Toffee Apples Recipe

Chinese toffee apples are not the glazed red apples on sticks that Westerners associate with the name. They are thick slices of apple fried in batter, then dropped into a sugar glaze with black sesame seeds, hardended quickly in a bowl of iced water and eaten with chopsticks. Great fun to do - guests can join in and take a turn at toffee-ing their own apples.

Ingredients : Serves 24

2/3 cup

1 cup

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup

2 teaspoons

Medium-size cooking apples

Egg

Cold water

Plain flour

Peanut oil for deep frying

Sugar

Cold water

Black sesame seeds

Method :

Quarter the apples, peel and core the pieces, then cut each quarter into 2 thick slices, 3 if the apples are large. Set aside.
Beat the egg in a medium size bowl, add the water and beat again until combined, then tip in all the flour at once and beat vigorously with rotary beater until batter is smooth.
Do not overbeat.
Let batter stand while preparing glaze.
As sugar cooks, start to heat oil for deep frying.
Try to have oil for frying and sugar glaze ready at the same time.
If oil is not put over too high a heat, this should not be difficult.
When a haze begins to rise from the surface of the oil, drop pieces of apple into the batter, turn to coat them completely, then take one piece at a time with chopsticks, a fondue fork, or fingers and drop into the oil.
Do not cook too many at one time.
Deep fry until the batter is golden, then lift out with a slotted spoon and put straight into the saucepan containing the glaze.
Turn pieces of apple in the glaze to coat the entire surface, then lift out and drop into a bowl containing cold water and ice cubes.
The glaze will harden and become brittle almost at once.
Lift them out quickly.
If left to stand too long the glaze will melt and the batter become leathery.

Glaze:

Put sugar and water into a small saucepan and place over medium high heat.
Do not stir at all. This is important. If you do, the sugar will crystallize and the glaze will not be clear.
Let sugar mixture bubble until it starts to turn faintly golden around the edges of the pan. Stir in sesame seeds and turn heat as low as it will go.
Or remove pan from heat, replacing it from time to time if sugar begins to harden before all the apples have been dipped.