Phil's Sweet Ricotta Doughnuts

"When I wrote my gluten-free cookbook these doughnut balls were one of my favourite recipes, so I thought I’d have a go at creating a no added sugar version and I’m delighted with the results…

For a sweet treat, just make sure the oil is deep and hot enough to make the dough inside fluffy and light. You can use wheat flour instead of gluten-free, in which case leave out the xanthan gum." - Phil Vickery

• vegetable oil for deep frying
• 250g ricotta cheese
• 45g gluten-free flour blend - Makes 500g: 175g mixture of half white rice flour with half brown - 175g potato starch - 150g tapioca flour/starch
• 1/8th level tsp xanthan gum
• 1 level tsp gluten-free baking powder
• 1tbsp  Total Sweet Xylitol
• finely grated zest 1 lemon
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 egg yolk
• 2tbsp  Total Sweet Xylitol and 1 tsp cinnamon for dusting

Method:

Preparation time: 10 minutes plus 30 minutes to drain the ricotta 

1. Drain the ricotta: turn into a colander and leave to drain until dry, about 30 minutes or overnight.
2. Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer to 180⁰C, or a deep-sided pan filled one-third with oil.
3. Place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, xylitol and lemon zest into a bowl and mix together evenly. Add the egg and yolk; next, add the drained ricotta cheese and again mix well.
4. Spoon the dough into a piping bag (not fitted with a nozzle) and when the oil is hot, pipe small balls of dough straight into the hot oil. If you don’t have a piping bag, roll little balls of mixture between metal spoons and transfer them to the oil.
5. Cook a small batch at a time, swirling and turning with a slotted spoon so you get an even colour and until nice and golden: about 3- 4 minutes.
6. Drain well on kitchen paper and then roll in cinnamon dusting while still warm.
7. Serve warm and fresh straight away. The recipe makes about 30 to allow 4 servings of six little bites.