Maple Chai Apple Fritters

Warm and cozy chai spiced apple fritters are tossed with a sweet and simple maple glaze.

Let’s talk apples. I’ve always loved apple season—the way it paves the way for crisp fall air, usually while we’re still finishing off the last of the summer tomatoes. Apple season encourages us to start pulling out our sweaters and signals to us that it’s time to trade our iced coffees for hot beverages and it pushes us into the kitchen to start making pie doughs.

And now, living in Minnesota, I’ve never loved apple season more. There are at least 15 apple orchards within a 30 minute drive of the Twin Cities. Last weekend, the temperature dipped into the 60s and we spent an afternoon on a farm, sipping apple cider, wandering through corn mazes, and strolling through rows and rows of apple trees, filling little white bags as we walked. It was peak fall and it was magical. Now I have more apples than I know what to do with. So we make fritters.

what are homemade apple fritters

If you ‘re casually browsing the internet for an apple fritter recipe, you’ll quickly discover that there are two types. One is a yeasted apple fritter—a sweet, brioche-like dough gets filled with cooked apples, layered on top of each other in a haphazard manner before frying. The result are those dense, donut-like fritters you find at most donut shops and bakeries. The other type of apple fritter is a bit simpler. Similar to Southern-style corn or zucchini fritters, it features a simple, non-yeasted batter, filled with fresh produce and fried.

For this recipe, I decided to go simple. I wanted a recipe that would encourage you to start baking with your apple haul as soon as you walk in the door, and a recipe that have you snacking on warm apple fritters in under an hour.

how to make apple fritters

This recipe really couldn’t be simpler. Whisk together flour, baking powder, spices, a little sugar, and salt. Then whisk together eggs and milk. Add a little bit of browned butter and you’ve got yourself a batter. Then add a ton of diced apples—you want just enough batter to barely hold the apple pieces together.

To fry the fritters, you can use any neutral oil you’d like. A candy thermometer helps maintain the appropriate temperature so that you aren’t left with overcooked exteriors and raw centers.

For the glaze, we are simply whisking together powdered sugar, the seeds from a vanilla bean, maple syrup, and heavy cream and then pouring it over the hot fritters.

homemade chai spice blend

My favorite part of this recipe (and possibly the fall baking season in general) is homemade chai spice blend. I make a batch of this at the beginning of the fall baking season and keep it in my pantry all season long. There’s ground black tea, lots of cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger, plus black pepper and cloves. And if you’re looking for more chai forward recipes to use this blend in, check out my Chai Snickerdoodles and my Dirty Chai Banana Bread recipes.

Yield 12

Author Anna Ramiz

Prep time

20 Min

Cook time

20 Min

Total time

40 Min

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Maple Chai Apple Fritters

Warm and cozy chai spiced apple fritters are tossed with a sweet and simple maple glaze.

Ingredients

for the fritters

• 1 1/4 cup (156 g) all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (27 g) rye flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp chai spice blend
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, browned
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk*
• 10-12 oz diced apples (from about 3 apples)
• Vegetable oil, for frying

for the glaze

• 2/3 cup (150 g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• Pinch of salt
• 5 tbsp heavy cream or coconut milk

Instructions

1. Fill a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot with about 3” of vegetable. Begin heating to 375° F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with paper towels and place a cooling rack over top.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, rye flour, baking powder, sugar, chai spice, and salt. Set aside.
3. Place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 6-7 minutes, swirling occasionally until butter is foamy and fragrant and little brown flecks appear at the bottom of the pan. Immediately remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
4. In a large measuring cup, whisk together eggs and coconut milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Whisk in the browned butter until smooth.
5. Add the diced apples and gently fold to disperse.
6. When the oil has reached 375° F, drop scoops of fritter batter (about 1/4 cup in size) into the hot oil, taking care not to crowd the pan. (I was able to fit about 4 at a time.) Fry to 3-4 minutes, flipping halfway through, until fritters are deeply golden brown.
7. Use a slotted spoon to remove the fritters from the oil and transfer the paper towel lined cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining fritters.
8. While the fritters are cooling slightly, whisk together glaze ingredients in a large bowl until smooth. Either toss the warm fritters in the glaze or pour the glaze over top of the warm fritters. Serve warm.

