In Israel, sufganiyot are not confined to only the eight days of Chanukah; the fried delicious goodies appear in markets and bakeries throughout the month of Kislev, and poof, on the day after Chanukah disappear entirely.
We’re all familiar with the traditional jelly doughnut, but in recent years the sufganiya has morphed from a one-flavor pastry to a very cornucopia of flavors. Alongside strawberry jelly, dulce de leche (caramel) has become ubiquitous and bright colored glazings and sprinkles attract the kids (and inner kid inside us adults). I came to Israel for Chanukah this year with one mission: a doughnut a day from bakeries in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Bet Shemesh. The newest flavor I tried was a Halva stuffed doughnut and I also saw pistachio, espresso and custard varieties.
Tacked onto the back end of Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda market, Marzipan bakery is world famous for its rugelach. But they don’t disappoint on their sufganiyot either.
A tip from the IJN’s Larry Hankin sent me to Roladin bakery, which has branches in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Larry told me about a trend for sufganiyot adorned with vials of additional flavor that punch up the doughnut that much more. Roladin was where I tracked them down, and their pavlova and espresso sufganiyot came with shot of liquor!
How many sufganiyot did you eat? And which flavors did you try?
Do you get carded if you want a sufguniya with liqueur?
Good question! I never did get around to trying one!
Love the colors – all that bright pink and all the jimmies. Not sure how they taste, but sure look pretty. Personally I only ate jelly this year-as in every other year 🙂