Known as Apfelküchle or Apfelbeignets,apple fritters are one of the most popular desserts in Germany, especially in autumn and during Oktoberfest.
But to make apple fritters a success, there are three rules to follow:
- soak the apples in rum (or other spirit), sugar and lemon juice;
- use beer batter made with Bavarian wheat beer;
- separate the eggs and whisk the egg whites until stiff before folding them into the beer batter.
You can replace the soaking of the rings in beer and the separate whisking of the egg whites with sparkling American cider.
A few more tips on ingredients. Choose floury apples for cooking, such as gala.
To infuse the apple rings with flavour and prevent them from oxidising, soak them in lemon, sugar and rum while you prepare the dough. Rum is a popular ingredient in many German desserts today, originally spirits such as obstler, schnapps, kirschwasser were used.
It goes without saying that baking soda helps the dough to rise and salt and cinnamon add flavour.
The beer should be a German wheat ale(called hefeweizen or weissbier) because it contains little live yeast. This yeast makes the dough very aromatic and also helps with the leavening.
Other desserts with apples: