Farmer's Cheese Doughnuts (also known as Cheese Curd Doughnuts) are a nostalgic Lithuanian dessert that both children and adults enjoy! Best served on the day that they are made, this traditional recipe for Lithuanian Doughnuts (Varškės Spurgos in Lithuanian) is not difficult to make, and only requires a handful of ingredients.
Jump to:
Childhood Favorite: Varškės Spurgos
Every child in my generation (during the '90s) loved Farmer's Cheese Doughnuts. Alongside Farmer's Cheese Cookies, Plikyti Sausainiai and Jam-Filled Sugar Cookies, they were sold everywhere from bakeries to supermarkets, and it was certainly what I spent most of my pocket money on as a child.
Back in the day, they were made big (larger than a tennis ball) and had a deep dark caramelised exterior, but when making these doughnuts at home by hand, it is a lot easier to make them smaller. The dough is somewhat thin and it's easier to shape small balls of dough, plus the inside cooks before the exterior burns in the hot oil!
The end result is a soft and moist doughnut with a little tang from farmer's cheese, and they are perfect for piping your favorite filling in too!
If you have ever had doughnuts made with cottage cheese or ricotta, you are going to love these Lithuanian Doughnuts with Farmer's Cheese! Just give them a go!
Ingredient Notes
- farmer's cheese (curd cheese): Lithuanian (Varškė) or Polish (Twaróg) farmer's cheese works well. We recommend using full-fat cheese.
- eggs: we used large eggs.
- sugar: we used caster sugar (a.k.a. superfine sugar) but white granulated sugar will also work.
- all-purpose flour: also known as plain flour. You may need to adjust the amount of flour based on the size of the eggs and how dry your farmer's cheese is.
- vanilla: optional but recommended. You may use seeds from vanilla beans, a teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
- baking powder: not to be confused with baking soda.
- oil: use neutral oil suitable for frying like vegetable oil or canola oil. Olive oil is not suitable for deep frying.
- powdered sugar: also known as icing sugar or confectioner's sugar, for dusting.
But What is Farmer's Cheese (Curd Cheese)?
Farmers Cheese in Lithuania is known as Varškė, and it is one of the staples in Lithuanian cuisine. It is similar to quark cheese or cottage cheese but drier.
It is also popular in other Eastern European countries (Tvorog in Russia, Twaróg in Poland etc). Varškė is mostly used in baking delicious farmers cheese cakes, sweet cheese buns and cookies, but is also enjoyed for breakfast with just a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of sugar on top (Farmer's Cheese and Sour Cream Breakfast Recipe here). Or for Lithuanian Breakfast Cheesecake (my favourite one is Farmer's Cheese Casserole with Apples and Crumble Topping!).
In Lithuania, you can typically get three types of Farmer’s cheese: extra light (0.5-1%), half-fat (9%), and full-fat (18%). When using varske in baking or making sweet treats (like my favourite - Farmers Cheese Roll Cake or Farmer's Cheese Cookies), we always recommend going for 9%+ farmer's cheese.
Head to our dedicated article about recipes using farmer's cheese for more inspiration!
Step-By-Step Method
Before you begin, pour the oil into a heavy-bottomed pot (you need enough for the doughnuts to be fully submerged). You need hot oil but don't allow it to smoke or boil vigorously.
Let's get going - follow these simple steps to make delicious Lithuanian doughnuts!
1. Place the farmer's cheese in a large bowl and fluff it up with a fork.
2. Add sugar, a pinch of salt and eggs, and mix it into a paste. In Lithuania, we often employ a potato masher for this job.
3. In a separate small bowl, mix the flour and baking powder.
4. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the farmer's cheese mixture (you may not need all the flour). Your dough should be thin, just coming together. Adding more flour will make dense doughnuts.
5. Once the oil is hot, using wet hands pinch small pieces of dough and shape them into balls (we like them about golf ball size, so take large tablespoonfuls of dough). Drop each of them into the hot oil one by one as you shape them, keeping your hands wet in between. You will likely need to cook them in batches - do not overcrowd the pan as they will puff up.
