Ricotta fritters with lime curd and candied grapefruit recipe, Curtis Stone, Maude, Los Angeles (2024)

• For deep-frying: canola oil
• 110 gm (¾ cup) plain flour, sieved
• 2½ tbsp pure icing sugar
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 125 ml (½ cup) milk
• 1½ tsp finely grated orange rind
• For rolling: caster sugar

• Julienned peel and juice of 1 ruby grapefruit
• 110 gm (½ cup) caster sugar

• 2 eggs
• 80 gm (1/3 cup) caster sugar
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) lime juice (from about 3 limes)
• 70 gm unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature

• 750 ml (3 cups) milk
• 185 ml (¾ cup) thickened cream
• 25 ml lemon juice

Main

• 1

  For candied grapefruit peel, blanch rind for 20 seconds, strain and refresh in iced water, then drain. Repeat blanching, straining and refreshing twice more, using fresh hot water each time. Bring sugar, 125ml grapefruit juice, 125ml water and rind to the simmer in a saucepan over low heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, until rind is tender and translucent and liquid reduces to a light syrup (20-25 minutes). Cool rind in syrup (1-2 hours). Candied grapefruit peel can be made 5 days ahead.

• 2

  For lime curd, whisk eggs, sugar and lime juice in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water until light, fluffy and mixture thickly coats the back of a spoon (4-5 minutes). Remove from heat and leave to cool (5 minutes), then whisk in butter a little at a time, beating well between additions. Cover and refrigerate until cold and set (2 hours), then transfer to a piping bag with a 3mm plain nozzle. Lime curd can be made 3 days ahead.

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• 3

  For ricotta, bring milk, cream and lemon juice to the boil in a stainless steel saucepan over low-medium heat without stirring. Remove from heat and set aside to cool until mixture separates into curds and whey (10-12 minutes). Transfer curds (discard whey) with a slotted spoon to a muslin-lined sieve placed over a bowl and refrigerate to drain (2-2½ hours), then transfer ricotta to a bowl and refrigerate until required. Ricotta can be made a day ahead.

• 4

  Preheat oven to 150C. Heat 8cm of oil in a large saucepan to 180C over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, whisk flour, icing sugar, baking powder and tsp salt in a bowl. Whisk ¾ cup of ricotta, eggs, milk and orange rind in a separate bowl, then whisk in flour mixture. Spoon half-tablespoonfuls of mixture into oil in batches (use a small ice-cream scoop to form the fritters if you have one; be careful hot oil will spit) and fry, turning occasionally, until deep golden-brown and cooked through (3-4 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, then transfer to a baking tray and keep warm in oven while you fry remaining fritters (ensure oil returns to 180C between batches).

• 5

  Pierce fritters with the tip of the piping nozzle and carefully pipe in a little lime curd, wipe away excess curd and roll filled fritters in sugar. Serve warm, garnished with candied grapefruit.