A Bite Inspired by… April Fool’s Day:
Ever wanted to play a good, clean joke on a friend, but weren’t really sure how to pull it off? I was in the exact same boat until I decided to let my food do the talking with these fun Dessert “Fish and Chips”! They look exactly like fried fish and potato wedges, but SURPRISE! They’re actually fried cake batter and apples. Pretty cool, huh? Your joke also comes with a side of “ketchup” (sour cherry jam) and “tartar sauce” (melted white chocolate with green candy). This food fake out is all about good-natured fun. You get a laugh and your friend gets cake! Everybody wins!
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There’s nothing like a fun, good-natured April Fool’s Day joke. I have to admit; I’ve never managed to pull a joke over on anyone. My face just gives it away. I wanted it to be different this year, so I decided to use what I know best: cooking. Food speaks to people, so if I can’t fool anyone with my words then using my cooking skills is just as good. If I can actually pull it off…
As a food blogger, I invite friends and family over to try out my recipes, so that they’re PERFECT by the time I share them with you all. I asked my friend, Abby, over a few weeks ago to test out my new “fish and chips” recipe. My idea was to create a dish that looks just like fish and chips, but tastes like dessert. This dish had to both look the part and taste delicious. Not the easiest feat, but I had the spirit of April Fool’s Day on my side. Now, I just had to get really creative.
Have you ever had funnel cake at the fair? Mmmm… deep fried, sugary goodness. I realized that funnel cake actually has the same color and texture as fish and chips; it’s just a little bit thinner. What if I deep-fried cake batter, but in thicker strips to look like fried fish? Bingo! Step one of my food fake out was complete. I used boxed cake batter in order to simplify the recipe. My favorite is Pillsbury Purely Simple White Cake 
Next, I had to think about the fries. I wanted to add a bit of freshness to the giant mound of cake, so I decided to go with fruit. Apples and potatoes look surprisingly alike once they’re cut open. Apples have a starchy component to them that mimics potatoes really nicely. Done! I coated the apples in a little milk, flour, and sugar then deep-fried them! Surprise! They look exactly like potato wedges! YAY!
I knew though, that if I wanted to create a composed dessert, I needed some sort of sauce to go with all that fried deliciousness. Sour cherry jam
Ta-da! The dish was ready to test out. Abby didn’t know it yet, but she was in for a treat! Lucky for me, Abby likes cake better than fish (who doesn’t?), so she was thrilled by my little surprise. She had no idea until she took a bite that the plate of fish and chips I gave her was actually cake and apples. She was completely fooled and she’s one smart lady. I’m feeling pretty accomplished. It’s all about the small victories, right?
The best April Fool’s Day jokes give the person something even better than what they expected. You don’t want to give your friend something that looks like chocolate, but is actually dirt. That’s just mean. When you give them cake instead of fish, you both win! You get to play a joke on them and they get cake! So, really, they win. I mean, let’s face it. Cake beats outsmarting your friends any day, right? Or maybe, it’s a tie. Either way, with this delicious, clever dessert, you get both! Lucky you… and them!
So, go ahead. Celebrate April Fool’s Day this year! Fool your friends and enjoy some yummy fried cake and apples in the process. April Fool’s Day is about to become your new favorite holiday. Just kidding—or am I? ?
- For the "fish":
- 1 bowl of white or yellow cake batter made from a standard (17 oz) store-bought package of cake mix (made according to package directions)
- Cooking oil, for frying
- For the "fries":
- 4 apples, peeled and cut into wedges
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Cooking oil, for frying
- For the sauces:
- ¼ cup sour cherry jam
- ¼ cup white chocolate chips
- A few pieces of green candy (I used Watermelon Airheads), cut into small pieces
- A few drops of neutral oil, such as safflower or canola oil
- Make the "fish": Heat about 1.5 inches of cooking oil in a large, deep fry pan over medium-high heat until very hot and starting to sizzle.
- While the oil is heating, line a large plate with paper towels.
- Fill a large spoon with 2-3 tablespoons of the cake batter.
- Slowly drop the spoon of cake batter into the hot oil, moving your hand forward to create a narrow oval shape.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 with the remaining cake batter. Make sure the cake pieces do not touch.
- Fry for 3-4 minutes, turning once, until golden brown on both sides.
- Carefully remove cake pieces to the paper towel lined plate.
- Make the "fries": Mix the milk and sugar together in a bowl.
- Spread the flour out onto a large plate.
- Dip each apple slice into the milk and sugar mixture and then coat well with the flour. Put aside on a plate.
- Heat about 1 inch of cooking oil in a large, deep fry pan over medium-high heat until very hot and starting to sizzle.
- While the oil is heating, line a large plate with paper towels.
- Carefully add each apple slice to the hot oil. Make sure the apple slices do not touch.
- Fry for 2-3 minutes until golden brown, turning once.
- Carefully remove apples to the paper towel lined plate.
- Make the sauces: Put white chocolate chips in a double boiler. Add a few drops of neutral oil.
- Melt the white chocolate and stir until smooth.
- Pour the white chocolate into a small bowl or condiment cup. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir green candy bits into the white chocolate.
- Spoon the sour cherry jam into a separate small bowl or condiment cup.
- To assemble: Put "fish" and "fries" onto 4 plates. Serve condiments on the side for dipping. Enjoy!
Lol I was fooled by the wedges at first! This is so creative, I don’t know how you always manage to come up with such creative recipes!
Thank you so much, Elizabeth! I guess the inspiration just comes to me, huh? 😉
What a fun idea!! I’m like you, NO poker face lol. I’ve never tried fake out food but I definitely want to give it a try this April Fool’s Day, thanks!
If you have no poker face, then this recipe is definitely the way to go for April Fool’s Day. Thanks, Erica! 🙂
Haha. The pictures totally had me totally faked out. It’s a really fun idea as written. I think it would make a fantastic and pretty dessert as well. Maybe a piece of cake on the bottom with a couple apple wedges on top, drizzled with white chocolate “tartar sauce” and a few little drops of “ketchup”.
That’s a beautiful presentation idea, Romain! I plated it the way I did, so that it would look the most like fish and chips, but I love your idea too! The best thing about dessert is there’s so many ways to get creative with presentation and make things pretty! If you do end up making this dessert, be sure to tag me in the picture! I’d love to see what you come up with. 🙂
This reminds me of dessert imposter challenges from kids baking competitions – they always look like so much fun. Your pictures totally had me fooled and I know a lot of kids who would be happy if this trick was played on them (including me!!)
Thank you, Alison! I love Kid’s Baking Championship. I actually have a recipe inspired by the show coming to the blog soon! Stay tuned!
This is so cute! And looks really delicious too. I just might have to try this one on my kids!:)
Thank you, Riva! Let me know how it turns out! 😉
I was definitely fooled! Great idea! The dips are so creative too! I would gladly eat fish and chips, but fried cake and apples sounds even better! Thanks Alyssa!
I totally agree with you, Marie! Fish and chips are delish, but I’ll take dessert over fish any day. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
OMG this is hilarious!! I totally thought I was reading a fish and chip post! I am soooooooooooooooo doing this to Terry on Aprils fools day haha! Unfortunately I’m a terrible liar so hopefully I won’t be giggling my way through the cooking process. haha
The best thing about this dish is that it looks so real, even if you’re a giggler (I am too), it won’t give you away! It’s a fool proof way of playing a prank of someone, guaranteed. Be sure to let me know how it goes! I’d love to hear about Terry’s reaction. 🙂 Thanks, Joyce!