These donuts are a take on a traditional Croatian family recipe (“fritule“) that we have enjoyed for years.

They were always made fresh on Christmas morning and we would eat so many we could barely fit in Christmas lunch!

This fructose free version is absolutely delicious and the kids and kids at heart will love them.

• Makes : about 30 donuts
• Cooking time : 2 to 3 minutes per donut
• Pot size : medium metal pot for the stove top

Ingredients

1/2 cup full cream milk
3 tablespoons rice syrup
2 Granny Smith apples with skin grated
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of concentrated vanilla essence
2 tablespoons brandy
a pinch of salt
2 cups self raising flour
4 cups of cooking oil, vegetable or lard depending on your preference

So how is it done?

1. Pour oil into the pot and heat on medium.
2. Place all rest of ingredients into a bowl and mix. Dough should have a thick porridge consistency
3. Once the oil is hot enough for deep frying, place 1 teaspoon of mixture and do a test run to make sure the oil is the right temperature. It should cook evenly and expand without burning. If the donut cooks too fast turn down stove top temperature.
4. The cooking time should be between 2-3 minutes so the donut is cooked through. Once you are confident that the oil is the right heat start doing 6-8 donuts at one time, remembering to turn them with a slotted spoon constantly to get an even colour on the donut.
5. Place onto paper towels to drain and cool.

Makes 30 doughnuts

Need an extra sweet kick? Just warm up The Sugar Breakup rice syrup and use as a dipping sauce.