A traditional Swiss dessert during carnival time - Schenkeli, a deep-fried treat! With a crisp, brown crust and a soft and cake-like middle, and a hint of orange they taste like orange cake - just deep-fried.
Melt the butter in a small sauce pan or in the microwave.
Add the melted butter, sugar, milk, and orange zest to the mixing bowl of your stand mixer. Then with a spoon, give it a quick stir.
Next, add salt and eggs.
Combine the flour and baking powder and add them to the wet ingredients.
Mix them all into a dough. Don't mix for too long!
Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for one hour.
Form
Cut the chilled dough into 3-4 sections and roll each section into ½ inch (2cm) thick strings. Push out any air pockets. If the dough breaks and is crumbly, add a little milk to it to make it smooth and easy to roll out.
Cut each string into 3½-4 inch (8-9cm) long pieces and place them on parchment paper.
Fry
Pour the vegetable oil into a large pan and heat it to 180°C or 350°F. If you don’t have a food thermometer, you can put a wooden spoon in the oil, and if the oil instantly starts to create small bubbles around the spoon, the oil is ready!
Carefully place 5-6 Schenkeli at a time (depending on the size of your pot) into the oil. Fry them for about two minutes or until golden brown; flip them now and then. They will sink to the bottom of the pan at first but float after a few seconds.
With a skimmer carefully take the Schenkeli out of the oil and onto a papertowel.
Notes
➙ Schenkeli stay good for 1-2 days in an airtight cookie tin at room temperature.➙ They also freeze very well for up to 2 months. Wrap them in aluminum foil and place them in a cookie tin to avoid freezer burn.