Sweet curd cheese donut-balls

I still remember my happiness every time my mom decided to make those delicious little curd cheese donuts when I was a child. If you are looking for them in Estonia, look for something called "kohupiima pontšikud". They look so beautiful in their golden brown colour and tender icing sugar cover. The curd cheese in the batter gives a subtle sourness to them that suites so perfectly with the sweetness of the sugar. If you cannot get the curd cheese, then try to replace it with the cottage cheese (pushed through a sieve) or Petit Suisse (as my good friend Mari, who has lived in France, suggested). You need:

200 gr of curd cheese
1 ts baking powder
2 eggs
10 tbs milk
4 tbs sugar
400 gr wheat flour
a bit of grated nutmeg or orange peel
pinch of salt
icing sugar for serving
Rapeseed oil for deep frying

Mix curd cheese, eggs and milk. Add baking powder, sugar, flour and salt, mix until smooth. Season with nutmeg or orange peel. Heat oil (enough to cover the donut balls) up. Test if it is hot enough putting a wooden spoon in, if small bubbles start to come up, the oil is ready for frying. Take a bit of batter with tablespoon and pop the batter to oil. Repeat the same over and over again, until you have many little donut balls getting a golden skin in the oil. Remove the donuts and put them on a kitchen paper, to get rid of the extra oil. When the sweet little balls have cooled down, serve them with some icing sugar sprinkled on! Lovely with a big cup of fesh cold milk!



Kohupiimapontšikud

200 gr kohupiima
2 muna
1 tl küpsetuspulbrit
10 spl piima
4 spl suhkrut
400 gr jahu
riivitud muskaatpähklit või apelsinikoort
suts soola
serveerimiseks tuhksuhkrut
Rapsiõli pontšikute praadimiseks

Sega kokku kohupiim, munad ja piim. Lisa küpsetuspulber, suhkur, jahu ja sool. Sega ühtlaseks ja maitsesta muskaatpähkli või apelsinikoorega. Kuumuta õli potis. Et õli kuumust testida, pista puust lusikas õli sisse, kui selle pinnalt hakkavad üles tõusma väisked mullid, on õli piisavalt kuum. Vala supilusikatäied tainast õli sisse ja prae, kuni nad on kuldpruunid. Tõsta köögipaberile nõrguma. Serveerimisel raputa nad üle tuhksuhkruga. Maitseb imehästi tassikese külma piimaga!