Sweet Ricotta Fritters

This was one of those recipes where the picture draws you in and you can't imagine not trying them (anyone who has read previous posts may have raised an eyebrow, I do mean the original recipe picture and not my ones). The only sweet thing I ever make is eton mess because its delicious but I don't really have a sweet tooth, ignoring the occasional Drifter bar. I was a bit nervous as I very rarely deep fry anything either, but having done it now I am not sure why I thought it would go wrong.

These fritters are almost like little doughnuts but with a surprisingly different taste

- 400g ( 14oz )  fresh ricotta
- 3 free range eggs
- 5 tbsp castor sugar
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- a pinch of bicarbonate of soda
- 3 tbsp of sultanas
- 200g ( 7oz ) plain flour
- 500ml ( 18 fl oz ) vegetable oil
- icing sugar for dusting

- Drain any excess moisture from the ricotta and place in a large mixing bowl with the eggs. Beat until smooth
- Add the sugar, lemon zest, bicarbonate of soda, sultanas and flour and stir well to combine the ingredients. Cover with plastic film and rest the dough in the fridge for an hour
- Set out a plate lined with kitchen paper. Heat the oil, testing the heat by dropping a pinch of flour in, if it starts to sizzle its ready
- Scoop some dough into a tablespoon and drop it into the oil. Fry a few at a time depending hoe big your pan is. Once they are golden brown pop them onto the kitchen paper
- Serve piping hot dusted with the icing sugar

I would recommend breaking one of your first ones open to ensure they are not still soft in the middle. I dusted them with the sugar then thought to test them. As it turned out the middle was a little soft hence why the second of the pictures sees them slightly darker as they had sugar on them when they went back in. Somewhere in between is what your looking for. They were perfect regardless of being quite dark and dipping them in the icing sugar scattered around the plate was an afternoon well spent.

Personally I feel these are perfect with friends and a coffee in the afternoon rather than a dessert as they are quite filling. Admittedly I didn't have to eat 5 of them. Hmmm would they be nice with ice-cream I wonder. They are not to sweet and the lemon zest really makes them work so don't forget to put it in.

Time taken     15 mins + 1 hour resting
Effort      1.5/5
End result     3.75/5