Instructions

Roll out the marzipan on a floured board and cut out pieces just large enough to wrap each prune. Roll each covered prune in maple syrup.

Tip 3 tablespoons of milk into a pan. Add one teaspoonful of sugar. Warm the milk gently, stirring in the sugar until it dissolves. Try not to get it warmer than 'blood temperature' - that means it shouldn't feel hot to your skin. Sprinkle in the dried yeast (a sachet that you buy at the store is usually 1/4 ounce, and that's what you need). Whisk in the yeast with a fork, then let it rest in a warm place (sunny windowsill is great, or a warming drawer) for 15 mins or until it's completely covered in small bubbles.

Mix the flour (sift it first to get air in) and salt (a teaspoonful) and rub in the butter. Use your fingertips until it looks like rough sand.

Add the yeasty milk and the beaten egg and mix to a soft dough. If you've got a KitchenAid with a dough hook, that's perfect. Otherwise use any mixing method you've got.

Leave the dough somewhere warm until it doubles in size.

Knead it LIGHTLY. Don't smack it around. Use a floured board to gently move it around until it feels stretchy and soft. Cut into 12 pieces.

Stretch each piece to wrap it around a prune. Pinch the dough to seal it tightly - the dough needs to form a complete envelope and not burst open during the frying process.

Heat the oil (safflower or sunflower oils are perfect) in a deep vessel. Break off little tiny bits of loose dough and toss them into the hot oil until they immediately float. If the pieces you toss in sink, it's not hot enough. However, once the oil is sufficiently hot, try to avoid it getting TOO hot. Turn the heat down and just maintain it so that the beignets float at once. Cook three at a time - it's important to remember that when you drop them in, they'll lower the temperature, so don't rush it and cook too many at once. You need these to be cooking for more than 3 minutes to get the dough cooked through.

When they are thoroughly golden and cooked, get them out of the oil and drop them onto kitchen paper to drain off any spare oil.

Sieve caster sugar over the beignets, or powdered sugar if you haven't got any caster sugar handy.