Gulab Jamun - Indian Syrup-Soaked Donut Holes

Gulab jamun are the Indian version of donut holes.  But unlike the donut holes that I would mooch off of my brother's soccer team while they were having halftime meetings, gulab jamun are not finger foods.  Imagine, if you will, hot Krispy Kremes fresh out of the fryer, soaked in sugar syrup, and then served on top of some extra syrup.  That, my friends, is gulab jamun.  Gulab jamun are little syrup sponges (in this case a cardamom, syrup) your arteries will hate you for, but that you won't be able to resist (if you feel guilty, you can remind yourself that they aren't as fattening as deep fried cupcakes or cupcakes wellington). 

Cuddrireddra - The Cookie Recipe Worth A Four Year Wait

Orange, red wine, and cinnamon come together in cuddrireddra, an Italian deep fried cookie that resembles a biscotti in texture.  Don't let the frying scare you off.  Everyone was surprised to hear that the cuddrireddra were deep fried - unlike donuts or funnel cake, they are not at all greasy.  The cuddrireddra have a respectable crunch without being rock hard and the flavor is unique but comforting at the same time - like the smell of home cooked food that sometimes fills the hallways of apartment buildings.  One taster couldn't help but remark over and over again that cuddrireddra are much better than chocolate chip cookies.  It's no surprise that she felt that way; cuddrireddra are the cookies that were worth tracking down for four years.

Deep Fried Cupcakes You Can Make at Home

To imagine deep fried cupcakes, picture biting into a piping hot funnel cake. As you bite into the hot doughy goodness, you hit a layer of melted chocolate and then a layer of hot chocolate cake. Your bite finishes with a final hit of funnel cake dough and a splash of powdered sugar. After licking your lips, you bring them to a big smile!

I've been thinking about making deep fried cupcakes for at least a year. I thought about deep fried cupcakes last Chanukah since I always make doughnuts (sufganiyot) on Chanukah and thought frying cupcakes would be a nice substitute for that. Last year, however, I ended up finding an awesome linzer cookie cutter and thoughts of frying fell by the wayside in favor of linzer cupcakes.

When Chanukah came around this year, though, deep fried cupcakes were still bubbling in my brain - and now I had a deep fryer. I highly recommend the mini Cuisinart deep fryer that I bought to make the Toasted Ravioli Cupcakes.

To say that the deep fried cupcakes were worth the wait would be an understatement.

Here's how to make deep fried cupcakes.

Step 1: You'll Need Cupcakes To Fry

You can deep fry any cupcake. I opted to fry mini-cupcakes so that the end result would be bite-sized fried cupcakes that you could pop in your mouth. I also opted to choose cupcakes frosted with a chocolate ganache. While a buttercream or cream cheese frosting could also work, if I were going to melt something, chocolate seemed like the perfect choice.

The chocolate cake I used was the one that I featured in my Better Than Sex Chocolate Cupcakes. The original recipe came from Chockylit's cupcake blog.

Makes about 50 mini cupcakes (Cut the recipe in half if you don't have lots of people eating. Although, you will probably have people lining up to try them.)

• 1/2 C (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 C sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 C flour
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 C milk
• 1 t vanilla

1. Beat butter until softened.
2. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
4. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
6. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine.
7. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
8. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 1/2 full.
   
9. Bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frost the cupcakes with the following ganache recipe:

• 3.5 oz of dark chocolate broken into small pieces
  
• 1/3 C heavy cream

1. Place the chocolate in a small glass bowl.
   
2. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it just starts to boil.
   
3. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until all the chocolate is melted and integrated with the cream.
   
4. While it is still warm, spread a thin layer of it over the cupcakes. It will harden when it cools.

Step 2: Make the Funnel Cake Batter


The next thing that you will need is some funnel cake batter to dunk your cupcakes in. I got the funnel cake batter recipe from MomsWhoThink.

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 C milk
• 4 T sugar
• 2 1/2 C flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 t baking powder

1. Beat egg and milk.
   
2. Mix all other ingredients in a separate bowl and slowly add to the egg mixture, beating until smooth.
3. Set aside for dunking. I do not recommend keeping this mixture in the refrigerator at all. I made some in advance and stuck it in the fridge and the texture changed. It became much thicker and not as easy to use for dunking.

Step 3: Deep Frying

I'm not going to give too many instructions on exactly how to do the deep frying. It will vary depending on what brand of deep fryer you are using or if you are just using a pot to fry in. However the basic instructions are:

1. Remove the cupcake wrapper. You do not want charred paper.
2. Dunk your cupcake in the funnel cake batter, making sure to cover all sides completely.
3. Follow the instructions on your fryer (You could also fry in a pot. It works, but it's much more messy.). I used peanut oil, but any vegetable oil will do.
4. Fry until all sides are golden brown (about 3 minutes).
   
5. Remove from the fryer and dust with powdered sugar.

Step 4: Eat the Deep Fried Cupcakes Immediately

You must eat deep fried cupcakes when they are hot. It's just not the same after they cool down - and yes, I'm wearing dreidels on my head. I go all out for Chanukah!

How to Make Toasted Ravioli

Related Posts:

• How to Make Ravioli
  
• Apple Cinnamon Ravioli Filling
• Toasted Ravioli Cupcakes
  

How to Make Toasted Ravioli

Missouri is known as the Show-Me state. I can see why that is important. If I told you about St. Louis' famous food, toasted ravioli, you might assume that it was, as the name implies, toasted. But no, it is actually deep fried - you need to be shown it to understand what it is.

I'm not typically a fan of this greasy food. However, my homemade apple cinnamon toasted ravioli tasted like little apple dumplings. I loved them! The instructions for how to make toasted ravioli below apply to any kind of ravioli you would like to "toast".

What You Will Need to Make Toasted Ravioli

To make toasted ravioli, you will need:

• Ravioli to fry - You can buy them at the store or read about how to make ravioli and make your own. Make sure the ravioli are at room temperature.
  
• Something to fry in - I used a mini Cuisinart deep fryer, which I loved! It made everything so easy and far less messy than just using a pot.
• Oil -I used high heat canola oil.
  
• Breading - For my apple cinnamon toasted ravioli, I used plain bread crumbs mixed with cinnamon and brown sugar. For a more traditional meat ravioli, you could use bread crumbs mixed with some Italian seasonings.
• Eggs
  

Step 1: Get the Oil Hot

Get the oil hot and ready to go. With my deep fryer, this was really easy. You fill it to the fill line, turn it on to 375 F, and wait for the ready light to go on.

Step 2: Dunk the Ravioli in Eggs and Breading

Coat each piece of ravioli in whisked eggs. This will make the breading stick to them.

Then, dunk the ravioli in the bread crumbs. Coat them as much as possible. Don't obsess about every square inch getting covered.

Step 3: Load the Ravioli Into the Oil

Again, this step was really easy with my deep fryer. I raised the basket out the fryer, loaded the ravioli into the basket, and then slowly lowered the basket into the hot oil. If you do not have a fryer, be really careful about dropping the ravioli into oil as the oil could splatter. It's a good idea to wear long sleeves, pants, and closed toed shoes for protection.

Step 4: Let the Ravioli Fry

I let the toasted ravioli fry for about two minutes on each side. I flipped them in the middle. The flipping may not have been necessary. However, since they floated to the top, I wanted to make sure each side got equal frying action.

Step 5: Wash Hands and Eat!

Set the ravioli on some paper towels to soak up any extra oil. Let them cool for a minute or two and then wash your hands and dig in!