Custard fritter

MAKES 25

You will need

1 quantity Zumbaron Shells, white

vegetable oil, for deep frying

CUSTARD

250 g (9 oz) pure cream (35% fat)

250 g (9 oz) milk

75 g (2¾ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

2.5 g (³/₃₂ oz) iota carrageenan

1.5 g (¹/₁₆ oz) gellan gum

seeds scraped from 2 vanilla beans

60 g (2¼ oz) egg yolk

Put all the ingredients except the egg yolk into a medium saucepan and use a hand blender to blend until smooth. Put the saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil.

Add the egg yolk and stir well. Pour the mixture into a container or a bowl to set. Once the mixture is set, transfer it to a food processor and process until a smooth paste is achieved. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more milk.

TEMPURA BATTER

190 g (6¾ oz) beer, chilled

110 g (3¾ oz) self-raising flour

15 g (½ oz) cornflour (cornstarch)

Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix well using a whisk. Prepare the batter just before frying.

CINNAMON SUGAR

55 g (2 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Combine the caster sugar and cinnamon on a plate.

TO ASSEMBLE

Put the custard in a piping (icing) bag fitted with a 9 mm (³/₈ inch) plain nozzle and pipe the custard on the flat side of half of the zumbaron shells, then top with the remaining shells. Put the assembled zumbarons in the refrigerator for 24 hours to set.

Fill a saucepan three quarters full with vegetable oil and heat the oil to 180°C (350°F) or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil turns golden brown in 15 seconds. Dip a zumbaron into the tempura batter and drop it directly into the hot oil, working with 5 or 6 zumbarons at a time to prevent overcrowding.

Cook until the batter is lightly golden, then remove from the oil and place on paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Toss the custard fritter zumbarons in cinnamon sugar to finish. These are best eaten while still slightly warm.