Munkki (Finnish Doughnuts)

Ingredients

• 250ml whole milk, warmed
• 7g active dry yeast
• 50g granulated sugar, plus 100g more for rolling
• 1 egg
• 100g quark or full-fat sour cream
• 2 tsp ground cardamom
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 500g all-purpose flour
• 50g butter, softened
• 1 liter neutral oil, for frying

Before you cook

• Stir the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar into the warm milk and let it sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
• Whisk the egg, quark, remaining sugar, cardamom, and salt into the yeast mixture.
• Stir in the flour a third at a time to form a soft dough.
• Knead in the softened butter for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and only slightly sticky.
• Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 45 minutes until doubled.
• Punch down the dough and roll it into about 20 balls.
• Set the balls on a floured tray, cover, and let them rise for 30 minutes.

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a deep pot to 170°C (340°F).
2. Lower 4 or 5 dough balls into the oil at a time.
3. Fry for about 1.5 minutes per side until deep golden all over.
4. Lift the doughnuts out with a slotted spoon onto a tray lined with paper towels.
5. Let them cool for 2 minutes until just warm, not hot.
6. Roll each doughnut in the remaining sugar while still warm.
7. Repeat with the remaining dough balls, letting the oil return to temperature between batches.