The idea of putting apple pie filling in spring roll wrappers have been on our minds for a while now. But we just got to try to execute this idea recently, and wow was that a GREAT idea! We often have these creative periods where we just wanna try mixing things up, putting Asian and Western dishes in one. Some of them were just meh, but some though, like these apple pie spring rolls, were a huge hit! The crunchy spring roll skin goes super nicely with the delicious, gooey apple pie filling. Hey, if they can make deep-fried Oreos, then why can't we make deep-fried apple pie!?
Making these apple spring rolls is also super simple. There are basically three main steps: making the apple pie filling, making the spring rolls, and deep frying them.
How to Make the Apple Pie Filling
There are many variations to apple pie fillings, but we made ours according to what goes well with the spring roll wrappers. One of the most important thing for this recipe is obviously the apples! Try to use some fresh apples, while they're still juicy. You can use apples that have been sitting in your fridge for a week or two, but you won't get that natural juice from the apples. Depending on the juiciness of your apples, you might have to add some water, since the goal is to basically make a thick, sticky sauce with chunks of apples in it. We tried the recipe twice, with fresh apples and with two week old apples. When we made it with fresh apples, we didn't need to add anymore water since the apples were already giving out a lot of juice. When we used the two week old apples, we had to add about 1/2 cup of water. But it all depends on the apples that you use. Just make sure that you have enough water to submerge half of the thickness of the chopped apples. You don't want too much water either, otherwise you would have too much sauce and it can make your spring rolls soggy faster.
How to Wrap a Spring Roll
Once you make the filling, all you have to do is put some on a spring roll wrapper and roll away! You can buy spring roll wrappers in any Asian supermarket. Even the grocery stores in our area have them too. We used 6" by 6" square wrappers, but you can use other sizes, but you might have to adjust the filling ratio and you might get less or more spring rolls. There are many ways to roll it, but the picture below shows the most common method of wrapping it.
And voila! When you're done making all your rolls all that's left to do is to fry them. We shallow fried ours because I don't think you'll need to deep fry them, but if you can always do that if you prefer. One thing to note though is when you're frying them, sometimes the rolls might get detached and well, you'll find yourself with a messy situation! To avoid this, you can either use some water or some eggs to close and secure your spring rolls, or you can fry them by gently holding them in place with your spatula just for the first few seconds of frying. Or you can do both, if you want! You can serve with some chocolate sauce, which adds so much texture and flavours. But it's optional, these babies are already super delicious on their own!
That's pretty much our recipe for today, hope you guys will try them! They're super delicious and fun to make, and we'd definitely be making a lot more of these! If you're into Asian fusion recipes like this, make sure to check out our recipes for Sushi Tacos, Chicken Spring Roll Taquitos, and Pandan Pancakes. Hope you enjoy and happy eating!
Ingredients
Apple pie spring rolls
- 8 spring roll wrappers 6” x 6” square
- 4 cups apples
- 2/3 cups water optional depending on the juiciness of apples
- 3 tsp water for cornstarch slurry
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 5 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
- oil for frying
Chocolate Sauce (Optional)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
Instructions
- In a saucepan, cook the diced apples at medium high heat until they are soft and until watery, about 10 minutes. The apple cubes should be half-submerged in the juice. If there's not enough, juice, add water accordingly. Lower heat to medium and add the brown sugar and mix well. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 3 tsp of water, and slowly add slurry mixture into the saucepan. Stir constantly until the cornstarch is completely dissolved and the sauce thickens. Add the cinnamon powder and maple syrup. Sauce should be thick and sticky with soft chunks of apples in it. Remove from heat, and let chill at room temperature for 5 minutes.
- To make chocolate sauce, combine the milk, granulated sugar, and cornstarch together in a sauce pan. Mix well and heat over medium heat. Once the mixture is simmering, add the cocoa powder and mix well. Remove from heat and set aside. If chocolate sauce thickens, add some hot water.
- To make spring rolls, place about 2 tablespoons of filling at the center of a spring roll wrapper and proceed as shown in the How to Wrap a Spring Roll section above.
- Heat about 1 inch oil for frying. Once oil reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit, fry the spring rolls for about 20 seconds on each side or until golden brown and crispy. Remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain off excess oil. Serve with powdered sugar and chocolate sauce.
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