Oliebollen | The Miniaturist

She hands Nella the first olie-koek. It is still warm, and the fried crust breaks apart under Nella’s teeth, releasing the perfect blend of almond, ginger, clove and apple. ‘And Marin still loves him?’ Nella asks.
The Miniaturist
Jesse Burton

This recipe is coming in quite late, due to just…nothing. I’ve been oddly exhausted at all times lately, napping as soon as I get home from work and not finding the energy to manage anything. I’ve been determined from the next week to ensure that the (now) normal collapse into bed doesn’t occur. Instead I want to focus my energies on completing things that actually cause me to feel excited.

The Miniaturist is a book that had been sitting on my shelf for the better part of a year - I grabbed it at random one day as I was heading out, realising that I had finished my last book I was keeping in my bag. I think I finished it within the week. It is an incredible book, that manages to draw you in close, leaving me to read it in secretive bursts over a cup of tea or coffee at work, determined to get to the end. I mentioned to a friend that I was wanting to try to make the delicious fried dough that Nella dines on during the novel, Olie Koek, and she immediately got excited. Turns out, she’s half Dutch, and Oliebollen (what they are now known by) are the traditional food her family would make every New Years. I can’t describe the delight I felt when she exclaimed they tasted exactly the same as the ones her family would make.

I changed a few of the ingredients around from what Nella mentions in the book, these did not contain almonds for example, and I wanted them to be a bit more full of spices. Otherwise, these doughnuts are amazingly light and fluffy, with chunks of apple and raisins throughout. 

Oliebollen
Makes approx. 12
Ingredients
2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp white sugar
250ml lukewarm milk
2 tbsp caster sugar
250g plain flour
4 tbsp raisins
1 apple, peeled and diced into small pieces
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp mixed spices
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil, for frying
1 tbsp icing sugar, for dusting 

1. Combine the yeast, white sugar and warm milk together. Leave to sit until the mixture turns frothy.

2. Combine the flour, raisins, apple, spices, salt, vanilla and caster sugar together in a large bowl. Mix well.

3. Add in the yeast mixture to the flour and mix to combine well. The mixture will be quite sticky and wet - which is fine. If it's too close to liquid add in a bit more flour.

4. Place a clean cloth over the top of the bowl and leave to sit in a warm place to rise. It should take approximately an hour to double in size.

5. Heat the oil in a deep pan to around 180C - I recommend using a thermometer for this as it can be hard to ensure that the oil remains the same heat while cooking when its on the stove.

6. Using a metal spoon that has been dipped in the oil, scoop out balls from the dough, dropping them in to cook for around 3 - 4 minutes before turning them to cook the other side. They should be a light brown in colour - I recommend testing the first one to see if the length of time is enough to cook the inside.

7. Dust with the icing sugar and enjoy hot!