When it comes to škubánky, you would hardly find any similar recipe in world cuisine. Škubánky is a typical Czech sweet treat made from boiled potatoes combined with flour, sprinkled with poppy seeds and sugar.
What Are Škubánky
Škubánky is a sweet dessert made from boiled starchy potatoes with added flour. Flour is steamed with the hot boiled potatoes and then mixed in a smooth mass.
Škubánky is shaped with two greased spoons, then put on the plate and sprinkled with ground poppy seeds and powdered sugar. At the end, melted butter is poured over škubánky.
My tip: Try these Poppy seed noodles, Czech "nudle s mákem", too!
Pronunciation
I recorded a short audio clip on pronouncing the Czech word škubánky. The first word in the audio is "škubánky", the last is "škubánky s mákem", which means škubánky with poppyseed.
Ingredients
The main ingredient for making škubánky is starchy brown potatoes.
- Brown potatoes; high in starch
- Water; for cooking the potatoes
- Flour; ideally coarse flour, in Czech we use "hrubá mouka", in the USA semolina/farina should work as well, or grab plain all-purpose flour
- Salt
For the topping: ground poppyseed, powdered sugar, unsalted butter
✅ You'll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
Instructions
While the list of ingredients for the škubánky recipe is pretty short, you should follow these steps correctly to get a perfect result.
STEP 1: Peel the potatoes and cut them into medium dices about ½ inch in size.
STEP 2: Place the diced potatoes in a pot, add water, and only cover the potatoes (that means not too much water). Salt the water.
STEP 3: Bring to a boil, reduce the temperature, cook the potatoes for 15 minutes until soft.
STEP 4: Drain ½ water, keep the rest in a pot, set aside (no more cooking).
STEP 5: Crush the hot potatoes with a hand masher immediately, get a wooden spoon and make about 20 holes with its reverse side through the mashed potatoes until you reach the bottom of the pot.
STEP 6: Add flour evenly to cover the whole surface of mashed potatoes. Some flour will also fall into the holes.
STEP 7: Cover the pot with a lid, keep the steam going through the flour for 15 minutes.
STEP 8: Remove the lid, mash the potatoes again, then get a wooden spoon and mix everything. A smooth mass should be created. This step might be a bit difficult; don't give up and continue until "škubánky dough" is ready. It can take about 5-10 minutes.
STEP 9: Form the škubánky using two tablespoons.
Serving
Place the škubánky on a plate, dust with poppyseed, powdered sugar, top with melted butter. Serve warm. Dobrou chuť 🙂
More Czech desserts:
- Krupicová kaše - semolina porridge
- Lívance - yeasted pancakes
- Bábovka - marbled bundt cake
- Sweet šišky with fried breadcrumbs
MY TIP: Škubánky on their own taste neutral. You can serve them as a side dish for example with bacon or grated cheese.
Here are day-old škubánky fried in butter, served with salmon:
Storage
Store the škubánky covered with a foil in a fridge. They last for about three days.
There is one secret: škubánky tastes even better the second day, fried from all sides in a pan with melted butter. This way, they'll get a nice crispy golden crust.
Tried this recipe?
Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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📖 Recipe
Czech Škubánky s mákem
Tap or hover to scale
Ingredients
Skubanky dough:
- 1 and ½ pounds potatoes
- 1 and ½ cups water
- 1 and ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Topping:
- 6 Tablespoons ground poppy seeds
- 6 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 5 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Peel 1 and ½ pounds potatoes and dice them into medium pieces about ½ inch in size.
- Place diced potatoes in a pot. Pour in water so you only cover the potatoes (that means not too much water). Add ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the temperature, cook potatoes for 15 minutes until soft.
- Drain ½ of the water, keep the rest in the pot and set aside (no more cooking).
- Crush the hot potatoes with a hand masher immediately, get a wooden spoon and make about 20 holes with its reverse side through the mashed potatoes until you reach the bottom of the pot.
- Sprinkle 1 and ⅔ cups all-purpose flour evenly over the mashed potatoes so that you cover the whole surface. Some flour will also fall into the holes.
- Cover the pot with a lid, keep the steam going through the flour for 15 minutes.
- Remove the lid and get a wooden spoon. Mash the floury potatoes into a smooth mass.
- This step might be difficult, don't give up and continue until "Škubánky dough" is really smooth. It can take about 5-10 minutes.
- Using two spoons dipped in lard or melted butter, shape Škubánky.
