Makes 15 papanasi
Papanasi are traditional Romanian cheesecake doughnuts, served with cream and jam.
A delicious, very indulgent treat, that reminds me of my childhood. My mum still makes Papanasi for me every time I visit.
Because of the pandemic, my parents already missed visiting me in March and I missed visiting them in May…so you probably know where this is going…I was left with no choice other than making my own Papanasi.
This recipe is not only the vegan version of Papanasi, but I pushed the boundaries further to make the Papanasi baked instead of fried. I just don’t like to fry stuff!
The recipe takes some patience to make due to the dough proving, but the result is worthwhile. Unlike doughnuts, that go stale the next day, the Papanasi stay good for at least 3 days.
Give them a go and let me know what you think!
Ingredients
2 tbsp milled chia seeds
150ml plant-based milk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp fast-action dried yeast or 20 grams fresh yeast
5 tbsp sugar
50ml rapeseed oil
170g free from alternative to cream cheese
Zest from one lemon
2 tablespoons semolina
350g plain flour, plus extra for kneading and dusting
a pinch of slat
For serving: Alpro soy single cream, raspberry jam and fresh raspberries.
Method
1. In a small bowl mix the milled chia seeds with 6 tablespoons of water. Leave to set.
2. Warm up the plant milk in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add the apple cider vinegar, mix and leave to curdle.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the fresh yeast with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Mix using a spoon until it turns into a runny paste (about 30 seconds). Add the curdled milk over the yeast mixture and cover the bowl with cling film. Leave for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
4. After the time is up, add over the yeast mixture: the chia seed mixture, the rest of the sugar, oil, cream cheese and lemon zest. Mix until combined.
5. Add in the semolina, flour and a pinch of salt. Mix using the dough hook attachment until a dough is formed.
6. Dust a work surface with flour. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for about 10 minutes. The dough sound be fairly sticky, so add more flour as you knead to prevent it from sticking to the work surface and your hands.
7. Spray the large mixing bowl with some oil and add the dough back to the bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave the dough to prove in a warm place for 2 hours (until it doubles in size).
8. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
9. Dust a work surface with flour. Remove the cling film from the bowl and gently punch down the dough to remove the air. Turn the dough on the work surface and roll until 2cm thick. Use a water glass dipped in flour to cut the doughnuts and place them on the baking trays. Cover the baking trays with cling film and leave to prove for another 20 minutes.
10. Preheat the oven to 180C. Bake the doughnuts for 12 minutes. Remove the doughnuts from the oven and leave to cool down for 10 minutes.
11. Enjoy hot or cold with single cream, raspberry jam and fresh raspberries.
Thanks for the inspiration go to my mum.
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