Oliebollen
Oliebollen, which means oil balls, are the fried treat no New Year's Eve in the Netherlands is complete without. A loose yeasted batter studded with raisins and apple is scooped into balls and fried until puffed, then dusted with snow-white powdered sugar, giving a lightly crisp outside and a soft, moist inside full of fruit.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Rising or chilling
- 1 hr
- Total time
- 2 hr
- Method
- Fried
Ingredients
Batter and fruit
Sugar dusting
Frying oil
Instructions
Step 1
Warm 450 g whole milk until it feels warm to the touch, stir in 10 g instant yeast and 25 g granulated sugar, then pour it into a bowl with 500 g all-purpose flour and 8 g salt, add 50 g egg and beat continuously for about five minutes. Beating for a long time makes the batter stretchy and strong enough to hold the fruit suspended inside. The batter is right when it is smooth, as thick as cake batter and falls in a thick ribbon when you lift the spoon.
Step 2
Peel 150 g apples and cut them into small dice, then gently fold them into the batter with a spatula along with 150 g raisins, rinsed and patted dry, and 3 g grated lemon zest. Fruit that has been patted dry won't thin the batter or make the oil spatter during frying. The batter is right when the fruit is evenly distributed and not clumped at the bottom of the bowl.
Step 3
Cover the bowl tightly and set it somewhere warm for about one hour to rise. The yeast needs time to create air bubbles that make the oliebollen puff up round and light. The batter is ready when it has doubled, the surface is full of bubbles and it smells pleasantly yeasty.
Step 4
Heat to taste oil for deep-frying to about 180 degrees C, dip two spoons in the oil, then scoop out egg-sized balls of batter and drop them into the pot, frying for about six to seven minutes. They are large, so they need to fry long enough, and they usually turn themselves over once one side is cooked. They are right when they are round and puffed, evenly golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out free of wet batter.
Step 5
Lift the oliebollen out onto a tray lined with paper towels, let them cool for a few minutes, then sift 50 g powdered sugar over them until completely covered. Dusting them once they are no longer piping hot keeps the sugar from melting into a wet layer. They are finished when they are snowy white and, when you break one open, the inside is soft and moist and speckled with raisins and apple.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Deep skillet
- Thermometer
- Wire cooling rack
- Plastic wrap
- Sieve
- Kitchen scale
Tips
- Soaking the raisins in warm water for ten minutes before using them makes them plump and keeps them from burning during frying.
- Fry one small test ball first to check the oil temperature and how well the inside cooks before frying the whole batch.
- You can add a little ground cinnamon to the batter for a cozier aroma in the cold season.
Storage
Let the oliebollen cool completely, then keep them in a sealed bag at room temperature for one to two days. To enjoy them again, reheat them in a 180 degree C oven for about five minutes and dust with powdered sugar once more.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The oliebollen are rough, with ragged tails of dough.
- The spoons weren't dipped in oil, so the batter stuck and dragged into tails. Dip the spoons in the oil before each scoop so the batter slides off neatly.
- The inside is still raw even though the outside is dark.
- The balls were too big or the oil was too hot. Scoop smaller balls and lower the oil temperature to about 175 degrees C.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
