Sarah Lasry Recipes for www.kosherstreet.com

Sufganiyont (donuts) along with Latkes are the traditional favorite treats we indulge on during Chanukah, as a reminder of the miracle of the oil lasting 8 days & nights.

Through the last few years I have collected and tested some terrific fried donut and tempura battered recipes that I serve during the eight nights of Chanukah and I have compiled them ALL here for you guys to try this year! –

FRIED TEMPURA DESSERTS:

Lets face the facts, the traditional yeast donuts that we all know and love are sometimes a real pain-in-the-neck to make. This year why not try an alternative to that typical Donut fare with some new fried wonders.

Using the same tempura recipe I have created 3 terrific EASY to-do fried desserts that help celebrate the miracle of Chanukah a little different this year.

Trust me, not only will your family thank you 100xs over for these delicious treats, you will be amazed how quick and easy these fried delights really are to make!

Tempura Batter

When I first created the menu for my café my mother handed me a recipe for the world’s greatest pancakes. This batter is my secret to some of the most decadent deep-fried desserts ever. In my opinion everything tastes better fried. Nothing more so, than the following three desserts:

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

3 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. kosher salt

½ cup sour cream

¾ cup + 1 tbsp. milk

2 extra large eggs

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined and there are no lumps.

Tip: this batter can be refrigerated if sealed tightly into an air tight container up to 2 days.

Tip: If you must make this batter pareve, substitute the sour cream with Tofutti and the milk with soy .

Funnel Cake

Food knowledge: The funnel cake is traditional made by pushing batter thru a funnel and dropping it in a circular motion over hot oil. The origin of funnel cake is not truly know but is rumored to have come over from Europe and was first introduced in America at county fairs in the Dutch-Pennsylvania region in 1949-50.

Every time I go to a fair, carnival or a circus I see this being sold and drool. Finally one day I decided how hard can this be to make at home? Luckily for me, not hard at all. These are particularly fantastic to make at a Chanukah Party, just have your batter ready and some hot oil, and pipe away – minutes before your guest arrive – for the fastest and easiest hot Fried FUNNEL CAKES EVER! You can literally make an entire platter full in less than 5 minutes!

Ingredients:

1 batch of the above Tempura Recipe

Directions:

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.

In a large frying pan or sauce pan, heat oil for frying. When oil is hot, take your whisk, swirl it in the tempura batter and then hold the loaded whisk over the hot oil and swirl and drop the batter into the hot oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes until golden brown, scoop out with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Repeat process. Sprinkle powdered sugar and serve hot.

Tip: For parties I love serving these in jumbo cupcake holders.

Oreo Cookie Tempura

The idea for this dessert originated when one of my waitresses asked me if I ever tried fried Twinkies. Not only have I never tried Twinkies I couldn’t imagine that they would be edible fried. However this waitress insisted that they were the out of this world and I should consider putting something like it on the menu. Intrigued by the idea, I wondered if instead of a cake could we fry a cookie with the same delicious results. So we tried it. The outcome was one of the most insanely rich and tempting desserts ever.

You can make this earlier in the day, before your guest arrive, and keep them uncovered and warm in the oven until ready to serve!

Ingredients:

1 recipe for Tempura Batter

1 package chocolate vanilla sandwich cookies, favorite brand

Vanilla ice cream

Caramel or chocolate sauce for garnish

Chopped almonds or walnuts, for garnish

Vegetable oil ,for frying

Directions:

Make your tempura batter and set aside.

Heat the oil in a pot. Bring to a boil.

Using a pair of tongs, dip the cookie into the tempura batter. Get a thick coat of batter all over the cookie. With your tongs, dip the battered cookie into the boiling oil and release. The cookie will float to the top and will start to fry. After 2 minutes, flip the cookie over and continue frying for another 2 minutes. The cookie is ready when the outside tempura has puffed up and turned a nice light golden brown. Remove from oil and pat dry on paper towel.

Serve immediately with a scoop of vanilla ice cream garnished with caramel or chocolate sauce and ground almonds or walnuts. Or with a simple dollop of fresh whip cream

Ice Cream Tempura

I always order the ice cream tempura for dessert when I go out to eat Chinese food. I always marveled at was curious on how they fry the ice cream ball and not have a melted heap. One day my old sushi chef David Wang taught me the secret, they wrap the ice cream in white bread! Imagine that.

Now for Chanukah they really are the perfect dessert to serve in honor of Chanukah on one of the eight nights. Make the balls days in advance when you have time, and just heat up the oil and fry – literally 5 minutes before you need them – from pan to plate ,your family will be thrilled!

Ingredients:

Makes 5 tempura balls

1 pint Vanilla cream

10 pieces of white bread, (soft sandwich bread is the best)

1 Tempura batter recipe

Vegetable oil for frying.

Prep your ice cream balls:

Cut of the crusts from the white bread and set aside.

Directions:

With an ice cream scooper , scoop out palm size ice cream balls. Take 2 pieces of the white bread and wrap firmly around the ice cream ball. As you wrap, mold the ice cream into your perfect ball shape.

Wrap the ball tightly in plastic wrap and place in freezer immediately. Repeat with remaining ice cream and bread. Freeze balls for up to 3 hours or overnight.

For Ice Cream Tempura:

Heat oil for frying. Place your ice cream ball in your prepared tempura batter and coat well with a spoon. Using a slotted spoon gently place your battered ball into the hot oil. Fry for about 2-3 minutes turning the ball over so it gets brown on all sides. Remove and pat gently dry with paper towel and serve immediately.

Tip: Makes these ice cream ball days in advance if serving for a large crowd. The freeze up to 3 months.

Tip: I hate to put opened ice cream containers back in the freezer because of the inevitable freezer burn. So I make these balls with the remainder ice cream that doesn’t get initially eaten.

Have a terrific Chanukah this year!

Recipe By Sarah Lasry via www.Kosherstreet.com the #1 source on the web for the kosher family.

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