Romanian Papanaşi is a famous treat there. Honestly it makes me want to hop on the next plane just for this. Romanian Papanaşi is a fried cheese doughnut the hole of the doughnut is placed on top and in between it is smothered with cherry preserves and topped with confectioners sugar. A heavenly bite indeed. Oh and did I mention whipped cream too…..
I typically use a deep fryer for these types of recipes, this is the one I use and I love it! It makes frying so easy although you can easily just use a deep skillet as well. Whichever you have is what you should use, you will want to make these again and again.
Did you know that Francesco Illy, the founder of Illycaffe was born in Romania in 1892. He also invented the first automatic steam espresso coffee machine. This Romanian Papanaşi would be superb with an espresso!
If you would like to learn more about this interesting country of Romania be sure to check out “Our Journey to Romania“. You will also find more authentic and delicious Romanian recipes.
Have you ever traveled to a destination just for the food? If you have, I would love to hear about it in the comments below. Honestly this recipe truly makes me want to hop on a plane! There is not only wonderful food to try in Romania, it is home to some amazing UNESCO sites as well.
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Romanian Papanaşi (A Fried Cheese Doughnut)
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 4 cups cottage cheese
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest grated
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Cooking oil
- Powdered sugar to garnish
- Whipped cream or sour cream
- Fruit preserve strawberry, raspberry, sour cherry etc.
Instructions
Instructions:
- In a large bowl mix the cottage cheese, sugar and baking powder.
- Add the eggs, vanilla, salt and lemon zest.
- Mix very well to get a smooth as possible.
- Slowly add in the flour a little at a time.
- If the dough is too moist add more flour, you don’t want the dough to be too sticky.
- Heat the oil in a deep fryer or skillet over medium high heat
- Make small balls of dough, to fit in the palm of your hand, make into a donut shape with a hole in the middle. Dip into a small bowl of flour.
- Make some round balls a bit bigger than the size of the donut hole. Dip into a small bowl of flour
- Fry them in oil until golden brown on both sides.
- Remove onto a paper towel to remove any excess oil.
- Assemble the donut with some sour cherry preserve on top add the small ball on top of that, sprinkle with some powdered sugar and a dollop of whipped cream or sour cream on top.
- Serve while warm.
