What is the traditional dessert of Romania?

On the sweet side, cozonaci and papanasi are some of the most common traditional desserts you'll encounter. But let's do a deep dive and explore the best Romanian desserts. Specific for Romanian traditional desserts are multi-layered cakes with one or more creams often made with butter and eggs.

What is Papanasi made of?

Papanași dough can be fried, as a "doughnut", or boiled, as a dumpling, like large gnocchi. Ingredients: semolina or wheat flour, urdă or ricotta or cottage cheese, rum or lemon zest or orange zest, preserves or cherries, sour cream or crème fraîche, vanilla, eggs, sugar, salt, butter, baking soda.

What is the most popular dessert in Romania?

The most famous dessert in Romania is called Papanashi . It is a fried pastry that is often served with a sweet cheese filling and sour cream on top.

Where did Papanasi originate?

These cheese dumplings have its origin in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and have been adapted in the Molodova region of Romania. Its characteristic is that the smaller piece of dough is placed on top of the doughnuts, almost like a hat.

Where did papanas come from?

Papanasi is considered a traditional Romanian desert, whose origins are well stuck in Moldavia . According to the many food legends born in the world, papanasi are inherited from the Austro-Hungarian empire or even from the ancient times of Denmark.

Are there deserts in Romania?

Greece, Romania, and Iceland have their own semi-deserts . Sometimes it's due to deforestation, like a plain in Romania that locals have called "the Oltenian Sahara" since the trees were chopped down under Communism.

What is the traditional food of Romania?

The Most Delicious Traditional Romanian Dishes: Sarmale. Ciorbă de Perișoare – Sour Meatballs Soup. Ciorbă de Burtă – Tripe Soup. Ardei Umpluți – Stuffed Peppers. Ficăței la Tigaie – Fried Liver. Mici. Mămăliguță cu Brânză si Smântână – Polenta with Cheese and Sour Cream. Pomana Porcului – The Pig's Alms. More items...

Do Romanians have baklava?

Baklava also exists in Romanian cuisine , being known as baclava in Romanian. It is one of the most preferred desserts among Romanians together with the Kanafeh (cataif) and the sarailia.

Romanian Papanasi Recipe - My Gorgeous Recipes (2024)

Published: Sep 4, 2020 · Modified: Sep 25, 2023 by Daniela Apostol · This post may contain affiliate links · 10 Comments

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Romanian Papanasi Recipe with sour cream and jam, or fried no-yeast cheese doughnuts, a dessert that tastes like heaven, and we are so proud of it. It only takes a few basic ingredients to put it together, but be sure that everybody will fall in love with them.

Romanian Papanasi Recipe - My Gorgeous Recipes (1)

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What are papanasi?
Ingredients needed
Step-by-step photos and instructions to make Romanian papanasi
Traditional Romanian meal
Romanian Papanasi Recipe

What are papanasi?

Papanasi (read papanashi) are a traditional Romanian dessert made of cow's cheese, eggs, bicarb of sofa and flour, and flavoured with lemon zest. They are similar to a fried donut that is topped with a donut ball, and served with lots of sour cream and jam.

You will find papanasi in any Romanian restaurant, and anywhere else where traditional Romanian food is served.As a nation, we love cheese, and cow's cheese is my favourite - I even have my own recipe on how to make cow's cheese or farmer's cheese at home. From appetizers, to mains or desserts, we like adding cheese in lots and lots of dishes.

Now, there are two types of papanasi, the fried ones, and boiled papanasi. Of course, the boiled ones are healthier, but you will agree with me that fried are tastier. Right?

As for jam, you can use any kind, I absolutely love my Blackberry Jam and Damson Jam, worth giving them a try!

Romanian Papanasi Recipe - My Gorgeous Recipes (2)

Ingredients needed

cow's cheese - or feta cheese
egg
plain flour
bicarbonate of soda
lemon
granulated sugar
vegetable oil -to fry
sour cream - to serve
jam - to serve

Step-by-step photos and instructions to make Romanian papanasi

If you can't find cow's cheese, feta cheese is a very good substitute.

Crumble or grate the cheese
Add the egg, bicarbonate of soda, lemon zest, sugar and flour, and mix to get a dough.

NOTE! At this stage the dough will be pretty sticky. Leave to rest for 15-20 minutes, and the dough will be soft, and very easy to work with.

Transfer to the work surface and divide it into 4 balls. Use flour to dust if the dough is still sticky.
Each ball will be divided into 2, one ball will be bigger. From the bigger ball, we will shape a round donut with a hole in the middle, where the second one will be the shape of a ball (see photo below).
Heat up the oil, and deep fry until light brown.
Repeat with the rest of the donuts.
Once cooled, serve with plenty of sour cream and jam

Romanian Papanasi Recipe - My Gorgeous Recipes (3)

Traditional Romanian meal

If you ever visit Romania, you'll be welcomed with lots of delicious food and lots of plum brandy, which is our traditional drink. Red wine is another favourite of ours.

We absolutely love food, and every important holiday is a good excuse to cook a proper feast with lots of dishes, both sweet and savoury. So, how about we put together a proper Romanian meal?

We can start with some amazing appetizers like aubergine salad, or some chicken liver pate. We can't possibly not taste the delicious "Ciorba Radauteana", or chicken soup with sour cream and garlic.

As a main meal, our sarmale, or meat and rice rolls in cabbage (or grape leaves) have no rival. They find their way on the table more often than you think.

As for desserts, apart from papanasi, we can enjoy some "Salam de biscuiti" or chocolate salami, or a good old cremeschnitte(Cremsnit). Or, why not some no-yeast beignets(Gogosi).