Oponki Cheese Ring Doughnuts

Name: Oponki Cheese Ring Doughnuts
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients: Fat-free quark; 2 medium eggs; Caster sugar; Plain flour; Baking powder; Vegetable oil; Icing sugar for dusting

Oponki Cheese Ring Doughnuts, plated as one serving.

355 kcal a serving, against 489 for the traditional version. That is 134 kcal off, or 27%, with 16.1g of protein. Serves 6. 1 hour, plus cooling.

What the traditional version is

Rich dough made with full-fat quark, eggs, plain flour and a touch of sugar, whisked together, shaped into rings and deep-fried till bubbly and bronze. Finished with icing sugar or a simple glaze and eaten warm. Impossible to keep for long - Polish families get through a batch in one sitting.

What changed, and what each change costs

Full-fat quark for fat-free quark

Full-fat quark gives you that creamy, tender crumb and stops the rings drying out as fast as British weather ruins hair. The fat-free sort keeps the protein and the tang but cuts most of the fat.

What it costs you. You lose the pillowy softness and the inside isn't as creamy. These go stale twice as fast, so eat them within a day. You might prefer them fresh anyway - nobody's ever asked for leftover doughnuts.

Butter left out

Butter in the dough is pure luxury. It makes the crumb more tender and gives a bit of that pastry-like depth. Swap it out and, because there's quark, the dough still holds together. You're not making croissants.

What it costs you. You'll notice the richness is missing, but the oponki don't fall apart. The crust is firmer. If you're generous with the dusting sugar, you'll forgive it.

Less oil absorbed

Fat-free quark dough takes on a bit less oil in the fryer than the full-fat sort. the maths hasn't changed - you still fry them, but less oil ends up in the final ring. The only way to cut this further is to bake, and then you're eating bagels pretending to be pudding.

What it costs you. You're still eating fried dough, just not quite as much of it. It's not going to fool anyone who grew up with the real thing, but the kitchen still smells like a proper carnival.

What goes in it

The ingredients, without the quantities. The weights are what the figures below are computed from, and they are in the book.

Fat-free quark
2 medium eggs
Caster sugar
Plain flour
Baking powder
Vegetable oil
Icing sugar for dusting

How it starts

In a big bowl, beat the fat-free quark with the eggs and sugar until smooth.
Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold gently to make a soft, slightly sticky dough.
Tip the dough onto a floured board.

The rest of the method, and every weight, is in Authentic-ish Polish.

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	489	355
Protein	16.2g	16.1g
Fat	24.4g	9.5g
Saturated fat	6.2g	1.6g
Carbohydrate	51g	51g
Protein per 100 kcal	3.3g	4.5g

Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Polish prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked. How every number is computed sets out the method.

Allergens. gluten, eggs, milk.

The method is in the book

You do not get full-fat indulgence from fat-free quark. The crumb is denser and the rings are a bit chewier, especially if you leave them till tomorrow. That's the price you pay for giving up most of the fat. Still, eaten fresh and warm, they deliver a fair kick of nostalgia with a fraction of the coma. The sugar dusting covers a multitude of sins, and nobody ever complains while there's still one left. It isn't a replacement for the doughnuts you remember from your nan's house, it's the Tuesday afternoon answer to dessert when you're not up for a nap. Warm and sweet, with just enough tang to feel Polish.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Polish, along with 53 more. Buy the paperback