Do Not Say No to Doughnut

In Croatia, February is the peak month for doughnuts, when even the people who usually avoid them will munch down at least one or two. In other times of the year, in Zagreb you’ll find it as krafna(modified version of the Austrian word Krapfen), but in February it is known as the traditional pokladnica.

February is Carnival time, for Christians the festive season before the Lent, called poklade in Croatian. And as the name says it clearly, pokladnica is the official sweet food of the Carnival season in continental Croatia. Makes sense – you need to fatten up before you start fasting. The origin of doughnuts as we know them is unclear and there are many legends woven around them. But it’s quite certain that like so many other things, they reached Zagreb from Vienna, the centre of the former Habsburg Monarchy, where they were part of the Carnival customs, especially enjoyed on Fat Tuesday. Dressing up and eating crazy amounts of doughnuts go together like peas and carrots, and just among children.

“It’s round, golden-brown, with a yellow ring around the centre and it’s sprinkled with powdered sugar – it must be a pokladnica!” Image credit: Domagoj Jakopović Ribafish

Unlike the globally popular American-style doughnuts which are ring-shaped, with a hole, the Croatian ones are solid and filled. And you will know them by the yellowish ring around the centre. Made with yeast-raised deep-fried dough, they are usually filled with fruit jam and then sprinkled with powdered sugar. Most popular fillings are apricot or plum jam, but there are no rules. You will also see doughnuts filled with chocolate or vanilla sauce, but by many those are regarded as sacrilegious, too modern and not true to the tradition. Doughnut purists will also insist on using lard instead of butter or – God forbid – margarine. Also, it’s useful to include a bit of brandy or rum in the dough mixture, because it prevents absorbing too much oil while frying. Plus, it adds to the aroma. There are obviously many secrets of the trade, but whatever works and makes your doughnuts nice, round and fluffy is allowed.

“When it comes to doughnuts, one is never enough.” Image credit: Orijent FB

Carnival season is the time when a lot of amateur cooks will take on the challenge of making doughnuts at home, but that’s a risky deal. As simple as they seem, doughnuts really require skills and experience. It’s a long trial-and-error process, and there are many small disasters to encounter and overcome – like the filling pouring out, doughnuts turning out too oily or too flat etc. Of course, homemade doughnuts will visually almost never appear as flawless and perfect as the ones bought in a pastry shop, but it’s the taste and texture that counts. Once you find the right recipe and master it, you almost feel like an old Japanese sensei. However, if you wisely decide to leave the doughnut making to others, no problem, there’s plenty to choose from.

You could play it safe and reach for a nice-looking doughnut from one of the big bakery chains, but it’s better to stick to small, boutique pastry shops. There are now definitely more than enough of those in Zagreb. Everybody is doing doughnuts, so the selection is huge, but some of the places to recommend are downtown patisseries Princess, Orijent and Jakšić, or a bit further away, Nikl bakery in Samobor. But, go out and explore for yourself because there will never be that many and that good doughnuts around you as in February.

“Apricot jam filling is the classic, and they know it in Jakšić patisserie.” Image credit: Jakšić FB

Header image credit: Marinela Prodan

Author: Taste of Croatia