Apple fritters

1. Stir the yeast into 2 tbsp of the warm milk, then put this into a bowl with the rest of the milk, a generous pinch of salt and half the flour. Stir everything around, cover and leave to ‘sponge’ for an hour.

2. Stir in the sugar, egg yolks, butter, lemon zest and the remaining flour (you might need to add a little milk if the mixture is too stiff and dry, though it should be quite firm). Leave, covered, for 1 hour 30 minutes. Meanwhile, put the apples into a bowl with the lemon juice, rum and brown sugar. Leave for an hour.

3. Stir the apple mixture into the batter, then beat the egg whites until they’re stiff but not dry. Fold 2 large tbsp of the egg whites into the batter to help loosen it, then fold in the rest.

4. Heat about 3cm of the oil in a large sauté pan. Cook the mixture in batches – each fritter should use about 11/2 tbsp batter and you should be able to do five in a regular sauté pan – until puffed up and golden, turning the fritters over and adjusting the heat so they don’t get too dark. It takes about 4-5 minutes to cook each fritter.

5. As soon as they’re ready, scoop them out with a slotted spoon onto a double layer of kitchen paper. Gently blot the tops of the fritters with kitchen paper too. Transfer to a wire rack, dust generously with icing sugar on both sides and serve.