The traditional Romanian fried doughnuts - papanasi are made with cottage cheese and topped with smetana and jam.
These papanasi or Romanian fried donuts/doughnuts are the best donuts ever!!! Soft yet crunchy, oozing with sour cream and blueberry jam, every bite is a complete delight. No wonder they are the most popular Romanian dessert.
I don't often make doughnuts myself, but when I crave them, I make this papanasi recipe (pronounced papanash); it is so good! And I sometimes make the boiled ones - papanasi fierti.
Featured comment:
Maureen: Just got done making it. Followed the directions to the letter and it turned out perfect !! Thank you and my neighbor, thank you! ( she is from Romania and I just met her in our apartment building ...thought we would give her a taste of home).
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What are papanasi?
They are a typical Romanian dessert, basically cheese doughnuts. You can fry them like in this recipe or boil them and serve them coated with sugared breadcrumbs.
Fried papanasi is a dessert you will probably find in every Romanian restaurant. If you try them once, you will remember them for the rest of your life, and you will probably look for a papanasi recipe and try to make them yourself at home. They are that good!
Recipe ingredients
Cheese: The recipe uses Romanian brânză de vaci, or cow's cheese, which is fresh, low in fat, high in protein, and has a mild taste similar to cottage cheese. However, brânză de vaci is typically unavailable outside Romania.
My cousin Georgiana suggested using cottage cheese instead, and it worked great, though I had to adjust the flour amount. She warned me that the dough would be soft and sticky, but I found the German cottage cheese too watery compared to brânză de vaci. After realizing this, I added just enough flour to make the dough workable, and the papanasi turned out wonderfully.
Smetana is a traditional Romanian and Eastern European dairy product similar to crème fraîche. It's made by souring heavy cream and has a fat content of 10% to 30%. I usually buy the German version (Schmand) with 20% fat or the smetana from the Russian store, which is closer to the Romanian version. If you can't find smetana, crème fraîche is a good substitute.
Blueberry jam or another runny jam for serving. It has to be a runny jam with whole fruits, as thicker jams or jellies won't work; they won't slide down the sides of the papanasi.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make papanasi?
- Step #1: Drain the excess water from the cottage cheese.
- Step #2: Combine cottage cheese, eggs, rum aroma, granulated sugar, and vanilla sugar. Use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients into a rough paste. The cottage cheese should remain slightly chunky to keep the cheese balls delicate.
- Step #3: Mix flour with baking soda, then add to the cheese mixture. Knead lightly to form a ball. The dough should be slightly sticky but manageable. Add more flour only if absolutely necessary.
- Step #4: To form the donuts, divide the dough into 9 balls. Roll 8 of the balls into thick sausages and join the ends to create circles with holes in the middle. Use the last ball to make 8 small balls for topping the papanasi.
- Step #5: Fry only two or three papanasi at a time, depending on your pan size. Avoid overcrowding; the papanasi should have enough space to move around freely. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Turn the doughnuts with a slotted spoon a few times while frying until the papanasi are golden brown.
Tip: Use enough oil to have about 10 cm (4 inches) in the pot. To check the temperature, insert a toothpick into the oil; if bubbles form around it, the oil is ready for frying the papanasi.
How to serve them?
They are best served immediately while still warm, and they would not be papanasi if not topped with smetana and a runny, sweet blueberry jam.
Papanasi are usually served with blueberry jam, but any jam works well - sour cherry, blackberry, or black currant freezer jam are great alternatives. The jam should slide down the sides of the papanasi and create little pools on the plate. Yummm!
Romanian Doughnuts - Papanasi Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g cottage cheese 1.1 lbs/ 2 ¼ cups
- 2 eggs
- a few drops rum aroma optional
- 75 g granulated sugar ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar Note 1
- 230-250 g all-purpose flour 8 - 9 oz / about 2 cups, Note 2
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- vegetable oil for frying the doughnuts, Note 3
- 250 g smetana or crème fraiche to serve, 1 cup
- whole fruit runny blueberry jam to serve, Note 4
Instructions
- Drain the excess water from the cottage cheese. 500 g cottage cheese/ 1.1 lb/ 2¼ cup
- Blend: Place the cottage cheese in a bowl. Add the eggs and the rum aroma, the granulated, and vanilla sugar. With an immersion blender, blend the ingredients until you obtain a rough paste. The cottage cheese should not be turned into a smooth paste, just blended a little bit to make the cheese balls a little more delicate.2 eggs + a few drops rum aroma + 75 g granulated sugar/ ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
- Dough: Mix about 230 g/ 8 oz of the flour and baking soda. Add them to the cheese mixture. Mix with a spoon. Flour the working surface and your hands generously. Turn the dough onto the floured surface and knead it lightly to form a ball. The dough should still be somewhat sticky yet manageable. Add the remaining flour only if absolutely necessary, only if the dough sticks so much that you cannot work with it at all.230-250 g all-purpose flour/ 8 - 9 oz / about 2 cups + 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Form donuts: Divide the dough into 9 balls. Roll 8 of the balls into thick sausages and unite the sausage ends to get a circle with a hole in the middle. Use the last ball to make 8 little balls, which will be used to top the papanasi.