- Place Škubánky on a plate, sprinkle with ground poppy seeds (at least 2 Tablespoons pro portion), powdered sugar (2 Tablespoons pro portion), and top with melted butter (1 and ½ Tablespoon pro portion). Serve warm.
Notes
- The basic recipe makes 3 portions as a main dish-yes, we Czechs eat Škubánky as a sweet dinner!
- If possible, use potatoes higher in starch, like Russet or all-purpose Yukon gold.
- On the second day, you can fry Škubánky from all sides in a pan with melted butter. They'll get a nice, crispy golden crust.
Pamela Kotval says
Oh-oh, your link for lupacky ends up at this recipe for skubanky!
I just found your website and I am VERY impressed with the quality of your work, the layout, ease of use, all the descriptive information about when and how to serve a recipe, good English, etc. I know it all comes from more than a stay-at-home mom who is cooking for her two teenage boys!
I love my Czech heritage and exploring Czech cuisine, and will continue to use your site as an excellent reference. My father's family--Kotval surname--originated near Kutna Hora. I am connected with very distant relatives who now live in Usti nad Labem. My mother's family--Bohac and Hejny surnames--originated south of Tabor. I have traveled twice around the Czech Republic and have visited all of the home villages.
Petra Kupská says
Hi Pamela, thank you so much for your kind comment, I really appreciate it!
I'm lucky that I enjoy running a blog with Czech recipes and I hope that my enthusiasm won't leave me.
Oh, those Czech towns you mentioned are scattered all over the Czech Republic! Kutná Hora is a beautiful historic town, as is Tabor in southern Bohemia. Ústí nad Labem, on the other hand, is in northern Bohemia, relatively close to where I live.
I hope the time will come soon when we can travel without restrictions and you will come to Bohemia again. I think there are a lot of places worth discovering here.
Many greetings from the Czech Republic, Petra
Jitka says
Muj Bože konecne jsem nasla recept na škubánky u Vás.. máte velmi pěknou stránku ..jsem začátečník a váš návod je pro mně perfektní..taky jsem hledala žemlovku...dekuji moc..smekam klobouk.
Petra Kupská says
Milá Jitko, moc Vám děkuji za hezká slova, to víte, že mě potěšila! Jsem ráda, že se Vám recepty líbí a budu ráda, když se bude dařit podle nich jídla připravovat. Zdravím Vás z Čech, Petra
Dorothy says
My Checz grandma made something I recall being called Skubanky but it was more of potato pancake like a latke. Do you know what I might be remembering?
Petra Kupská says
Hi Dortothy, from what you describe, could it be the Lokše? These are neutral-tasting potato pancakes. Either eaten as a side dish with meat or spread with plum butter (Czech Povidla) and sprinkled with poppy seeds. Lokše were most often made in South Moravia. Here is the Lokše recipe.
Katherine miratsky says
I thank you so much my mama made them and it was exciting and -9-of us loved them —-my mom came from KALISTA in czech—-I appreciate you getting back in touch with me and my question —-thanks again —-I am going to try to make them—-
Deborah says
I haven’t tried any of the recipes yet, but I am so very thrilled to have happened across your blog! Both my parents were of Czech heritage and we had some meals and desserts that are very similar to the ones I have read on your website.
My father made what you call Lokše, but threw in a couple of eggs in the mix.
He called them platsky( never saw it written, so I’m just guessing on the spelling). Have you ever heard them called that? He would start boiling potatoes at 6:00 in the morning and would make hundreds of them before we would eat at 6:00 in the evening. They freeze well with wax paper between. We ate them with strawberry or raspberry preserves, rolled up just like your photo.
I’ve been to the Czech Republic twice and absolutely love the country. And, of course , the food!
Thank you so much for your well thought out website- I’m anxious to try many of the recipes!
Petra Kupská | Cook Like Czechs says
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful family story! From what you describe, especially with the eggs added and making so many early in the morning, it sounds like your dad’s “platsky” might be closer to bramborové placky. Those delicious potato flatbreads can be enjoyed both sweet or savory, although they’re smaller and round like pancakes. Using wax paper between them is such a smart tip to keep them from sticking! I have a recipe for bramborové placky on the blog that closely resembles what you remember, feel free to check it out here: https://www.cooklikeczechs.com/bramborove-placky-czech-potato-flatbread/
It’s fantastic that you’ve visited the Czech Republic and enjoyed the food and culture so much.
I hope you’ll have fun trying the recipes on the blog and thank you again for the nice words!