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.
PrintPapanasi
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.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 portions 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Pan
- Cuisine: Romanian
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- In a bowl add your cheese, vanilla sugar or vanilla essence, eggs, salt together. Mix them up.
- 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.
- Preheat your oil in a deep dish pan to medium heat.
- 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.
- Your left over dough is for the head. They should be each around 40g and just need to be formed into a small ball.
- Fry your Papanasi for around 3 minutes or golden brown on each side.
- Place your Papanansi in the oven at 180 C (350F) for 10 minutes to avoid the inside from being doughy.
- 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.
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