for fruit, but it will require more if the fritters are savoury ones. If the batter be too thick, put a little more water, and when all is ready beat up the white of an egg to a froth, and stir it into the batter. This forms an excellent batter for apple, peach, or orange fritters. Probable cost, 6d.
A lean frying batter of the old French type: no whole egg, no leavening, just flour, water, melted butter and a whipped white folded in at the last moment. It fries lighter than a milk-and-egg batter and is worth knowing.
- The hinge: fold the white in lastThe beaten white is the only lift in the batter, and it collapses quickly. Whip it to soft peaks, fold it through with a spatula, and start frying at once rather than letting the bowl stand.
- The ambiguous water measureAn eighth of an imperial pint is 2.5 fl oz (about 70 ml). "Three-quarters of cold" gives no unit — it most likely means three-quarters of the same eighth-pint measure, roughly 2 fl oz, which with 6 oz flour makes a thick coating batter. Add cold water by the spoonful until it just coats the back of a spoon.
- Weights1 oz butter is 30 g; 6 oz flour is 170 g, a scant cup and a half. Weigh the flour if you can — scooped cup measures will throw the ratio out badly at this hydration.
- "Dried flour"Victorian flour was stored in damp larders and was often warmed by the fire or spread in a slow oven to drive off moisture. Modern packaged flour needs none of this; sift it and move on.
- Melting the butter in boiling waterThis may be aiming at a warm emulsion rather than clear melted fat, which would explain why the cold water follows immediately. Pour the water over the butter, stir until it disappears, then cool before the flour goes in — hot liquid on flour makes a gluey paste.
- Let it rest if you have the timeThe recipe does not say so, but half an hour's rest before the egg white goes in relaxes the gluten and gives a more tender crust. Fold in the white after the rest, not before.
- Frying temperatureThe original gives no frying medium or temperature at all. Use 350–375°F (175–190°C); below that the batter drinks fat, above it colours before the fruit inside softens.
- SaltA pinch for fruit fritters, closer to a scant half teaspoon for savoury ones. The batter itself is otherwise unseasoned, so this is the only correction you get.
- YieldEnough to coat about a pound of prepared fruit — roughly four apples, or three or four servings of fritters.
The distinguishing mark of the French style is the absence of egg yolk and milk — water and butter keep the batter thin and pale, and the whipped white does the work that a modern cook might give to baking powder or beer. The "probable cost, 6d." is standard Cassell's practice; the dictionary costed nearly every recipe, a habit suited to middle-class households running a kitchen to a budget. Orange fritters, listed here beside apple and peach, were a familiar Victorian sweet, the fruit sliced and steeped in sugar and sometimes brandy before being dipped.