Polish apple racuchy

These Polish apple racuchy are an autumn must-bake! Made from my family recipe and enriched with juicy pieces of apple, they’re wonderfully soft, light and fluffy – almost like doughnuts. Simply irresistible!

Ingredients for the Polish apple racuchy:

• 450 g plain flour
• 30 g fresh yeast or 15 g dried yeast
• a pinch of salt
• 1–2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 375 ml lukewarm milk
• 1 large egg
• 3 apples

Peel, core and dice the apples.

Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the salt and mix. Make a well in the centre. Crumble in the fresh yeast*, sprinkle over the sugar and pour in 125 ml of the lukewarm milk. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for 10–15 minutes, until the yeast starter becomes foamy. Add the remaining milk and the egg, then mix until combined. The batter should be thick but still spoonable. If necessary, add a little more flour or milk to adjust the consistency. Finally, fold in the diced apples. Cover and leave in a warm place for 1–1½ hours, until doubled in size.

Prepare a mug of hot water. Dip a spoon into the water before scooping each portion of batter to prevent sticking.

Heat about 3 mm of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. The oil should not be too hot, otherwise the fritters will brown before cooking through. Fry the fritters on both sides until golden brown. Dust generously with icing sugar before serving.

If you have any leftovers (unlikely!), warm them in the microwave for a few seconds the next day – they’ll become soft, warm and fluffy again.

* If using dried yeast, simply mix it with the flour; there is no need to prepare a yeast starter.

Enjoy!