Oponki - Polish Cheese Donuts
Servings: 17 donuts
Ingredients
for the donuts:
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (250g) flour spooned and leveled, not scooped
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 package (250g) Polish twaróg cheese the recipe will also work with cream cheese if you can't find it
- 1/2 cup (110g) sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 tablespoon vodka or brandy, or omit it
additionally:
- 6-8 cups frying oil such as canola oil
- powdered sugar to sprinkle over the donuts
Instructions
- Make the dough:
- To a mixing bowl, add the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk for a minute until well combined and light yellow in color.2 large egg yolks, 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the egg yolk-sugar mixture.2 cups (250g) flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Add the remaining ingredients (cheese, sour cream, vanilla, and vodka).1 package (250g) Polish twaróg cheese, 1/2 cup (110g) sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 tablespoon vodka
- Mix the ingredients using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (speed 2) or by hand.
- The dough will be sticky, try not to add any more flour.
- If using cream cheese and not Polish twaróg cheese: the dough will be more sticky - cream cheese is completely smooth and twarog cheese is a crumbly curd cheese. Add two additional tablespoons of flour to the dough and then generously sprinkle the dough with flour while rolling it out.
- Warm up the oil: In a wide pot, warm 6-8 cups of frying oil until it reaches 350°F (175°C). You should have at least 2 inches (5 cm) of oil in the pot.6-8 cups frying oil
- Cut out donuts:
- Place the dough on a floured counter or a silicone rolling mat (highly recommended for rolling out any type of dough). Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough.
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of 5/8 of an inch (1 1/2 cm) - a little bit thicker than 1/2 of an inch.
- Cut out rounds with a donut/biscuit cutter (I used a 2 3/4 inch (7cm) cutter which is the perfect size for these donuts). You can cut the inner circles with a piping tip (see step-by-step photos in the body of the post).
- Combine the scraps, re-roll, and repeat with the remaining dough. Place the cut-out donuts on a floured surface.
- Fry 4-6 oponki at a time (depending on how wide your pot is). Place the dough in the hot oil using a lightly floured bench scraper. Fry until golden on the bottom side then turn over and fry until golden on the other side. The donuts will get slightly darker while cooling.
- Take the oponki out of the oil with a spider strainer and place on a cooling rack lined with paper towels.
- Leave to cool then sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.powdered sugar
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Frying oil - make sure to use a high-smoking point vegetable oil that is suitable for deep frying. You can use refined canola oil, sunflower oil, coconut, or lard.
- How to measure flour: I’m using the “spoon and level method” so 1 cup of flour in my recipes weighs 125g. Fluff the flour by stirring it in the bag/flour container with a spoon. Spoon the flour and sprinkle it into your measuring cup. Sweep off the excess flour with the back of a knife.
- Oponki donuts don't store well, they are best freshly prepared. If you want to eat them the next day, warm them up in the oven at 325°F (160°C) with a convection setting (if you have it).
- Calories = 1 donut (1/17 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
Nutrition
Calories: 186kcal