Apfelküchle

Apfelküchle are Baden-Wuerttemberg food, strongest in Swabia and Baden, and they belong to apple season before they belong to any fancy plate. I cook them when the tart apples are good, the pan is already out, and supper can end with something warm from the fat and rolled in cinnamon sugar.

Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. In Swabia you'll see them as Apfelküchle, in Bavaria often as Apfelkücherl or Apfelradln, and the argument starts with the batter: milk batter, beer batter, or beaten egg white folded in for lift. I use milk and a splash of sparkling water, because it keeps the crust light without turning the dish into a trick.

The one thing that decides it is the fat temperature. Hold it around 175C. Too cool, and the batter drinks oil and slides off the apple. Too hot, and the outside browns before the apple softens. Dry the rings well before they meet the batter, because water makes the coating run away. Erst verstehen, dann kochen.

Serve them warm with cinnamon sugar and vanilla sauce made from milk, egg yolk, sugar, and real vanilla. Nicht aus dem Glas. A packet sauce next to a proper Apfelküchle is a small sadness, and avoidable.