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These quick and easy Passover apple "doughnuts,"
made from matzo cake meal are absolutely delicious,
like a cross between a hot apple pie and an apple croissant. |
Last evening at sundown began the feast of Passover, a Jewish holiday rich in tradition. Like so many cultures around the world, the foods eaten (and not eaten) during this eight-day holiday help define, explain, and celebrate it.
The Seder, for example, a dinner eaten on the first night, includes specific foods in the telling of the Exodus story. Nice post about "The Seder Plate" here.
One of the most important and ubiquitous foods of this holiday is matzo (aka matza or matzah), basically an unleavened cracker. While it's part of the ritual of this holiday, it's also a wonderful ingredient to cook with.
Matzo Meal makes a delicious breading. (Matzo) "Cake Meal" is more finely ground and powdery like cake flour. See the difference in my photo below...
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(Matzo) Cake Meal is much finer than Matzo Meal,
more like cake flour, and it gives better results
with this recipe. (Click on my photo to enlarge.) |
Today’s recipe uses (matzo) Cake Meal. It's my own step-by-step rendering of a popular Passover treat (my sources are linked below). It’s delicious, easy, and fun to make.
Please note that raw flour will not give you the same amazing results so do not sub it. Cake Meal is not raw. It's an already-baked product made from finely ground matzos, and that's what you need for this recipe. I'm working on a recipe like this one, based on a Polish recipe that uses AP flour. Stay tuned for that one in the near future! Until then...
May you eat it with joy and have a good Pesach!
~ Cleo
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Author Cleo Coyle writes
culinary mysteries with her
husband. Learn about their
bestselling books here. |
Seven Minute Apple "Doughnuts" for Passover
Adapted by Cleo Coyle
This Passover recipe will give you an amazingly delicious hot pastry that tastes like a cross between a hot apple pie and an apple croissant.
The photos, ingredient amounts, and directions are mine, adapted from a few sources, primarily ones found here and here.
To download this recipe in a free PDF that you can print, save, or share, click here.
Serves 1 or 2 people
(double or triple for a larger group)
Ingredients:
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and sliced into thin rings (about 1/8-inch in thickness)
1 large egg
1/2 cup water (or plain, unflavored seltzer)
2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt (or generous pinch of table salt)
1/3 cup (matzo) Passover Cake Meal (do not substitute flour*)
+ a little extra Cake Meal for Step 4
*As mentioned above, note that raw flour will not give you the same amazing results. "Cake Meal" is not raw. It is an already-baked product made from finely ground matzos, and that's what you need for this recipe. I'm working on a recipe like this on, based on a Polish recipe that uses all-purpose flour. Stay tuned for that one in the near future!
Directions:
(1) Peel and core apple. For best results, I suggest a tart, firm apple like a Granny Smith. A sweeter apple will taste cloying. A mushy apple may not stand up to the high heat of frying.
(2) Cut into rings of about 1/8-inch in thickness. You'll get about 8 rings out of an average Granny Smith apple.
(3) Make Batter: Crack the egg into a mixing bowl. Add water, oil, and salt. Whisk well. Add the (matzo) Cake Meal and whisk very well, until you have a smooth batter. Now judge the thickness. The batter should be somewhat thick, but thin enough to pour—like a pancake or cake batter. See my photo.
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| Be sure to get the thickness right... |
Too thick? If the batter is too thick (like frosting), you’ll need to thin it out. Add 1 tablespoon of water and whisk again until smooth. (Continue adding small amounts of water until you get the consistency you need.) On the other hand…
Too thin? If the batter becomes too thin, add a bit more Cake Meal, and whisk well until smooth.
Sitting batter will thicken over time: As the Cake Meal sits in the liquid, it will absorb the liquid, expand, and thicken the batter. If you are not frying right away or if the batter sits for some time between batches, be prepared to whisk in a little more water to thin out the mixture again.
(4) IMPORTANT - Lightly coat apple rings with the (matzo) Cake Meal. This step is often missing from similar recipes, but it's important to prevent the batter from sliding off the slippery surface of the apple ring. Place a few extra tablespoons of dry Cake Mean into a bowl. Drop in apple rings and lightly coat both sides (as shown).
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If you don't coat the apples with
the powdery Cake Meal, the batter will
have nothing to cling to and
slide off the apple ring... |
(5) Coat the apple ring with batter. Drop apple ring in batter and coat well. Hold the ring through the hole and allow excess batter to drip off. Then bring it to the pan of hot oil and gently lay it into the pan.
(6) Foolproof Frying...
IMPORTANT - Is the oil hot enough? Sprinkle a bit of dry Cake Meal into the pan. If the Cake Meal sizzles and dances, it's hot enough. If the Cake Meal sinks to the bottom, the oil is too cold.
Fry apple rings until golden brown, flipping the pastry halfway through the cooking process. You should see the oil bubbling up around the doughnut. If the oil is not bubbling, it's too cold.
Do not crowd the pan. If you try to fry too many apple rings at one time, you will rapidly bring down the temperature of the oil, and you may need to adjust the temperature back up again to see those all-important bubbles.
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If your oil is not bubbling around the frying apple doughnut
(as shown) it is not hot enough. (Click on my photo to enlarge.)
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(7) Drain, cool a bit, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Drain doughnuts on paper towels for a minute or so. You want to cool off the finished doughnut a bit before sprinkling with sugar or the sugar will melt.
Make cinnamon sugar by mixing ½ cup white, granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Sprinkle liberally on the warm doughnuts and...
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Click here for free PDF
of this recipe, and...
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