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Sour cherry fritters with boozy mascarpone

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for sour cherry fritters with boozy mascarpone.

By Emma Knowles
  • 20 mins preparation
  • 20 mins cooking plus resting
  • Serves 6
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Sour cherry fritters with boozy mascarpone
These simple-to-make fritters conceal an unexpected centre - a sweet and sour morello cherry - while the kirsch-spiked mascarpone makes for perfect dipping. Use any liqueur you fancy - Marsala would work beautifully, as would an orange-flavoured liqueur such as Grand Marnier.

Ingredients

  • 300 gm plain flour (2 cups)
  • 110 gm caster sugar (½ cup)
  • 75 gm hazelnut meal
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • Finely grated rind of 1 orange
  • Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
  • 250 ml milk (1 cup)
  • 60 gm butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • For deep-frying: vegetable oil
  • 15-18 jarred pitted morello cherries (about 200gm, drained)
Boozy mascarpone
  • 300 gm mascarpone
  • 30 ml kirsch
  • 30 gm pure icing sugar, sieved
  • Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
Cinnamon sugar
  • 80 gm pure icing sugar (½ cup)
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

Main
  • 1
    Mix flour, sugar, hazelnut meal, baking powder, orange rind, vanilla seeds and a pinch of salt in a bowl, make a well in the centre, then add milk, butter and egg. Mix until smooth and combined, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to rest.
  • 2
    Meanwhile, for boozy mascarpone, whisk ingredients in a bowl until thick and combined, then refrigerate until required.
  • 3
    Preheat oil in a deep saucepan to 180C. Spoon heaped tablespoons of batter onto a sheet of baking paper. Press a morello cherry into the centre of each, ensuring batter completely encloses cherry. Deep-fry in batches, turning occasionally, until puffed, golden and cooked through (3-4 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper.
  • 4
    For cinnamon sugar, sieve ingredients to combine, then sieve over hot fritters and serve with boozy mascarpone for dipping.