Papanasi

A common Romanian Dessert called Papanasi which is made with branza de vaca (which has the consistency of Ricotta). It’s such a tasty fried dough dessert, because it isn’t too sweet and satisfies the desire for fried food and some fruitiness.

The dough is very easy to prepare and once fried has a nice crispy exterior and a fluffy interior. This is a fried dough and maybe not suitable with those on a diet.

Papanasi Ingredients

Branza de vaca: Branza de vaca is something you can find on Romanian supermarkets and I know not everyone lives there. Instead you can use Ricotta cheese for it.

Flour: I use regular flour for this recipe and suggest to sieve the flour for this recipe to give it a finer dough.

Vanilla Sugar: You can buy this in the store or order them online. Though if you don’t have it in your pantry at the moment use vanilla essence instead.

Sour Cream: Please go with the full fat version of sour cream, since you want to indulge in this dessert.

Jam: You can use any kind you want but in general we use cherry jam for this Papanasi recipe.

Oil: Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point. I use simple vegetable oil for this recipe.

Papanasi

Print Recipe

Crispy and fluffy Papanasi for a taste of Romania. It is really simple recipe and is done around one hour. I really love this dish since it isn’t too sweet and because of it’s fluffiness not too heavy after a meal.

• Author: Jessica
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 6 portions 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Pan
• Cuisine: Romanian

Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

• 500g branza de vaca (or Ricotta)
• 300g flour
• 30g vanilla sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 peel from lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping

• 200g sour cream
• 200 g cherry jam

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Instructions

1. In a bowl add your cheese, vanilla sugar or vanilla essence, eggs, salt  together. Mix them up.
2. Sieve your flour and add to your mix until you form a dough. You don’t knead the dough, but form it together until everything is incorporated.
3. Preheat your oil in a deep dish pan to medium heat.
4. Get your kitchen scale and place a dough piece around 120g. This will be the base of your Papanasi. Form the dough into a circle and with your finger go through the middle and slowly form a donut shape. You should form around 6 portions from that.
5. Your left over dough is for the head. They should be each around 40g and just need to be formed into a small ball.
6. Fry your Papanasi for around 3 minutes or golden brown on each side.
7. Place your Papanansi in the oven at 180 C (350F) for 10 minutes to avoid the inside from being doughy.
8. Serve them while hot. Place the biggest part on a plate. Add sour cream on top and add your cherry jam to it. Place the small dough on top and repeat.

Notes

Branza de vaca can be replaced with ricotta.