Lithuanian Farmer's Cheese Doughnuts (Varškės Spurgos)
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.
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
*you may need a little less or a little more flour based on the size of your eggs and how dry your farmer's cheese is. The dough should not be stiff though, so do not add too much extra flour.