Oliebollen - the No-Yeast Version.

Warning! The amounts in this recipe are only a guide. This is a recipe I prepare by sight and I know what the batter is supposed to look like. I have taken the amounts from the hieroglyphics scrawled in the margins by my late Dutch mother. This can turn into an all morning production. Mum and Dad used to make these by the hundred and it was a good day for the neighbours to call around for a visit! I make a much smaller amount, just enough to say I have made them for the year. It was the only thing my father ever used to cook and he was in charge of the pot and the actual cooking process. Of course Mum's great recipe made him look good! So each year, I commemorate the old year before welcoming the new, rejoice in a good Dutch tradition, and remember my now late parents and the memory of making and eating these. I typed this in before New Year and then when I went to make it on New Years Eve I realised that you don't need the butter. And Lord knows there is enough grease from the deep frying process. You do need some sugar but you may be able to get away with about half depending on the apples and amount of sultanas you use. I would start low unless you have a really sweet tooth, make a couple and keep taste testing and adding if necessary. Those first few are always test olliebollen anyway to make sure the oil is at the right temperature. When I say thick batter, I MEAN thick batter. Otherwise the shape becomes rather interesting and they look like amoebae. Do not use crap beer. Those of you in the US, PLEASE use a European beer or a Canadian or downunder one. If you use everyday US beer it will taste horrible. Guiness has worked well for me in the past. This recipe could easily be made vegan if the egg was replaced with commercial egg replacer and soy milk was used instead of cow's milk. Just note that Guiness is unfortunately not vegan because it has been refined with isinglass. I hear that Samuel Smith Stout is a worthwhile drop that is vegan.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Yields: 1 batch

Ingredients

• 750  g self-raising flour, sifted
• 1 1⁄2 liters milk
• 100  g butter
• 100  g sugar
• 1⁄4-1⁄2 cup sultana, raisins and peel
• 1  apple, grated (eg Granny Smith)
• 1  egg
• 1 (330 -660 ml) bottle beer, preferably a dark ale or stout (I use Coopers stout here in Australia.)

Directions

1. Cream the butter and sugar.
2. Add the remaining ingredients in batches, mixing well and adding the fruit last.
3. The amounts are only guides- you are aiming for a thickish batter.
4. Heat up the sunflower oil for deep frying and drop scant tablespoons worth of dough.
5. Deep fry for about 5-7 minutes- they are self turning.
6. If you are too generous with the amount the doughnuts sink to the bottom of the pot and stick.
7. Not a good idea!
8. Too small and they overcook.
9. The aim is to have a golden doughnut that is cooked right through.