Notes

• As always, you can substitute the rye flour for 100% all purpose flour. I do really love the nuttiness that the rye brings to these fritters, so spelt or buckwheat flour would also be substitutes.
• When I created this recipe, I was completely out of milk so I used coconut milk--which made them dairy free. If you'd like to keep the fritters dairy free, use coconut milk in the glaze, as well. If you don't mind dairy or don't have coconut milk on hand, you can substitute with whole milk or another non-dairy milk like almond or oat.

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Roasty Toasty Carrot Cake

An easy, single layer snack cake loaded with caramelized, roasted carrots, bright citrus, and toasted walnuts and topped with a classic cream cheese frosting.

Guys, I’ve been sitting on this recipe for a long time waiting for the perfect time to share it. I started working on this recipe back around Easter, when our recipe lists and tables were filled with carrot cake. For starters, I wanted simple—single layer, no torte-ing, easy to mix together. But I also wanted a little bit interesting when it came to flavors. I started playing around with the idea of roasting carrots before adding them for an extra layer of depth, adding lots of toasted walnuts, and balancing all of that warmth out with bright citrus flesh, zest, and juice. After a few trials, we had a winner.

a very easy carrot cake recipe

This recipe features our usual carrot cake cast of characters:

• Flours: I used a blend of spelt and all purpose for a bit of extra nuttiness, but you can definitely do 100% all purpose if you don’t have any spelt flour.

• Spices and Leaveners: There are lots of warming spices in this recipe—cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. And then baking soda to balance the acidity in the carrots and baking powder for rise. And salt. Always salt.

• Sugar: For sweetness, of course.

• Oil: This is an oil-based cake for maximum moisture. I like the grassiness of olive oil, but you could also use any neutral oil of your choice—avocado, vegetable, or grapeseed.

• Eggs: In this recipe, eggs provide fat, emulsification, moisture, and structure.

• Carrots: In this recipe, I’m using carrots two ways: some roasted and pureed for depth of flavor and lots of moisture. Plus a few shredded carrots because you can’t have carrot cake without visible carrot pieces.

• Walnuts: Extra toasty.

• Citrus: I used both orange and lemon zest, plus chopped up the flesh of the orange for a little extra pizzazz.

Yield 8, one 9" cake

Author Anna Ramiz

Prep time

30 Min

Cook time

1 Hour

Total time

1 H & 30 M

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Roasty Toasty Carrot Cake

( 0 reviews )

This simple, spiced snack cake is filled with sweet, roasted carrots and toasted walnuts and topped with a bright, tangy cream cheese frosting.

IngredientsUSMetric

for the roasted carrots

• 3 large carrots
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• pinch of salt

for the cake

• 1/2 cup (65 g) spelt flour
• 1 cup (125 g) all purpose
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1 1/3 cup (260 g) granulated sugar
• 1 orange, zested
• 1 lemon, zested
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup (165 g) olive oil
• carrot puree, from roasted carrots (above)
• 2 large carrots, shredded
• 1 cup (100 g) toasted walnuts
• the flesh of one orange, chopped

for the frosting

• 2 oz (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 oz creme fraiche
• 1/2 tsp vanilla powder, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 100 g powdered sugar
• pinch of salt

Instructions

to make the roasted carrot puree

1. Preheat the oven 425° F.
2. Cut carrots into sticks and place in a small baking dish. Add the olive oil, sugar, and salt and stir to coat. Roast for 30 minutes, until carrots are softened and caramelized. Let cool.
3. Transfer the cooled, roasted carrots to a food processor and pulse until pureed. Set aside.

to make the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 9” cake pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together spelt flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine sugar, orange zest, lemon zest, and eggs. Whip on medium high speed for 3-4 minutes until light in color and thick.
4. Decrease the mixer speed to low and gradually stream in the olive oil, whipping until homogenized. Add the carrot puree and mix once more until completely combined.
5. Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the dry ingredients. Stir with a rubber spatula until all of the flour has been incorporated and no dry spots remain.
6. Chop the toasted walnuts and add them to the batter along with the shredded carrots. Peel the orange and chop the flesh. Add the orange flesh to the batter. Gently fold with a rubber spatula until everything is distributed throughout the batter.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, until the cake is deeply browned, the top is set, and the sides begin to pull away from the pan.
8. Cool completely in the pan, and then flip out onto a cooling rack.

to make the frosting

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the butter and cream cheese. Beat for about 30 seconds, until smooth.
2. Add the crème fraîche, sift in the powdered sugar, and add the vanilla and salt. Whip again until frosting is thick and smooth.
3. Spread the frosting in a thick layer over the top of the cooled cake.

