Carnival fritters with apples and orange – gluten free

Fritters are a real crowd-pleaser.
It is carnival in Italy and most diets would have gone out of the window by now.. it is time to gorge on delicious foods again!
I make Italian carnival fritters every year, often with raisins and wheat flour but this year I tried a different version using rice flour, orange and apple which makes them gluten free and really good too. The lightness of the rice flour makes them soft and delicate and the floral notes of the orange makes them so perfumed! I just loved this recipe and my children have already asked for more.
The batter will be quite wet so you will need to use two teaspoons and spoon balls of mixture into the oil.
Some people add a dash of liquor to the recipe which makes the fritters even more perfumed.
- Prep Time : 20 minutes
- Cook Time : 20 minutes
Ingredients
- rice flour - 300 g - 2 cup + extra if needed
- sugar - 90 g - 3/8 cup
- vanilla essence - 1 tsp
- eggs - 3
- orange juice and zest - 1
- baking powder (gluten free if you are a celiac) - 2 tsp
- apple - 1 small
- oil for frying
- powdered (icing) sugar - to sprinkle
Instructions
Wash the orange and dry it well with a cloth. Mix the sugar with the eggs and the vanilla essence. Add the sifted rice flour with the baking powder, the zest and the juice of the orange. Mix well.
Peel and slice the apple finely and add it to the mixture. Mix well. If the mixture appears still very watery add an extra tbsp of flour.
Heat a large pan with plenty of oil.
Drop a tiny bit of batter into the oil and if it sizzles then the oil is ready. If you see that it browns too quickly and it starts to burn then you will need to decrease the heat a little.
Using two teaspoons spoon balls of mixture into the oil and cook in batches for 1 or 2 minutes or until golden. Turn them on both sides so they will cook evenly.
Using a slotted spoon drain them on a paper towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Serve warm or cold... What a treat!
If you like fritters check out this other version of apple fritters too.
They look so delicious and I bet addictive too!
Very addictive indeed!
I dolci fritti sono la mia passione, purtroppo devo evitarli! Golosi e profumati questi dolcetti, con la farina di riso devono essere molto leggeri! Un abbraccio!
Oh these do look so good. I think I would have to cook double as I would eat them as soon as they were cool enough to handle! Elinor x
Yes it is exactly like that. The smell whilst you fry them will tickle your taste buds!
Alida, So easy and delicious recipe. Would love these for breakfast and for dessert.
Thanks Rahul, I did have them for dessert and for breakfast too. I cannot resist fritters!
You can see how light they are Alida, they sound wonderful.
Oh Alida these are truly wicked but I’d secretly feast on one now with a nice coffee!
Super delicious! In Indian house hold too we make something similar but without eggs.
Evviva il carnevale, adoro questi dolci!
una vera delizia per festeggiare degnamente il carnevale, un bacione !
Wow. They look so good Alida. I must try them! xx