Polish doughnuts (Pączki)

Name: Polish doughnuts (Pączki)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 27 min
Total time: 42 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients: 10g Yeast; 1 tsp Caster Sugar; 1 tablespoon Flour; 125ml Milk; 7 Egg Yolks; 15g Sugar; 10g Caster Sugar; 1 tsp Vanilla Extract; 500g Flour; 200ml Double Cream; 15g Butter; 125ml Jam; 10g Ground Almonds; For frying Oil; 75g Icing Sugar; Juice of 1/2 Lemon; Dash Almond Essence; 50g Almonds

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Dessert recipe with Polish flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 59 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 42 min total

10g Yeast
1 tsp Caster Sugar
1 tablespoon Flour
125ml Milk
7 Egg Yolks
15g Sugar
10g Caster Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
500g Flour
200ml Double Cream
15g Butter
125ml Jam
10g Ground Almonds
For frying Oil
75g Icing Sugar
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
Dash Almond Essence
50g Almonds

Step-by-step instructions

To make the leaven, mix the yeast with the sugar and flour, and stir in the warm milk. Set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes.
For the dough, put egg yolks into a heatproof bowl and add the sugar and vanilla sugar. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk until smooth and thick.
Sift the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the beaten yolks and the warm cream, mix thoroughly, then add a pinch of salt and the leaven. Bring together to make a dough and knead for 10 minutes (or 15-20 if doing this by hand).
When the dough stops sticking to your hands, pour in the cooled melted butter and knead for a few more minutes. Cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place to rise for at least 1 hr-1 hr 30 mins.
Mix the jam with the ground almonds and spoon into a piping bag or jam syringe. Divide the dough into 16 pieces and shape them into doughnuts. Cover and leave to rise for 30 mins.
Fill a deep pan or a deep fat fryer one third full of oil or melted lard and heat it until it is 180C – if you don’t have a thermometer, drop in a small chunk of bread. The oil is ready when it browns in about 30 secs. Add the doughnuts and fry, turning them once for about 1-2 mins on each side (a thin lighter ring should form in the middle). After removing, drain the doughnuts of excess fat on some kitchen paper.

Why this works on a weeknight

Polish doughnuts (Pączki) lands at about 42 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Sweet Finishes collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Polish doughnuts (Pączki) actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍮 Sweet Finishes Dessert Polish