Pampushky (Ukrainian Sweet Donuts)
Pampushky, or pampuhy, are known as a ritual dessert in Ukraine.
Every important event and occasion is associated with these round yeast donuts, and every homemaker is supposed to make perfect pampushky. Nowadays, Christmas is the main holiday for poppyseed-, jam-, or cherry-filled pampushky. They make a great marriage with the sweetish uzvar beverage, also typical for Christmas.
The dish is so tightly linked to the national cuisine that there are lots of culinary festivals devoted to making pampushky.
The recipe below makes truly amazing, flaky, and lightweight donuts that taste like sweet clouds. You can have various sizes, but they are traditionally large in Ukraine. You would normally be full after just one or two.
Pampushky (Ukrainian Sweet Donuts)
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 2 packs yeast
- 4 eggs
- 6 cups flour + more if necessary
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 ½ pint milk
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Poppyseed filling
- 4 oz poppyseeds
- 4 oz raisins
- 6 tbsp honey
- 2.2 oz nuts
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
Cherry filling
- 1 lb pitted cherries
- sugar (to taste)
- 1 oz crushed walnuts
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
How to make Pampushky:
- Dissolve the yeast (as per instructions). Leave for 10 minutes.
- Pour part of the flour (6 cups) into a bowl. Make a well in the middle.
- Whisk the eggs lightly. Add the melted butter, milk, sugar, and salt.Mix with the flour and yeast.
- Mix thoroughly and knead until soft and not sticky. Add more flour if necessary.
- Knead for 10 minutes until homogenous and elastic.
- Cover and let rise in a warm pace until the dough doubles in volume. Punch down and knead lightly. Let rise again.
- Take a small amount of dough and roll it out on a floured surface. The dough should be thick.
- Cut out circles with a glass.
- Place a small amount of filling in the center of each circle. Bring the edges together. Pinch well to seal tightly.
- Place the pampushky seam-side down on a floured surface. Cover and let rise (approx. 15 minutes).
- Deep fry in sunflower oil, heated to 375 °F/ 190° C (approx. 3 minutes), turning to brown on both sides.
- When removing from the pan, leave most of the oil in the pan. Place the pаmpushky on paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
Alternative fillings:
Poppyseed filling
- Grind the dry poppyseeds in a coffee grinder. Add to the moistened raisins.
- Combine the honey, nuts, and vegetable oil. Fold into the poppyseeds.
Cherry filling
- Boil the cherries until soft.
- Drain thoroughly. Put through a food processor or blender.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Blend thoroughly.
Notes
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