Krofne — Serbian Jelly Doughnuts

Serbian Non Fasting Published April 21, 2026

Non-Fasting Recipe: This dish contains meat, dairy, or eggs and is intended for feast days and non-fasting periods.

Soft, airy, round Serbian doughnuts — essentially the Serbian version of the Central European jelly
doughnut (Berliner, pączki, bomboloni). Filled with apricot jam or vanilla custard and dusted with
powdered sugar. Krofne are breakfast, picnic food, and a favoured Lent-breaking treat.

FASTING LEVEL: Non-Fasting (milk, butter, eggs)

SERVINGS: 12 doughnuts
TIME: 3 hours (mostly rising)

INGREDIENTS:
- 500 g bread flour
- 250 ml warm whole milk
- 50 g melted butter
- 2 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks
- 60 g sugar
- 7 g instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon rum (optional, traditional)
- Neutral oil for deep frying

For filling and finishing:
- 300 g apricot jam (classic) — or plum jam or vanilla pastry cream
- Powdered sugar for dusting

METHOD:
1. Warm milk. Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar. Let foam 10 minutes.
2. Combine flour, remaining sugar, salt, lemon zest.
3. Add yeast mixture, whole eggs, egg yolks, melted butter, and rum. Knead 10 minutes until silky. The dough should be quite soft.
4. Rise 90 minutes until doubled.
5. Gently punch down. Roll on a lightly floured surface to 2 cm thick.
6. Cut into 8 cm circles with a cookie cutter or glass. Re-roll scraps.
7. Place circles on a floured tray, spaced apart. Cover and rise 30 minutes.
8. Heat 5 cm oil in a deep pot to 165C (325F) — cooler than many fried doughnuts; this is correct for krofne.
9. Fry 2-3 at a time: place them in, covered side down. Cover the pot with a lid for the first 90 seconds (traditional Serbian technique — the steam makes them puff tall). Flip. Fry another 60 seconds uncovered until golden.
10. Drain on paper towels. Cool slightly.
11. Fill: use a long piping tip. Make a small hole in the side of each krofna, pipe in jam or custard until resistance tells you they are full.
12. Dust generously with powdered sugar. Serve warm.

NOTES:
- The covered-frying trick is specifically Serbian. It produces krofne with a pale "equator" around the middle — the classic look of proper Serbian krofne.
- Temperature matters. Oil that is too hot produces dense, browned krofne. 165C is the target.
- Best eaten the day they are made. Stale krofne are sad.
- Apricot jam is the default filling. Plum jam is a strong second. Vanilla pastry cream is the modern luxury.

NUTRITION (per krofna, approximate):
Calories: 280 | Protein: 6 g | Carbohydrates: 42 g | Fat: 10 g | Fibre: 1 g