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Authentic Fritule Recipe
Dalmatia, Croatia
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We strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though
Introduction & history
Fritule, sweet round fritters from Dalmatia are a festive treat, traditionally prepared for Christmas and carnival time. The typical fritters are made with a yeasted dough that can be enriched with eggs, although in the past, it was more commonly prepared with choux pastry that could also include potatoes. However, today, it is frequently prepared with a looser dough that has yogurt and baking powder as ingredients instead of yeast. The key ingredient that needs to be included no matter what dough is used is alcohol, typically brandy — but rum or white wine are also an option — which helps the fritters not soak up as much oil during frying. Nuts, grated apples, spices, and citrus peels are often added to the dough for more flavor and moisture. Traditionally, fritule were fried in lard, but nowadays, oil is typically used. Once fried, fritule are left to drain on paper towels, and while hot, they are traditionally rolled in granulated or powdered sugar. Still, they can be ... Read more
Cooking tips
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dough
Fritule can be made with three kinds of dough — yeasted dough, dough leavened with baking powder, and choux pastry. However, no matter what dough in question, the key thing is that not a lot of sugar or milk is added as that will make the fritule brown too much during frying. Also, using a small amount of sugar in the dough helps the dough soak up less oil during frying. Fritule made with yeasted ... Read more -
alcohol
Adding alcohol to the dough has the purpose of preventing the dough from soaking up a lot of oil during frying. Brandy is the standard choice, typically some local kind, but rum and white wine are also common in recipes. -
additional ingredients
Fritule are typically flavored with lemon zest, and sometimes orange zest as well. Raisins are also often added to the dough and are, in some cases, rehydrated in water or brandy. Grated apples are often added for moisture. Nuts, typically pine nuts, and occasionally, though rarely, walnuts are also present in some recipes. Vanilla sugar is also often added to the dough for flavor. -
shaping fritule
Traditionally, fritule are shaped by hand — the dough is grabbed by one's hand and pushed through a hole made by joining the thumb and pointing finger. The ball of dough that pops through the hole is taken off with a spoon and dropped into the oil. Alternatively, the dough can be simply grabbed with a teaspoon and then dropped into the oil. For more neat and round fritule fritters, the dough can be ... Read more -
frying
The oil needs to be hot, but not overly hot if the fritule are to fry properly — they need to turn golden on the outside but be cooked on the inside. A simple way to gauge the temperature of the oil is to dip a wooden spoon into the oil — if small bubbles pop up around it, the temperature is right, but if the bubbles are big, the oil is too hot. When frying, the pot should not be overcrowded as that ... Read more -
serving
Fritule are traditionally served sprinkled with granulated sugar, but powdered sugar is also commonly used. Besides sugar, fritule can also be drizzled with fruit jams, chocolate, or caramel.
Recipe variations
Traditional Fritule with Yeasted Dough
PREP 40min
COOK 20min
READY IN 1h
This recipe gives instructions on how to make fritule with yeasted dough, meaning they will have a bread-like consistency. The dough is enriched with raisins and flavored with lemon zest.
Ingredients
500g flour
25g fresh yeast
2 eggs
50g raisins
200 ml milk
50 ml brandy
1 tbsp oil
60g sugar
a pinch of salt
lemon zest
powdered sugar, for sprinkling
oil, for frying
Preparation
Step 1/6
Add a small amount of lukewarm milk into a bowl. Crumble the yeast into the milk, add a tablespoon of sugar, then mix to dissolve. Place at a warm spot and wait for the mixture to froth.
Step 2/6
Sift the flour directly into a large bowl. Add to the flour eggs, raisins, brandy, oil, milk, and lemon zest. Pour in the yeast mixture. Knead until a dough is formed, then leave it in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
Step 3/6
Fill a pot with oil, then place it over medium heat to reach the frying temperature. To check if the oil is at frying temperature, place a wooden spoon inside the oil. If small bubbles appear around the spoon, the oil is ready.
Step 4/6
Lower the heat a bit, then drop teaspoons of dough into the oil, dipping the teaspoon in water between each grab and taking care not to overcrowd the pan.
Step 5/6
Once the fritters catch color on both sides, take them out of the pot with a slotted spoon and place them in a paper-lined tray.
Step 6/6
Once you've used up the entire dough, place the still warm fritule in a bowl and sprinkle them with powdered sugar.
Other Variations
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