- Heat oil: In the meantime, heat the oil in a pot. Use enough oil to have about 10 cm/ 4 inches of it in the pot. To check if the oil has reached the right temperature, insert a toothpick in the oil; if blisters are forming around the toothpick, you can start frying the papanasi.vegetable oil
- Fry: Only fry two or three papanasi at a time, depending on the size of your pan, do not overcrowd the pan; the papanasi should be able to move around freely. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Turn the doughnuts with a slotted spoon a few times in between and fry until the papanasi are golden brown. It took me about 5 to 7 minutes for one batch, but keep a close look and take them out as soon as they have a nice golden color. Or leave them longer if necessary. The little balls will need less time, about 3-4 minutes or so.
- Remove excess oil: Place them on plates lined with paper towels and dry them to absorb some excess fat.
- Serve warm topped with smetana and blueberry jam. Place the little balls on top and top them with a bit of smetana and jam as well.250 g smetana + whole fruit runny blueberry jam
Notes
- Substitute vanilla sugar with a little vanilla extract.
- Measurements: I recommend using a digital kitchen scale to measure the ingredients (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
- Oil: Use enough oil to have about 4 inches/ 10 cm of it in the pot.
- Jam: Use a runny kind of jam, preferably with whole berries or chopped fruit pieces in it, something a bit tart like sour cherry, blackberry, black currant jam, etc.
Ioana says
I tried to do pspanasi for the 3rd time in my life and your receipe is from far the best I ever tried! I had the same issue of not finding romanian branza de vaci so used 200gr cottage with 200gr creamy cheese. Absolutely amazing, probably the best I ever ate! Thanks for sharing!
Adina says
Hi Ioana. I am so glad to read your comment, thank you for the feedback. I will try the combination with cream cheese as well next time I make papanasi.
Kim | Low Carb Maven says
Adina, I have always thought that your recipes and photos were tremendous. You never disappoint. I would love to try these. Perhaps I'll make them for my children and take a bite. Spectacular. Yummed and starred!
Marvellina says
Sinful but I really would love to sink my teeth on this decadent papanasi
Evi @ greenevi says
These doughnuts look great! I love that jam topping, it's so indulgent <3
Chris Scheuer says
Wow, never heard of papanasi before but so happy to get acquainted! They sound wonderful!
Kathryn @ Family Food on the Table says
I've never had doughnuts like this but now I really want to try them! The flavors sound amazing!!
Laura Dembowski says
I have a weakness for doughnuts, but it is so hard to find good ones. I finally made my own last year and fell in love. It's time to give these a try. They look heavenly.
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Oh wow, these are such pretty doughnuts, girlfriend!!! SOOO perfect for Valentines Day! I've never had Romanian doughnuts before, but they look amazing! LOVE the cottage cheese in here!!! Can't wait to try these! Cheers!
grace says
the little balls on top are a great finishing touch! this sounds like a very delicious thing to put into one's mouth. 🙂
Brie says
Dessert as a main is a fabulous idea!
These grown-up donuts are fantastic, I can imagine how delicious they are balanced by the tangy creme and saucy blueberry jam. Wish I could grab that fork and snag a bite right now!
Valentina | The Baking Fairy says
These are so gorgeous and they sound very yummy! I love donuts but I can't say that I've ever had papanasi. I will have to try making them soon! 🙂
Kate @ Framed Cooks says
Cheese and donuts all in the same treat? I am in!!!
KR says
This for me something realy new and interesting. Thank you for sharing !
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
They look amazing! Wish I could still enjoy those without a 2nd thought! You know...waist line wouldn't love it...
Katie says
@Angie@Angie's Recipes,
Darling, one or two won’t make you fat just like one or two salads won’t make you thin. Eat the dessert after you eat really healthy for a few days. I promise your waistline will be fine. ?
Anca says
They look delicious!! I'm not a fan of fried doughnuts, but I love papanasi, it has a different texture and they aren't as oily.
In UK we have sour cream and that is similar to the Romanian smantana, same consistency and a slightly sour taste. I made papanasi with cottage cheese and soft cheese and I think I like the soft cheese version better. Not sure if these options are similar in Germany though.
CLAUDIA CAMPEAN says
the smetana you are talking about ,really is sour cream"smantana"
Amalia says
I was wondering whether we could replace cottage cheese with some like ricotta?
Adina says
Hi Amalia. I've never tried ricotta, but other readers were talking about using cream cheese. Maybe that works.
Gabriela says
My mom only makes it with ricotta. We are Romanians
Robert says
@CLAUDIA CAMPEAN, yes it translates directly to sour cream but not all sour cream is made the same. Here in the US sour cream has half the fat and is not as sour as in Romania. Even using crème fraiche which is higher in fat doesn’t taste the same