The Great Hanukkah Doughnut Crawl

 

• This year, with most festive traditions (Christmas markets, holiday parties, etc) scuttled due to COVID restrictions, we looked for unorthodox opportunities to celebrate the season.
• Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, commemorates the miracle of the single oil lamp that lasted for eight nights.
• It is celebrated with the lighting of the menorah, but also by enjoying anything deep fried, including latkes and doughnuts, called sufganiyot.
• Hearing about these, we did a doughnut crawl, dropping into several bakeries near Jaffa Street to sample their finest fried creations.
• The standard sufganiyah is a powdered doughnut filled with jam or chocolate, which can be found in almost every Israeli supermarket and corner store during the season.
• Of course, Israeli innovation extends to its bakeries and there are a wide variety of flavours, like custard, pistachio and hazelnut.
• The most decadent we tried was at the famous Kadosh bakery, which had a long lineup out the door.
• Inside were the most expensive and frou-frou sufganiyot we have ever seen, with flavours like cassis and passionfruit, each topped with a handmade flavoured marshmallow.
• As if this was not decadent enough, there were rumours of even fancier (and pricier) sufganiyot. 
• Alas, once Hanukkah ends, so do the sufganiyot. We will have to resume the search next year...