Pear Fritters with Cinnamon Sugar and Pear Sorbet

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup/155 g all purpose flour
1 cup/230 ml cold water
3 ounces/85 g crushed ice
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1/2 cup/100 g sugar
1 tablespoon/about 5 g ground cinnamon
4 under-ripe Anjou pears, each cut into 8 wedges and cored

Additional all-purpose flour, for dredging
1 pint pear sorbet

Method:

To make the Batter:

In a large mixing bowl, mix 1 cup/155 g of the flour, the water and ice gently to form a lumpy batter.  A few lumps of ice and flour are fine.

To make the Fritters: 

Add enough oil to a heavy large frying pan to come 1/3 up the sides of the pan.  Heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Mix the sugar and the cinnamon together in a small bowl. 

Working in four batches and using 1 tablespoon/12 g of the cinnamon sugar per batch, toss the pears with the cinnamon sugar in a large bowl to coat.  Immediately dredge the sugar-coated pears in the additional flour to coat, then add the pears to the batter. Place the pears into the hot oil and fry for 4 minutes, or until the coating is crisp and the pears are tender. 

Using tongs, transfer the pear fritters from the oil and onto paper towels to drain the excess oil from the fritters. Sprinkle the hot fritters with some of the remaining cinnamon sugar. Place the cooked fritters on a rack while preparing the remaining fritters. This will keep the fritters crisp and prevent them from becoming soggy.

Divide the pear fritters among 4 plates. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon sugar.  Serve with pear sorbet. Vanilla ice cream would be a good substitute if you can't find pear sorbet.