Blueberry Fritters with Brown Butter Lemon Glaze

• porsjoner: 10 servings
• aktiv tid: 45 minutes
• total tid: 2 hours 50 minutes

Ingredienser

3/4 cup (180ml) milk of choice, warmed to ~110F (I place in the microwave for ~45 seconds; it should feel like a warm bath, but not too hot)

1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar, divided

2 1/2 tsp (11g) active dry yeast (substitution: instant yeast)

1/2 cup (120g) Greek yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature

1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, melted and slightly cooled

Optional: 1/3 cup (25g) slightly crushed freeze-dried wild or regular blueberries (do NOT substitute fresh or frozen blueberries for these; if you don’t have them, omit it as a whole)

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp (4g) vanilla bean paste or extract

4 cups (480g) bread flour (substitution: all-purpose flour)

1 tsp salt

Avocado oil (or oil of choice), for frying

1 1/2 cups (205g) fresh or frozen regular or wild blueberries* (see note below), I personally used frozen wild blueberries

All-purpose flour

3 cups (360g) powdered sugar

12 tbsp (170g) salted butter, browned

3 tbsp (45ml) lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp (30ml) milk of choice

1 tsp (4g) vanilla bean paste or extract

Fremgangsmåte

Before diving in, I want to share a quick note — this recipe is a labor of love, but I will walk you through every single step to set you up for the best possible outcome, and I promise it is so worth it. The shaping process will get a little messy, but embrace it and have fun with it! The most important things are to read through the instructions carefully before getting started and to check out the notes section below. Follow the steps closely and I promise you will end up with the most incredible homemade blueberry fritters!

Start by activating the yeast for the dough. Pour the warm milk into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Add 1 tbsp (12g) of the granulated sugar and sprinkle the yeast overtop. Stir and allow to sit for 5-7 minutes, until frothy and activated. *If using instant yeast, no need to wait for it to bloom; go straight into mixing the dough together! Make sure still use warm milk.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.

Once activated, pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if mixing/kneading the dough by hand). Add the rest of the sugar (1/4 cup minus the 1 tbsp that was used to activate the yeast), Greek yogurt or sour cream, melted and cooled butter, crushed freeze-dried blueberries (only if using), eggs, vanilla, and the flour mixture.

With the dough hook attachment (or with a wooden spoon if mixing by hand), mix on low speed for 1 minute, until barely combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes so the flour can soak up the liquids.

Then, mix on medium speed for 5-7 minutes, until the dough is elastic, smooth, and is pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough seems a little too sticky, you can add 1 tbsp more flour at a time, until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Don’t add too much, you want the dough to be slightly sticky! I ended up adding ~2 tbsp more flour. If you are mixing and kneading by hand, pour the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes by hand.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise in a warm environment for 1-1.5 hours, or until doubled in size. I did a full 1.5 hours!

Once the dough is almost finished rising, cut out 10-12 squares of parchment paper and spread them across 2 baking sheets. Then sprinkle each parchment paper square with flour. These will be used for the fritters to sit on once shaped and make it easier to transfer the them to the oil once ready to fry.

Once the dough is doubled, punch it down and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Then roll it out into a 12x16” rectangle.

Spread the blueberries in the center portion of the dough, going down the middle width-wise in an even layer (refer to the video if needed). Fold each short side of the dough to meet in the middle and enclose the blueberries, then seal the edges.

Use a bench scraper, pizza cutter, or sharp knife to cut the dough into a grid pattern, making 1” pieces, cutting across the dough lengthwise and then widthwise. Then, toss and gather the dough bits, and cut a little more from different directions. This is not an exact process, so don’t fret; you just need a bunch of small pieces to form the fritters. No matter what, it’s going to get messy, embrace it! If the blueberries start to thaw as you are shaping (if using frozen), it is TOTALLY okay!

Divide the dough and form into 10-12 portions of dough (it does not have to be perfect, these should be rough, so estimate). For each portion of dough, use your hands to shape it into a ball and then slightly flatten it out. Sprinkle about 1-1.5 tbsp of flour on top of it and gently knead and fold it together to incorporate the flour. Then use your hands to shape into a ball and flatten out again (about 1/4”-1/2” thick; you don’t want them too thick or they won’t cook all the way through). Now you’ve formed your fritter! Sprinkle some flour on top, then flip it over and sprinkle some more flour on the other side. REFER to the video if needed! I want to make a note here that this shaping step is VERY important. Please make sure you are adding enough flour and compacting/kneading it together so it holds. If there is not enough flour added here, the fritters WILL separate while frying, so don’t be afraid to add more flour if needed and just in case!!

Transfer the shaped fritters to the prepared squares of parchment paper on the baking sheets (it will be easier to transfer into the oil this way). Loosely cover the baking sheets with a piece of plastic wrap or a kitchen and allow to rest while the oil heats. They will rise slightly during this time! You can also place them in the refrigerator or freezer while the oil heats, this will help to keep them together once placing them in the oil.

Fill a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven with oil, filling ~2” in the pan. Heat on medium-high until it reaches 360F-375F (182C-190C).

Line a wire cooling rack with a thick layer of paper towels.

While the oil heats, prepare the brown butter lemon glaze. In a large bowl, whisk tougher the powdered sugar, browned butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, milk, and vanilla. If the glaze is too thick, whisk in 1 tbsp (15ml) more milk at a time.

Once the oil is hot enough, carefully and slowly place 2 fritters into the hot oil (with the parchment paper on). After 1 minute or until it naturally starts to release, pull the parchment paper away from the fritters with metal tongs.

Fry the fritters for 2-3 minutes (or longer if needed) on each side, until deeply golden brown.

Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the fritters from the oil and transfer to the rack with paper towels. Repeat with the remaining fritters.

While the other fritters are frying, dip the warm fritters into the glaze, making sure to generously coat both sides. Then place onto a cooling rack that’s positioned on top of a baking sheet to let the glaze set.

Serve warm with a cup of coffee.

Enjoy!