Ponchik
Ponchik: Yerevan custard-filled doughnuts dusted with sugar
ArmenianIn Yerevan and Gyumri, the ponchik is a street-corner institution: soft yeast doughnuts fried to order in small shops, slit and piped full of cool vanilla custard, then dusted heavily with icing sugar. Students buy them in paper bags after class and families queue on Sunday mornings. A common mistake is frying in oil that is too hot, which browns the outside before the middle cooks. Chef's tip: keep the oil at 170 °C and fry until the doughnuts have a pale ring around the middle; that ring shows they are light enough to float, and cooked through.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 ⅛ lb plain flour
- 2 ⅛ oz sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup warm milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 ⅛ oz soft butter
For the custard
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3 ½ oz sugar
- 1 ⅜ oz cornflour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
To fry and finish
- 6 ¼ cups sunflower oilfor deep-frying
- 4 tbsp icing sugar
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb plain flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 2 ⅛ oz sugar and ½ tsp salt. Add 1 cup warm milk, 2 eggs and 2 ⅛ oz soft butter and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover and rise for 1½ hours.
10 minStep 2: Whisk 4 egg yolks, 3 ½ oz sugar and 1 ⅜ oz cornflour. Heat 2 cups whole milk until steaming, whisk it into the yolks, return to the pan and cook over a medium heat, whisking, for 3–4 minutes until thick and bubbling. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract, cover the surface and chill.
6 minStep 3: Roll the dough 1.5 cm thick and cut 12 rounds of 8 cm. Rise on floured paper for 30 minutes.
30 minStep 4: Heat 6 ¼ cups sunflower oil to 350°F. Fry 3 at a time for 2–3 minutes per side, until golden with a pale ring at the middle and they sound hollow. Common mistake: oil too hot; they stay raw inside.
15 minStep 5: Drain and cool for 10 minutes. Slit the side of each and pipe in custard. Dust with 4 tbsp icing sugar and eat the same day.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ponchik take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 60 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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