Chai Spiced Apple Cider Fritters With Maple Cider Glaze
fritters, apples, maple, chai
Updated 3rd October 2024
These apple fritters are easy to make at home and with NO yeast! These crunchy, sweet donuts are full of fresh apple and perfectly spiced and have a luscious maple cider glaze. The perfect fall treat!
These little guys disappeared quite quickly and I wasn’t surprised as I have two doughnut loving people in the house who just couldn’t resist these delicious fritters. Neither could I, and I usually steer clear of all fried things. They are so fragrant from the spices and the glaze is heavenly. The batter is light with very tiny pieces of apple that add a lovely sweetness and nice texture to each bite.
I was super excited to make something with the apple cider that I got from the apple farm I visited and of course I still had plenty of apples from Apple picking as well. These seemed to be the perfect thing to make with those two items. I was not disappointed and neither was the family as I mentioned above. The only thing you will worry about after making these is having to make a few more batches after the first one is gone and your family keeps begging for more. So definitely save your frying oil. Good thing they are simple to whip up. Hope you guys love them and ‘doughnut’ miss out on making them this Apple season!
Are you convinced and want to make them yet? The selling feature to any recipe for me is quick and easy. You could tell me all sorts of things about how good a recipe is but if it’s not a simple straight forward one I’m definitely saving it, but won’t be making it any time soon. Those are the recipes I make on a long weekend or a holiday when I have all day to spend in the kitchen. No need to save this recipe for a day with more time cause these take minutes to whip up. The batter needs zero time to proof, is made of very simple pantry ingredients, and so is the glaze.
Apple Fritter Recipe Ingredients
For the Fritters
- APPLE: I like other use either, gala, honeycrisp apples, fuji, golden delicious, or Granny Smith apples for this recipe but really any apple will do - peeled, cored and finely diced
- FLOUR: I use all purpose flour for this recipe and have not tested it with an all purpose 1-1 gluten-free flour.
- SUGAR: I use granulated sugar for the batter
- BUTTER: I use unsalted butter for the batter and just 1 tablespoon melted
- EGG: Just one egg is all you need for this recipe - room temperature so it incorporates in to the batter nicely
- APPLE CIDER: (NOT apple cider vinegar - it is not the same) room temperature, you could use apple juice if apple cider is not available but the flavour will not be exactly the same
- SPICES: I used a blend of ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, ground clove, ¼ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg create a bit of a chai flavor blend but if you prefer to use just cinnamon you can. I also included a pinch salt for flavor.
- BAKING POWDER: For leavening
- VANILLA: For that warm flavor in baked goods
- VEGETABLE OIL: For frying these little fritters. The best oil to use is the one with the least flavour. Vegetable oil and canola oil are both very good in this respect. Some prefer to use peanut oil and that is fine too. Any of those work well cause they are high smoke point oils.
For the Glaze
- POWDERED SUGAR: You will need powdered sugar or confectioners sugar for the glaze
- MAPLE SYRUP: I love the hint of flavor and extra moisture that the maple syrup gives this glaze. it also adds to the glaze’s sweetness.
- VANILLA: For flavor - for more maple flavor you could substitute it with maple extract
- APPLE CIDER: Adds flavor and a hint of cider flavour to the glaze.
How To Make These Easy Apple Fritters
- Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, all the spices and salt.
- Whisk together wet ingredients: apple cider, butter, vanilla and egg
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients
- Fold in the apples
- Scoop up batter and carefully place in hot oil
- Fry until golden each side then drain off any excess oil over paper towel lined rack
- Dip doughnuts into glaze, allow to sit a few minutes for glaze to set
- Enjoy!
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Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground clove
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- a pinch of salt
- ⅓ cup apple cider or apple juice
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 apple, peeled and finely diced
- 2-4 cups vegetable oil for frying
Maple Cider Glaze
- 1¼ cups icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider or apple juice
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, all the spices and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider, butter, vanilla and egg until well combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined, do not over mix.
- Gently fold in the diced apple.
- Heat a few inches of oil (approx 2-4 cups) in a deep heavy-bottomed pot/ dutch oven over medium heat to 350-360°F using a candy thermometer. It usually takes 5-6 minutes. If not too sure pinch off a small amount of batter and place in the oil to test.
- Working in batches of five or six, depending on the size of your pot, scoop the apple fritter batter out by heaping tablespoons and gently lower into the oil. (I usually spray my small cookie scoop with oil which helps the batter from sticking to it when trying to transfer it to the hot oil)
- Fry the batter for 2 minutes, then flip over gently with a slotted spoon and fry until golden brown, 1 or 2 minutes more. Lower the heat slightly if they start to brown too quickly otherwise they will be crisp on the outside and be undercooked on the inside.
- Remove the fritters once doe using a slotted spoon and transfer paper towels over wire racks to drain the excess oil.
- To make the glaze, whisk together the icing sugar, cider, maple syrup and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth.
- Dip the fritters one at a time into the glaze to cover completely, allowing the excess to drip off.
- Place the fritters on a wire cooling rack set over a piece of parchment paper for easy cleanup, drizzle over any leftover glaze, allow the glaze to set, then serve.
Recipe Notes
- The fritters are best eaten and enjoyed soon after you make them, and while you could eat them the next day, they won’t be nearly as good and crispy. So enjoy these the same day if possible. That being said if you have any leftovers, which I doubt you will- you can store them at room temperature in an airtight container for 1-3 days -the texture will not be the same.
- Make sure that your oil is HOT before frying. Test using a small amount of batter and if it sizzles and turns golden right away, you’re ready to fry. Only fry 4 or so small fritters at a time to ensure proper cooking.
- How to avoid soggy fritters: Make sure oil is hot, so use a thermometer or tests with a small bit of batter to ensure it’s hot enough. Do not overcrowd the pan or add too much batter to pot at the same time. Have a wire rack with 2 layers of paper towels ready to absorb the excess oil after taking them out of the pot.
- Apple cider NOT apple cider vinegar is what the recipe calls for - it is not the same as vinegar, you could use apple juice if apple cider is not available but the flavour will not be exactly the same
Adapted from Style at Home