Fánk

Ingredients

• 10½ ozWheat flourplain flour; for the yeast dough
• ½ ozFresh yeastactivated in lukewarm milk with a little sugar
• ½ cupMilklukewarm, for the starter and the dough
• 2Egg yolkfor the dough
• 1 ozpowdered sugarfor the dough
• 1⅓ ozButtersoftened or melted, worked in at the end
• 1⅓ tbspRumfor the dough
• 1 pinchsaltfor the dough
• 1lemonuntreated, zest finely grated
• ¼ ozVanilla sugarfor the dough and for dusting
• 2⅛ cupssunflower oilfor deep-frying
• 1Instant vanilla cream powderone sachet, no-cook type, whipped with 200 ml cold milk for the filling (optional)
• 1 cupWhipping creamwhipped, as filling or accompaniment (optional)
• 2¾ ozJamapricot or blueberry, as filling (optional)
• 2Applefinely diced, sprinkled with lemon juice, as filling (optional)
• 1¾ ozWalnutscoarsely chopped, for the apple filling (optional)
• cinnamonground, over the apple filling (optional)
• ⅔ ozPowdered sugarfor dusting before serving

Method

1. Warm the milk until lukewarm, stir in a little sugar, crumble in the fresh yeast and let the mixture stand for a few minutes until it foams.
2. Mix the flour with the salt, powdered sugar, vanilla sugar and the finely grated lemon zest. Add the egg yolks, rum and the yeast mixture, then knead everything into a soft dough.
3. Work in the softened or melted butter a little at a time and keep kneading until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
4. Dust the dough with a little flour, cover it and leave it in a warm spot for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
5. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to the thickness of a finger and cut out circles; knead the scraps together, roll them out again and cut more. Cover the rounds and let them rise for another 30 minutes or so.
6. Heat plenty of sunflower oil and lay the doughnuts in top side down. Fry them covered until golden brown, then turn them and finish the second side with the lid off.
7. Lift the doughnuts out and drain them on kitchen paper.
8. If you want to fill them: whip the instant vanilla cream powder with 200 ml cold milk until stiff, transfer it to a piping bag, pierce each doughnut from the side and fill it.
9. Dust generously with powdered sugar just before serving.

Tips and variations

Instead of filling them after frying, you can fill the dough beforehand: cut it into 7x7 cm squares, top each with jam, apple dice tossed in lemon juice, a little cinnamon and coarsely chopped walnuts, lay a second sheet of dough on top, press the edges firmly together and cut out rounds — brush the filled pieces lightly with oil before their rise. You can also start the yeast as a pre-ferment (kovász) with milk, sugar and flour. And if you'd rather skip the filling altogether, just serve whipped cream with blueberry jam folded through it alongside.