Almond, Rum and Ricotta Fritters

, from Issue #79. July, 2018
Photography by Manja Wachsmuth.
Almond, Rum and Ricotta Fritters

Golden and crisp on the outside with a tender, fluffy centre, the raspberry sauce adds a welcome sharpness to these sweet treats.

INGREDIENTS

Fritters
250 grams firm ricotta
2 eggs, size 7
3 tablespoons caster sugar
2 tablespoons rum or another favourite liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
finely grated zest 1 lemon
½ cup plain flour
½ cup ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
To finish
vegetable oil, to cook
icing sugar, to dust
Raspberry coulis
2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed with their juices
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice

METHOD

Raspberry coulis: Put the raspberries, icing sugar and citrus juice in a food processor and blend until smooth. Push through a fine sieve, discarding the pips, then tip into a serving jug.

Fritters: Stir the ricotta, eggs, sugar, rum, vanilla and zest together in a large bowl, leaving the ricotta quite chunky. Combine the flour, almonds, baking powder and the salt together and fold into the ricotta mixture.

Heat about 4cm oil in a medium-sized, deep saucepan to 160°C on a deep-frying thermometer or until a cube of bread dropped in rises to the surface and cooks golden in about 20 seconds.Drop large walnut-sized spoonfuls of the mixture into the oil in small batches; I cook four at a time. Cook for 4 minutes, turning occasionally with a spoon, until golden brown on all sides and cooked through.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towels. Keep warm in a low oven until all the fritters are cooked. Dust generously with icing sugar and pile up in a bowl. Serve immediately with raspberry coulis for dipping. Makes about 16 fritters.