Hungary · 2,3 h · Vegetarian · Baking · For confident cooks
Szalagos Fánk
In German: Krapfen mit Vanillecremefüllung · In English: Hungarian doughnuts filled with vanilla cream
For 4 servings · US units
Airy Hungarian ribbon doughnuts with a pale band, filled with vanilla cream
Szalagos fánk are the Hungarian yeast doughnuts that puff up in hot oil and come out with that telltale pale ribbon around the middle. The dough is soft and buttery, scented with rum, lemon zest and vanilla, and once it's fried you either pipe it full of whipped vanilla cream or simply bury it under powdered sugar. Serve them with whipped cream folded through blueberry jam and you've turned a snack into a proper dessert.
Ingredients
- 10½ ozWheat flourplain flour; for the yeast dough
- ½ ozactivated in lukewarm milk with a little sugarLive baker's yeast pressed into a moist, crumbly block, usually sold as a 42 g cube.Substitute: Dried yeast works well at about a third of the weight, roughly 7 g dried for 21 g fresh or two sachets for a full cube; the flavour barely changes, though the dough may be a little slower to start.Read more
- 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 ozfor the dough and for dustingSugar flavoured with vanilla or vanillin, usually sold in small sachets.Substitute: For one sachet, use about a heaped teaspoon of sugar and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, which makes little difference in doughs and creams. Extract is not suitable for dusting, because it makes the sugar damp. For that, leave scraped-out vanilla pods in a jar of sugar for a few days.Read more
- 2⅛ cupssunflower oilfor deep-frying
- 1one sachet, no-cook type, whipped with 200 ml cold milk for the filling (optional)A powder for vanilla cream that is whisked with cold milk without cooking and sets quickly.Substitute: Instant vanilla pudding mix behaves very similarly, though the amount of milk should follow the packet. Cook-type vanilla pudding powder or custard powder also works if cooked with slightly less milk and cooled completely, but the cream ends up firmer and less airy.Read more
- 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
- Prepare the yeast starterWarm 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.
- Knead the doughMix 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.
- Work in the butterWork 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.
- Let the dough riseDust the dough with a little flour, cover it and leave it in a warm spot for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
- Cut out and proof againRoll 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.
- Fry the doughnutsHeat 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.
- Drain on paperLift the doughnuts out and drain them on kitchen paper.
- Fill with vanilla creamIf 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.
- Dust with powdered sugarDust generously with powdered sugar just before serving.
Tips and variations
For doughnuts that are filled before frying, roll the dough out as in step 5 but cut it into 7x7 cm squares instead of circles. Spoon a little jam onto half of the squares, or top them with diced apple tossed in lemon juice, coarsely chopped walnuts and a pinch of cinnamon instead. Lay a plain square over each filled one, press the edges firmly together and then cut each little parcel into a round with a cutter, which seals it and trims off the corners. Brush these filled rounds thinly with oil before they go into their second rise. You can also start the yeast as a pre-ferment (kovász), stirred together with milk, sugar and flour. And if you'd rather not fill them at all, serve whipped cream with blueberry jam folded through it on the side.
Allergens
Contains: Eggs, Cereals containing gluten, Milk (including lactose)
May contain if you use the optional ingredients: Tree nuts
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
