Beignets aux Pommes (French Apple Fritters)

These tasty, no-sugar-added French-style apple fritters (beignets aux pommes in French) hit the spot at any party. Apples wrapped in a crispy beer batter are delightful served hot, on their own, or with ice cream.

French-style apple fritters or beignets aux pommes are a popular French autumnal and winter dessert.

Apple fritters are one of the carnival delicacies. According to chef Simon, Mardi Gras is

not a Mardi Gras without a granny or mother working in the kitchen to prepare the recipe that will delight the whole family.

It is also a favorite after-school snack for most French children. So, knowing how to make apple beignets is an essential skill of any French mom and grandmother.

The paternal grandmother of the French chef Hélène Darroze made apple fritters out of 6 to 8 pounds or 3 to 4 kg of apples at once.

Mrs. Darroze, a chef-holder of three Michelin stars, inherited her family recipe, but she has never reached that level to make apple fritters as her grandma.

The fritter batter is made with beer, which is used as a leavening agent, instead of yeast.

But don't worry, these apple fritters are kid-friendly: the alcohol evaporates as you fry beignets aux pommes.

And if you don't know what to do with the rest of the bottled beer, check out the French Chocolate Crepes recipe.

Do you worry about wasting egg yolks? Have a look at the recipe for Palet Breton to use the remaining egg yolks.

French and American apple fritters

French apple fritters called beignets aux pommes in French are different from contemporary American apple fritters.

French-style apple fritters are made by slicing apples, dipping them in a fritter batter, and frying them.

American apple fritters are prepared by mixing chopped apples with batter and deep-frying or frying in a pan. They are often glazed as well.

But what both French and American fritters have in common is that

the fritters must always be served piping hot.

Deep-frying tips

Deep frying is a popular cooking method to make the food crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

It is one of the scarry cooking methods too, but not with these deep-frying tips!

Safety, safety, and safety again. Please, do not multitask and do not allow kids to play near the stove where you fry fritters.

Dip the fritters into a cooking oil gently. Please, try to avoid any splatters. For your safety, wear long-sleeve clothes.

Deep-fry one or two fritters at first, just to test. It allows you to learn a workflow pattern and get the right timing while frying fritters.

Monitor the required temperature of the frying oil by using a cooking thermometer.

Check it during cooking and between fritter batches. If it drops, wait for a bit to come back up before adding another batch of fritters.

It is good to know that a dutch oven or heavy pot is the best to hold the oil's temperature.

To remove the finished fritters, please, be careful and use a metal spider (not a plastic skimmer spoon).

Try to remove a couple of fritters at once to prevent them from falling back into the oil and splashing.

Why you should try this recipe

1. These apple fritters are French-style ones: if you are in love with French cuisine, it is a must-make-and-try recipe.
2. The apple fritters' batter is made with no sugar added. Sprinkle fritters with icing sugar, if desired.
3. There are only 27 calories in one fritter that contains 3.4 g net carbs.
4. Apple fritters have their unique taste due to beer incorporated in the batter. The beer is important as a leavening agent in the recipe as well. 
5. The batter is basic to make fritters: replace apples with other fruit such as mangoes or bananas.
6. Apple fritters are the best entertaining dessert while picnicking. Just make the batter in advance, cut apples, and fry them using a portable outdoor gas stove.
7. They are easy and fun to make: kids don't usually wait for serving; they steal one by one while cooking.

Ingredients

For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

Apples: Golden apples are the best choice for French apple fritters since they hold their shape while cooking. Although, feel free to use Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp apples.

Frying oil: use peanut, rapeseed, canola oil, or vegetable oil to make apple beignets. Please, read on what oil to use for frying.

Flour: the recipe calls for all-purpose flour.

Salt: a bit of salt is added to the recipe to enhance the flavor of fritters.

Beer: the French use dark French beer or stout, but any of your favorite beer will work for this recipe.

Milk: use whole or low-fat milk.

Egg whites: use chilled whole large eggs and an egg separator to separate the whites from egg yolks. Then bring egg whites to room temperature.

Icing sugar: to serve apple fritters, use homemade icing sugar or store-bought powdered sugar. Mix it with ground cinnamon if desired.

How to make beignets aux pommes

To make the batter, whisk egg whites with an electric mixer, until soft peaks (photo 1).

In a separate bowl, place sifted flour and salt. Add beer with milk and gently mix until smooth (photo 2).

Add egg whites to the mixture and mix to combine with a rubber spatula (photo 3).

Cover the bowl with plastic film and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours.

When the batter is ready, prepare the filling. Peel and core apples with an apple cutter. Cut slices about ⅓ inch/8 mm thick (photo 4).

Heat the cooking oil to 355 F/180 C (check the temperature with a cooking thermometer).

Using tongs or a fork, dip apple slices in the batter to coat, remove them, drain slightly, and plunge carefully into the hot oil in a single layer (photo 5).

Cook for 2 minutes, then turn and cook for 1 minute or until golden and crisp. 

Use a metal spider to transfer fritters to a paper-towel-lined plate or a wire rack (photo 6).

Place on a serving heated plate, sprinkle with icing (powdered) sugar, and serve immediately. Be careful as the fritters will be very hot.

Expert tips

1. Replace Golden apples with Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp apples.
2. Slice apples into ⅓ inch/8 mm rounds if you prefer this way of apple fritters.
3. To measure the beer, pour it into a measuring cup and allow the foam to settle to make sure you have the correct amount of beer.
4. Use peanut oil, vegetable, or canola oil to fry apple fritters.
5. To make sure the cooking oil is at 355 F/180 C, use a cooking thermometer. This temperature is required to maintain a crispy coating without absorbing the oil and becoming greasy. When checking the oil temperature, keep the tip of the thermometer about mid-way through the oil.
6. Deep-fry apple fritters in batches. Proceed by 4 or 6 slices at a time so that fritters do not stick together.
7. Try to fry as quickly as possible since apple beignets are best served hot.
8. Sprinkle the ready fritters with the mix of icing (powdered) sugar and ground cinnamon or accompany vanilla ice cream if desired.
9. Replace apples with mangoes or bananas and enjoy a new twist on the recipe!

Frequently asked questions

Love apple recipes? Try these next!

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Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was adapted from http://www.leparisien.fr.It was originally published on April 06, 2018. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.