Nutmeg and Orange Ricotta Fritters with Berry Jam
on Nov 27, 2023, Updated May 21, 2024
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These nutmeg and orange ricotta fritters with berry jam are sweet and zesty! This ricotta fritters recipe is a really great dessert for any occasion. Served alongside berry jam, it is the perfect pairing. The fritter batter comes together so quickly, the fritters are flakey, soft and tender, while they have the most golden brown crust. The batter can be made in one bowl, cooked right away, and of course topped with tons of powdered sugar.
If you’re serving this for Hanukkah, be sure to check our all our Hanukkah Recipes, like our Crispy Potato Latkes, to pair with these fritters!
What ingredients do you need for these ricotta fritters recipe?
All-Purpose Flour: For our fritters, our flour of choice is all-purpose flour. Perfect for a crisp, yet chewy fritter, this is going to be the base for our dough.
Ground Nutmeg: Adding a nutty flavor to our fritters, nutmeg is the perfect addition to balance out our zesty orange. Not only does it add a slight sweetness that pairs well with the orange zest, but it also adds a cozy feel to our fritters.
Orange Zest: We’re going to be using just the zest of an orange. This will help add brightness and a citrusy flavor profile to our rich and sweet fritter.
Ricotta cheese: Ricotta cheese is one of our favorite cheeses to add to both savory and sweet dishes because it has such a neutral flavor, but a really great texture. It also adds to the moistness of the fritter.
Berry jam: We’re serving our fritters with some of our favorite jams. We find raspberry jam to be a perfect pairing to both the nutmeg and orange, but feel free to use whichever is your favorite jam.
Instructions to make this ricotta fritters recipe
Heat up your oil
- Heat around 2 inches of neutral oil on medium heat in a deep pot to 325-350°F.
Prepare your batter
- While your oil is heating up, make your fritter batter. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, a pinch of salt, half of your orange zest, and vanilla extract. Stir together to make sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- In a separate medium bowl, crack in your eggs and whisk really well ensuring the whites are beaten together with the yolks. Add in your ricotta cheese and toss to combine.
- Add your beaten egg and ricotta cheese mixture to your dry ingredients. Fold gently until a smooth batter forms, with as least clumps as possible, being careful not to overmix. Make sure the flour is completely incorporated with the rest of the batter.
Fry your fritters
- Using a spoon or 1-ounce cookie scoop, carefully drop the spoonfuls of the fritter batter into the hot oil, for about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn occasionally to ensure they are all golden brown on all sides. If you find they are browning too quickly, you can turn the heat down to low, or add more oil to bring the temperature down.
- Transfer your fritters with a slotted spoon or spider and place them on a paper towel-lined plate to drain out any of the excess oils. Fry in batches if needed.
Serve!
- Transfer to a serving platter. Using a fine mesh sieve, dust your fritters with confectioners’ sugar, all around and top with your remaining orange zest. Serve with your raspberry jam.
Tips, Tricks, and Substitutions
Can I make this recipe gluten-free? You can definitely use a gluten-free alternative. We find that a great replacement would be 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour. We would avoid replacing our all-purpose flour with flour like almond and coconut flour since it’s not the best for a 1-to-1 substitution.
Are there any other alternatives for ricotta? You can use similar ingredients like cottage cheese or mascarpone. If you’re looking for a dairy-free alternative, you can swap out the ricotta for a dairy-free ricotta.
Can I prep the dough and fry it later? We love prepping the dough putting saran wrap, and placing it in the fridge until it’s ready to fry. We also find that when we let it chill in the fridge, the dough becomes easier to work with when frying. If you do plan to make the batter ahead, and leave it in the fridge for 5 plus hours, take it out at room temperature a little bit before frying just so it’s not as cold to scoop.
Check out some more of our favorite desserts!
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Nutmeg and Orange Ricotta Fritters with Berry Jam
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil or canola oil, for frying, about 2 to 3 cups
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Zest of 1 orange, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
- confectioners’ sugar for dusting
- Berry jam, for serving, we are using raspberry jam
Instructions
- Heat around 2 inches of neutral oil on medium heat in a deep pot to 325-350°F.
- While your oil is heating up, make your fritter batter. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, a pinch of salt, half of your orange zest, and vanilla extract. Stir together to make sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- In a separate medium bowl, crack in your eggs and whisk really well ensuring the whites are beaten together with the yolks. Add in your ricotta cheese and toss to combine.
- Add your beaten egg and ricotta cheese mixture to your dry ingredients. Fold gently until a smooth batter forms, with as least clumps as possible, being careful not to overmix. Make sure the flour is completely incorporated with the rest of the batter.
- Using a spoon or 1-ounce cookie scoop, carefully drop the spoonfuls of the fritter batter into the hot oil, for about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn occasionally to ensure they are all golden brown on all sides. If you find they are browning too quickly, you can turn the heat down to low, or add more oil to bring the temperature down.
- Transfer your fritters with a slotted spoon or spider and place them on a paper towel-lined plate to drain out any of the excess oils. Fry in batches if needed.
- Transfer to a serving platter. Using a fine mesh sieve, dust your fritters with confectioners’ sugar, all around and top with your remaining orange zest. Serve with your raspberry jam.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
WOW! made these tonight and I am blown away at how easy and delicious they are! Sharing this recipe with my whole family, thank you Lindsey! 🙂
Hi Mary, thank you so much for your review! So happy you enjoyed!!