No. 3038

Apple Fritters with Prunelle or with Kirsch

Beignets de Pommes a la Prunelle ou au Kirsch

Peel some fine apples; cut them across in three pieces, remove the cores with a five-eighths of an inch diameter tin tube, and cook them partly in a syrup, then drain on a sieve. Make an apple jelly (No. 3668), and when done add to it as much peach marmalade (No. 3675); range the apples on a baking sheet and mask them several times with the jelly, having sufficient of it to leave on a thick layer. When cold remove the slices of apple with a knife and roll them in powdered macaroons, then dip in frying batter (No. 137), and plunge them into hot frying fat. As the paste becomes crisp, drain them off, wipe and brush over with a brush dipped in a sugar frosting flavored with prunelles or kirsch.

← No. 3037 Apple Fritters and Montagnard Fritters—Glaze Hot Entremets — Puddings, Fritters & Soufflés No. 3039 Apricot or Peach Fritters with Maraschino →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer's beignets are a two-day proposition disguised as a fritter: the apple rings are poached, glazed with a thick fruit jelly, chilled until the coating sets, then crumbed, battered and fried. The hinge is that chilling step — if the jelly layer is not cold and firm, it slides off in the fat.

Cut and coreThree crosswise slices from each peeled apple gives fairly thick rings, on the order of three-quarters of an inch. The "five-eighths of an inch diameter tin tube" is an apple corer or a small round cutter; five-eighths of an inch is about 1.6 cm.
"Cook them partly in a syrup"Poach the rings in a light syrup (about 1 part sugar to 2 parts water) only until a knife tip meets slight resistance, three to five minutes. Fully softened rings collapse under the glaze and the batter. Use a firm variety — Braeburn, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith.
The masking glazeApple jelly cut with an equal amount of peach preserve, warmed to brushing consistency. Ranhofer wants several coats building to a thick layer, with each one setting before the next. Chill the sheet hard between coats and lift the rings free with an offset knife.
Powdered macaroonsNot coconut macaroons. These are dry almond macaroons — Italian amaretti or French almond macaroons left out to stale, then crushed to coarse crumbs. They fry darker than breadcrumbs, so watch the colour.
Frying batterNo. 137 is the book's frying batter, a flour-based paste lightened with beaten egg whites folded in at the last minute. A tempura-style batter or a beer batter with whipped whites behaves the same way. Mix it just before frying.
Fat temperatureThe recipe says only "hot frying fat"; around 350-360F suits. Hotter and the macaroon crumb scorches before the batter sets; cooler and the jelly melts through. Fry in small batches, two or three rings at a time, and drain on a rack rather than paper so the underside stays crisp.
PrunellePrunelle is a sloe liqueur made from blackthorn fruit, usually with an almond note from the crushed stones -- not prune or plum brandy. Prunelle de Bourgogne is one well-known example. Kirsch, the alternative, is cherry eau-de-vie.
"Sugar frosting"A thin glacé icing: sifted confectioners' sugar loosened with the liqueur to the consistency of cream. Brush it on while the fritters are still hot so it sets to a dry sheen rather than sitting wet on the crust.
Yield and servingThree or four apples give nine to twelve fritters, enough for four to six as a dessert course. They must go to the table within a few minutes of frying; the jelly centre turns the crust soft as it cools.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's record of thirty years cooking at Delmonico's in New York, and the fritter section runs to dozens of numbered variations, a hot entremets being something warm, sweet and quickly made from the pastry department's standing stock of jellies, marmalades and batters. The cross-references here (No. 3668 for apple jelly, No. 3675 for peach marmalade, No. 137 for the batter) show how the book was meant to be used: not as a set of standalone recipes but as a system in which a brigade already had the components on hand. The liqueur finish is characteristic of the period's restaurant dessert cookery, where a named spirit in the title — prunelle, kirsch, maraschino — often marked one fritter off from another, and served much the same purpose on a menu card that a garnish name did on a savoury dish.