Butterscotch sauce for pineapple fritters

Traditional Hot Puddings, Sue Ashworth 1994 Sydney, illustrated by Julia Bigg

Fruit Fritters with Butterscotch Sauce

“These irresistible banana, apple and pineapple fritters are drizzled with warm maple syrup and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.” Julia Bigg

Serves 4

125g/4oz/1 cup self-raising flour; pinch of salt; 150ml/1/4 pint/2/3 cup milk;  1 tblsp melted butter or vegetable oil; 1 egg, separated; oil for frying; 2 bananas, cut in half lengthways; 4 canned pineapple rings, well-drained; 1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into 8 rings; 75ml/3 fl oz. 1/3 cup plus 1 tblsp golden (light corn) syrup or maple syrup; 2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted lightly

1 Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour the milk and melted butter or oil into the well. Add the egg yolk and beat until the batter is smooth. Leave to rest in a cool place for 10 minutes. Just before using, whisk the egg white in a grease-free bowl until stiff, then fold into the batter using a large metal spoon to make it light and airy.

2 Heat the oil in a deep frying-pan (kettle) to a depth of 5cm/2 inches.

Dip the fruit in the batter to give a thin, even coating. Fry in the hot oil, a few pieces at a time, until they are golden brown, turning once. Lift out with a perforated spoon and drain on paper towels. Keep warm while cooking the remaining pieces of fruit.

3 Heat the syrup in a small saucepan. (I added a small knob of butter and melted it into the syrup, Anne) Divide the fritters between 4 hot serving plates and pour the syrup over them. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve.

Mary Poppins and the children cook pineapple fritters

Mary Poppins in the Kitchen: A Cookery Book with a Story, P. L. Travers and Maurice Moore-Betty (culinary consultant), illustrated by Mary Shepard 1975 London

   ‘ “Where shall we begin?” said Jane.

   “At the beginning,” said Mary Poppins. “First of all you wash your hands, and then you remember three useful things. Always let me switch on the stove, keep away from steaming kettles, and never use the sharper knives unless I am standing by.”

   “Yes, Mary Poppins,” they said gravely. And then they were set to work.’

Pineapple Fritters

THE BATTER: 75g (2/3 cup) flour; ½ tsp salt; 40ml (2 tblsp) oil – salad or olive – or melted butter; 120ml beer or lukewarm water; 1 large egg white

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil or melted butter. Draw the flour in from the sides while you add the beer or water a little at a time. When half has been added, beat thoroughly and add the other half. Allow the batter to rest for an hour. Just before you want to use it, beat the egg white till stiff and fold it into the batter.

1 can of pineapple rings; 3 – 4 tblsp butter

Dry the pineapple rings in paper or a clean cloth. Heat the butter in a heavy pan and, when hot, di rings into batter to coat evenly. Cook in hot butter till golden brown – about two minutes on each side. Lift our and drain on paper.

Sprinkle with sugar and serve hot as a dessert.

Banana Fritters with Fresh Pineapple

Low FODMAP recipes: based on the Low-FODMAP Diet, designed for people with irritable bowel syndrome, Dr Sue Shepherd 2013 Melbourne

Banana Fritters with Fresh Pineapple

“Banana fritters takes me right back to my childhood. As a grown up I've tried to lighten the texture a bit by using sweetened breadcrumbs instead of batter, and serving them with fresh tropical fruit. Completely delicious if I do say so myself!” Dr Sue Shepherd

1 cup (120g) dried, gluten-free, soy-free breadcrumbs; 1/3 cup (75g) brown sugar; 3 tspns ground cinnamon; 2 eggs; ½ tspn pure icing sugar; 4 small bananas, peeled and halved lengthways; 40g butter; gluten-free, lactose-free vanilla ice-cream, to serve; ½ small pineapple, peeled, cored and finely chopped; pulp of 2 passionfruit
 

Preheat the oven to 150°C.
 

Combine the breadcrumbs, brown sugar and cinnamon on a large plate.
 

Lightly beat the eggs and icing sugar in a shallow bowl.
 

Dip the bananas in the egg mixture, then toss in the breadcrumbs until well coated.
 

Heat half the butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Add half the banana pieces and cook for 3-4 minutes each side until golden brown. Transfer to a baking tray and keep warm in the oven. Melt the remaining butter and cook the remaining banana halves.
 

Place two banana halves on each serving plate. Tops with scoops of ice-cream, then spoon over the chopped pineapple and passionfruit pulp. Serve immediately.

 

I used rice crumbs instead of breadcrumbs. This dessert really was light and delicious.

Highly recommended! Anne.

 

 

And this marvel is Les's experiment with Ella and Rob's new juicer (etc) gadget

- 100% frozen pineapple extruded as sorbet - totally yum! Anne

Taking the Texan Approach with Pineapple

The State Fair of Texas has an annual competition for the most innovative deep fried foods. There are some adventurous attempts involving surprising ingredients such as jelly beans, oreos, beer, bubblegum, peaches and cream, and even pineapple upside down cake.

A Fried Peanut Butter, Jelly & Banana Sandwich won the Big Tex Choice Award 2005 for Best Taste!

I was intrigued by the margarita entry which was cake batter made with margarita mixer, fried and soaked in more margarita and served in a salt-rimmed glass! There was also a pina colada entry!

Deep fried bubble gum was the winner of the 2013 Most Creative Award.
 

Thanks to Ernie Tacsik who exhibited this photo on flickr. He admits “well... to b honest i did not actually eat any  :-)”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AlxgpqW7rw

http://mentalfloss.com/article/31488/25-deep-fried-foods-texas-state-fair says that “It's actually bubblegum-flavoured marshmallows, battered and deep fried and sprinkled with Chicklets” !

If you’d like to know more about the Fair logon to the State Fair of Texas website  http://www.bigtex.com/sft/Nav/FoodFinder.asp

This Fritter Batter recipe comes from  ‘The Sunbeam Automatic Cooker and Deep Fryer’ book, from the 1950s or 60s (Mum’s copy has no cover). It states that  "A batter can be quickly prepared and cooked to present attractive foods for unexpected guests. It is important when covering foods with batter not to have too heavy a coating on food and always to have the fat smoking hot before frying."

Fritter Batter

Covers 8-12 fritters. Mixing Time: 1 to 2 minutes.
1 cup plain flour; 1 dstspn baking powder; 1 egg; salt; ½ cup milk

SIFT … flour, baking powder and salt
BEAT … egg yolk on speed 5.
ADD … milk and mix with dry ingredients on speed 1.
BEAT … egg whites stiffly and fold into batter
USE … for raw or cooked fruits, cheese fritters, fried oysters, etc

I had to take on the challenge with some of Ruby's favourite ingredients - pineapple pieces (the tastiest), glace cherries (not bad), marshmallows (tried to escape), cocktail onions (tangy), canned beetroot (delicious), brussels sprouts (surprisingly edible), stuffed olives (okay) and radishes (I couldn't face one). With a little persuasion Les did the deep frying, Anne.

 

 

 

 

 

(Thanks to my niece, Georgina, for telling us about this tasty event!)