Munkki

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gplain flour
• 100 gcaster sugar
• 10 gdried yeast
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 2 teaspoonsground cardamom
• 250 mlwarm milk
• 2eggs
• 100 gbutter, softened

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

To finish

• 150 gcaster sugar
• for rolling
• or icing sugar, to dust

To serve

• with sima
• at Vappu on the first of May
• or with coffee

Directions

1. Crush the seeds from the pods yourself. A ring has no thick middle at all. Warm the milk to blood temperature. Stir the yeast and a spoon of sugar in. Let it stand until it foams up. Give it about ten minutes to foam.
2. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the ground cardamom to it. Make a well in the middle of it. Beat the eggs and add them in. Pour in the foaming yeast milk. Bring it together into a soft dough. Adding the butter is done separately.
3. Knead the dough for about five minutes first. Add it in small pieces at a time. Butter added at the start slows gluten forming. Keep working and it comes back together. Kneading it takes real patience.
4. Knead it for a further eight minutes. It should become smooth and elastic. Put the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover it and leave it somewhere warm. Let it roughly double in size. Give it an hour and a half there. Divide it into even sized pieces.
5. Roll each one into a smooth ball. Make it larger than seems right. Leave them as smooth balls instead. They take a little longer to fry through. Set them out on a floured tray. Cover them loosely with a cloth. Let them prove for about thirty minutes. They should look visibly puffed.
6. Pour the oil into a deep heavy pot. Fill it no more than half full. Heat it to about one hundred and seventy degrees. It should rise and sizzle steadily. Keep a lid nearby to smother a flare-up. Never put water on an oil fire at all. Keep children well away from the pot. Frying them takes care and batches. Turn them over with a slotted spoon. Give them another two full minutes.
7. Break the first one open to check. The inside should be light and bready. Lift them out onto a wire rack. Let all the excess oil drip away. Give them a minute or so to drain. Roll them all in caster sugar. Sugar sticks to warm doughnuts. Roll them while they are still warm. Both of them are done in Finland.
8. Make a hole in the side with a skewer. Use a piping bag with a long nozzle. Squeeze gently until it feels heavier. Do not overfill it or it bursts. Pile them all onto a serving plate. Serve cold sima alongside them. Or serve hot coffee with them.

Technique

• Cardamom is the defining spice of Finnish baking and goes in generously — two teaspoons is not a mistake. Grind it yourself from the pods where you can, since ground cardamom loses its aroma quickly and it makes a real difference here.
• Knead the dough five minutes before working the softened butter in, since butter added at the start slows the gluten forming; it goes slippery and messy briefly and comes back together. Fat and sugar both slow the yeast, so the rise takes an hour and a half — judge it by size rather than the clock.
• Make the hole considerably larger than seems right, since it shrinks as the dough proves and again as it puffs in the oil. Roll them in sugar while still warm, since it slides straight off cold ones.

Substitutions

• Icing sugar dusted over gives a lighter finish than rolling in caster sugar; both are done.
• Balls filled with jam after frying are the café version, where rings are the classic fair one.

Variations

• Sima is a lightly fermented lemon drink made with sugar, lemon and yeast for a few days, barely alcoholic, and is drunk with munkki at Vappu.
• Vappu on the first of May marks the arrival of spring after a long dark winter, with picnics held whatever the weather.
• A pale band round the middle shows where the doughnut floated as it cooked, and is normal.

History

Eaten at Finnish Vappu on 1 May with sima mead, and year round in cafés.

Frequently asked questions

What is Munkki?

Munkki is a street food from Finland: sugared cardamom doughnut sold at fairs and drunk with sima. Eaten at Finnish Vappu on 1 May with sima mead, and year round in cafés.

How long does Munkki take to make?

Munkki takes 30 minutes plus rising of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 16 doughnuts. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Munkki?

Yes, within limits. Icing sugar dusted over gives a lighter finish than rolling in caster sugar; both are done. Balls filled with jam after frying are the café version, where rings are the classic fair one.

What is the most important thing to get right in Munkki?

Pour the oil into a deep heavy pot. Fill it no more than half full. Heat it to about one hundred and seventy degrees. It should rise and sizzle steadily. Keep a lid nearby to smother a flare-up. Never put water on an oil fire at all. Keep children well away from the pot. Frying them takes care and batches. Turn them over with a slotted spoon. Give them another two full minutes.