Sufganiyot Madness - 2019 Update 

It's that time of year again - Sufganiyot season!
As in every Hanukkah, I went to see what the creative "nashers" at Roladin Bakery prepared for us this year.

Stop counting calories because you just have to have one:

Highlights From the 2019 Sufganiyot Collection

Let's start with the green ones:

Green Pistachios whipped cream, almond sable and mascarpone cream, sitting next to Vanilla Cookie Cream with creme patissiere, glacage noir cookie-crumble and broken Oreo bits. 

On the left: Ganache-blond, hazelnut sable, whipped cream and a tube of caramel-hazelnut.

On the right, in soft pink, is the creation called "Ispahan": Creme mascarpone, raspberry derge, rose chaser (that dark pink bulb), berries and strawberry-cream.

Not Just Sufganiyot

Even though it rarely snows in Israel, I love this beautiful delicate decoration. Here is the lovely setting showing off the pastry in the Azrieli Center shop.

Roladin are the perfect pit-stop before the train station. This is the place to get your croissants, bread or sandwich and coffee to go all year round, not just on Hanukkah.

Happy Hanukkah :D

Below is my original post from 2017 - read it to get the whole story of how insane this whole event is!

Which year do you like better? :)

2017 Original Post

Happy Hanukkah!

Every year, Roladin Bakery is putting out their new sufganiyot collection.

Let me just say this up front – I don't work for them or anything; I'm just crazy about their sufganiyot. I wait all year for this, it's like nothing else. 

Yes, there are other bakeries; good ones, too, and my landlady shared with me her homemade recipe, perfected over years of practice. It's just that Roladin have elevated theirs to an art form. 

The Roladin Sufganiyot Stand at Azrieli Center, Hanukah 2017, Tel Aviv

For the past couple of years they started making them about a month ahead of Hanukah. Now that the candles are lit, the waiting line for a box of doughnuts goes around the block. 

I go to the sufganiyot stand that they put up especially each Hanukkah at the Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv. I always expect mayhem, people pushing and shouting and trying to cut the line like Israelis tend to do, but it's not like that at all!

People stand patiently, engrossed in their smartphones, taking orders from family and friends on WhatsApp:

One Green Queen, two Whipped Cream and Belgian chocolate, one Coffee Crust, two Red Kisses and a Shoko Party.
How they are going to keep them safe on the crowded train on the way home I'm not sure.

A woman passes by, saying to her friend - It's insane to wait an hour in line for a sufganiya. I want to grab her by the shoulders and shout – They're AMAZING!

Meringue CheeseCake Sufganiya by Roladin, Israel

Sufganiyot as an Art Form

Kids (and me) stand by the glass pane watching the doughnuts fry. I'm not sure 'doughnuts' is a right translation. These are nothing like the American doughnuts cops eat in movies. They're smaller, airy and not all that sweet by themselves. It's the mind-blowing fillings and decoration that make people stand and look and wait and salivate.

The guy behind the glass topples a new tray of dough balls into the fryer. They go so fast, it's hard work keeping up with the demand. Practiced staffers do the elaborate decorating, pumping the sufganiyot with white patisserie cream and red strawberry jam and chocolate with rum and coffee. They won't need to go to the gym this week.
The manager shouts over the din into his cellphone – "Chocolate! We need more chocolate!" He is covered with flour from head to toe and looks positively ecstatic.

The happy Israelites that made it to the top of the line point at the different colored sufganiyot and ask – What's this one? And this? Ok give me some of those too! No no, just fill up the box!

The young woman behind the counter holds a large cardboard box and gently picks up the elaborate creations, placing them in rows inside the carton, while giving instructions on how to keep them safe till you get home:
"Don’t put anything on top of the box, and keep it as level as you can," she says.

Another of the bakers brings a fresh tray of sufganiyot decorated in gold leaf.
I guess this is the Jewish version of Christmas decoration :)
It's just pure joy.

Take away: Green Queen (pistachios), Belgian chocolate with whipped cream (my favourite) and Sphinge - the Moroccan version.

It's a good thing Hanukkah lasts eight days

I ate one.
Well, I ate one at a time, LOL!
I got to be careful, because these are waistline expanders.

I got ahead of the crowd and started early, before Hanukah, because I knew the hordes will descend once the holiday started.
I went for the whipped cream with Belgian chocolate. Fresh from the pan, ate it right there. GOD this is delicious. I love the coffee ones too, with amaretto and almond flakes. I could eat all of them. The Halva filling is probably the most "Israeli", the meringue CheeseCake more American.

I think this year the pistachio Green Queen takes the cake. Or crown. Or whatever prize there is for sufganiyot. It's beautiful.

They're available only around November - December. If you're in the Holy Land for the holidays, any holiday, any reason at all – you absolutely have to try one. 

For some professional food porn - check out the official Roladin page. 

Happy Hanukkah!

Pecanelia

Want to make Sufganiyot at home? Try Eva's recipe>>

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