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Caramel Coconut Cashew Blondies

These nutty blondies are studded with creamy white chocolate and topped with a super simple homemade dulce de leche, toasted coconut, and crunchy cashews.

Does anyone else feel like they just need a vacation?

Maybe it’s the former teacher in me, but come June 1st, I have the hardest time motivating myself to do anything because it’s summertime, baby! This year, I feel that longing for rest at an exponential rate. We took a quick little anniversary trip to NYC at the beginning of the month and then I got sick when we got home. Because I was out of commission for a few weeks, playing catch up has just been the worst. I’ve been scrambling to finish all of my client work before deadlines and at the end of the day, I’m just wiped and I need a break.

I would love to hide away on a tropical beach with a book, tuning out the world entirely for a bit so that I can actually re-charge. Unfortunately for me, that’s not in the cards this summer so I may just be turning off my social media accounts and making these loaded tropical-esque blondies—I’ll take it.

caramel coconut cashew blondies

The idea for this recipe started as “hawaiian cookie bars” scribbled in my notebook. I was thinking white chocolate, macadamia nuts, maybe a little coconut—flavors that made me feel like I was on an island or at the very least, hanging out the Disney Polynesian Resort.

Trader Joe’s was fresh out of macadamia nuts when I was recipe testing and I needed something sticky to bind it all together, so we settled on cashews and dulce de leche.

Kind of like a clean-out-the-pantry cookie bar, these are simple and easy and a real crowd pleaser. We start with a brown sugar blondie layer, studded with chopped white chocolate. Then, homemade dulce de leche (so easy, I promise) is poured over the top, and the bars are finished with toasted coconut, toasted cashews, more white chocolate, and a little pink salt.

A quick chill really helps the dulce de leche firm up, but I honestly don’t mind sticky caramel dripping down my hands so skipping it is also an option. Make a batch, share with friends, and pretend like you’re on vacation.

Yield one 9x13 pan, about 24 squares

Author Anna Ramiz

Prep time

30 Min

Cook time

2 H & 30 M

Inactive time

4 Hour

Total time

7 Hour

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Caramel Coconut Cashew Blondies

( 0 reviews )

These nutty blondies are studded with creamy white chocolate and topped with a super simple homemade dulce de leche, toasted coconut, and crunchy cashews.

Ingredients

for the dulce de leche

• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

for the white chocolate blondies

• 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup (170 g) butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup (57 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup (300 g) brown sugar
• 8 oz white chocolate, chopped

for the topping

• 2.5 oz cashews, toasted
• 1 cup (2 oz) coconut, toasted
• 3 oz white chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 tsp pink salt

Instructions

1. Make the dulce de leche: Remove all paper wrapping from the can of sweetened condensed milk. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with water until the can is completely submerged. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 2 hours, adding more water as needed to keep the can submerged the entire time. Use tongs to remove the can from the water and place on a towel to cool completely, at least 4 hours, before opening. The dulce de leche can be made ahead and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
2. Preheat the oven to 325° F and line a 9x13” baking dish with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until smooth and homogenized. Add the brown sugar and whisk until to combine.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until all of the flour has been incorporated. Add the chopped white chocolate and stir again to disperse. Transfer to the prepared baking pan and smooth into an even layer.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the edges are deeply browned. Cool in the pan for about 30 minutes.
7. Spread the dulce de leche in an even layer over the surface of the blondies and then sprinkle with toasted cashews, toasted coconut, and chopped with chocolate. Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill for at least an hour.
8. Sprinkle with pink salt, slice, and serve

Notes

A quick note on making homemade dulce de leche: Be extra careful when removing the hot can from the simmering water. I like to use tongs to lift the can out of the water and then I let it cool down on a kitchen towel. Let the dulce de leche cool COMPLETELY or it will explode hot caramel when you open in. I would give a minimum of 4 hours, but recommend longer. Better safe than sorry!

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