6. Fry the Lithuanian doughnuts for about 6-10 minutes (depending on their size) flipping them with two forks to ensure even browning. Lithuanian doughnuts will puff up, turn golden brown and should be fully cooked through. If they deflate after you take them out, it is a sign that they may be undercooked inside.
7. Place the farmer's cheese doughnuts onto a plate lined with sheets of paper towel to absorb excess oil, and let them cool down to room temperature.
8. Dust them with confectioners' sugar and enjoy!
Tips for Best Results
Lithuanian Farmer's Cheese Doughnuts are not difficult to make, but if it's your first time making them, here are some tips:
- If you want extra smooth dough results, push the farmer's cheese through a fine sieve before mixing the dough.
- Do not add too much flour - the dough does not need to be stiff. Extra flour will make your doughnuts dense.
- Control the oil temperature. If it's too low, your doughnuts will absorb too much oil and be greasy. Too high, and the exterior of Lithuanian doughnuts will brown before the inside is cooked through.
LITHUANIAN TIP: To control the temperature of the oil, my mum always kept a potato handy. As soon as the oil started getting too hot, she'd drop a large chunk of potato into the oil to cool it down slightly!
Storage
Lithuanian Curd Cheese Doughnuts are best served as soon as they cool down to room temperature. They have a deliciously soft and tender interior and a slightly chewy crust. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in a cold dark cupboard for up to 2 days, but they will lose their crispy skin and may taste a little greasier.
More Lithuanian Desserts
Planning your next dessert? Why not try an absolute classic - Lithuanian Lazy Cake (a.k.a. Tinginys), Lithuanian Choux Cookies or Lithuanian Anthill Cake? Or have a look at the recipes below for more inspiration:
Lithuanian Farmer's Cheese Doughnuts (Varškės Spurgos)
Equipment
- Potato Masher optional
- Heavy-Bottomed Pan for frying
Ingredients
- 10 oz (300 g) farmer's cheese (curd cheese) ideally, full-fat
- 2 eggs large
- 5½ tablespoon (70g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste optional
- a pinch of salt
- ¾ cups + 1 tbsp (100 g) all-purpose flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- neutral oil for frying
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Before you begin, pour the oil into a heavy-bottomed pot (you need enough for the doughnuts to be fully submerged). You need hot oil but don't allow it to smoke or boil vigorously. Let's get going - follow these simple steps to make delicious Lithuanian doughnuts!
- Place the farmer's cheese in a large bowl and fluff it up with a fork.
- Add sugar, a pinch of salt and eggs, and mix it into a paste. In Lithuania, we often employ a potato masher for this job.
- In a separate small bowl, mix the flour and baking powder.
- Gently mix the dry ingredients into the farmer's cheese mixture (you may not need all the flour). Your dough should be thin, just coming together. Adding more flour will make dense doughnuts.
- Once the oil is hot, using wet hands pinch small pieces of dough and shape them into balls (we like them about golf ball size). Drop each of them into the hot oil one by one as you shape them, keeping your hands wet in between. You will likely need to cook them in batches - do not overcrowd the pan.
- Fry the Lithuanian doughnuts for about 6-10 minutes (depending on their size) flipping them with two forks to ensure even browning. Lithuanian doughnuts will puff up, turn golden brown and should be fully cooked through. If they deflate after you take them out, it is a sign that they may be undercooked inside.
- Place the farmer's cheese doughnuts onto a plate lined with sheets of paper towel to absorb excess oil, and let them cool down to room temperature.
- Dust them with confectioners' sugar and enjoy!
Notes
Viv says
Very good! Better than store bought. Thank you for posting.
Viv says
Very easy & tastes great. Thanks for posting.
Ieva says
Thank you very much for the comment! Glad you liked them - they are definitely my favorite childhood treat!