Cold Viennese Fritters

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6.5 cm / 2½ inch round cutter
• •Heavy 4 litre / 4 quart pot
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Long tongs
• •Wire skimmer
• •Parchment paper
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the pâte levée

   Warm the milk to about 30°C / 85°F, pleasantly warm but never hot, and whisk in the yeast. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl, then add the milk and egg. Mix until no dry flour remains and knead for 4 minutes. Add the soft butter a little at a time, kneading until each addition disappears before the next. Continue for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pâte levée, the soft raised dough, looks satiny and stretches before tearing. It must remain tacky. If the butter smears and the dough turns greasy, chill the bowl for 10 minutes and resume kneading. Ça se rattrape. Do not bury it under more flour.

   The prescribed paste is deliberately soft. A firm, heavily floured dough fries into bread; this one should cling lightly to a clean fingertip and then release.
2. 2

   Ferment and chill

   Shape the dough into a loose ball, place it in a lightly buttered bowl, and cover. Let it ferment in a warm place for 45 to 60 minutes, until it has expanded by about half and holds a fingertip impression for a moment. Do not wait for a full doubling because the filled fritters receive another fermentation. Press out the largest bubbles, cover again, and chill for 20 minutes so the soft dough can be rolled without being stiffened by flour.

3. 3

   Cut and fill

   Cut sixteen 10 cm / 4 inch squares of parchment and brush each lightly with the butter reserved for them. On a surface dusted with as little flour as possible, roll the dough 5 mm / ¼ inch thick. Stamp out sixteen rounds with a 6.5 cm / 2½ inch cutter, rerolling the scraps once. Set eight rounds on the buttered parchment squares. Place a scant 1½ teaspoons of apricot jam in each centre, leaving a clean 1 cm / ⅜ inch border. Moisten the borders lightly with water, cover with the remaining rounds, and press the edges together without crushing the centres. If jam touches a seam, wipe it away completely before sealing; if a weak spot tears, cover it with a thin moistened patch of dough. A sugared edge will open in the fat, but the patch saves it.

4. 4

   Proof and prepare syrup

   Cover the filled beignets loosely and let them ferment for exactly 30 minutes. They should look softly swollen, not doubled or fragile. Meanwhile combine the syrup sugar, syrup water, lemon peel, and vanilla bean in a wide saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring only until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the flavourings and keep the syrup hot, around 80°C / 175°F, without allowing it to boil hard while the fritters are dipped.

5. 5

   Fry from paper

   Pour the oil into a deep, heavy pot, leaving the pot no more than half full, and heat it to 170°C / 340°F. Lower one or two fritters into the oil with their parchment squares beneath them, holding a corner of each square with tongs. After 5 to 10 seconds the dough should release; withdraw the paper carefully. If it clings, lower that edge for a few seconds longer rather than pulling at the soft dough. Fry for 1½ to 2 minutes on the first side, turn once, and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the beignets the moment their crust is set and only beginning to turn pale gold. Hold each on a skimmer for no more than 20 seconds, then take it directly to the syrup.

   Keep the oil near 170°C / 340°F between batches. Cooler oil makes the pastry heavy; hotter oil colours the outside before the soft centre cooks.
6. 6

   Dip without soaking

   Slide each hot fritter into the hot light syrup, turn it once, and lift it after 5 to 10 seconds, just as the crust turns glossy and the fritter feels fractionally heavier. This is a passage through syrup, not a bath. If one begins to slump, support it flat between a skimmer and fork, drain it on the rack, and halve the dipping time for the rest. Ça se rattrape: the soft one will still taste splendid, and the remaining fritters will keep their shape.

7. 7

   Cool and serve

   Set the syruped fritters in a single layer on a lightly oiled wire rack and cool completely for about 45 minutes. Transfer them to a platter and chill for 30 minutes, uncovered until their surfaces set, then cover loosely if they must wait. Bring them out 10 minutes before serving so the butter-soft crumb relaxes while the fritters remain cold. Serve without powdered sugar or another disguise. The thin syrup gloss is their finish. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use a thick, smooth jam. Loose preserves leak through the seam and burn in the oil; if your jam runs from a spoon, cook it briefly until thick and cool it completely before filling.
• •The parchment squares are the safe home equivalent of the original long buttered sheets. They preserve the paper-release method while letting one cook lower and retrieve each fritter without wrestling a tray over hot fat.
• •A neutral refined oil replaces the pastry kitchen's vat of frying fat because it holds a steady temperature and leaves the lemon, vanilla, and apricot clear. This changes the equipment scale, not the method.
• •The à la Dauphine variation may be filled with a fruit salpicon or a cream preparation. If using salpicon, dice the fruit very small and drain it almost dry before filling, or the seams will not hold.
• •Dip one test fritter first. The syrup should leave it glossy and tender while the round still holds itself; that first pastry tells you whether the rest need five seconds or ten.

Advance Preparation

• •The syrup can be prepared up to 3 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat it until hot before frying the beignets.
• •For an overnight start, let the mixed dough ferment at room temperature for 30 minutes, then cover and refrigerate it. Let it stand for 15 minutes before rolling, fill it, and preserve the full 30-minute final fermentation.
• •The finished fritters may be made 4 to 6 hours before serving. Keep them in one layer in the refrigerator and never stack them, because the syruped surfaces will adhere.
• •For a picnic, transport the fritters chilled in a shallow container lined with parchment. Bring them out shortly before serving so the crumb loses its refrigerator firmness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 155g)