Pre-Preparing Sambuca Kisses Batter

Asked by tinaftoledo. Answered on 9th August 2013

Full question

Hi. I made Sambuca Kisses last weekend and it was truly satisfying. I'm wondering though if I can prepare the batter and store it overnight? I am having guests right after work and would want to serve this as quickly as possible. Thank you.

Our answer

Nigella's Sambuca Kisses (from Nigellissima) are made from a batter consiting of ricotta cheese, eggs, flour, baking powder, sugar, sambuca, orange zest and sugar. Unfortunately it is not ideal to make the batter ahead of time as the baking powder acts in the batter to produce some bubbles of carbon dioxide, giving the kisses a light texture. Baking powder will only act for a short period of time and will expire if the batter is left in the fridge overnight.

If you do make the batter ahead of time then you can cook still cook it, but the kisses may be slightly denser and heavier. We would suggest instead thay you mix all of the ingredients except for the flour and baking powder together the night before and store this in the fridge. Sift together the baking powder and flour, put this in a separate container and set aside until you are ready to cook. When you are ready to make the Sambuca Kisses then just give the ricotta mixture a quick stir and simply beat in the flour and baking powder mixture. This can be done very quickly while the oil is heating up.

Please remember that you should never leave a pan of hot oil unattended and keep a close eye on it at all times while cooking the Sambuca Kisses.