Classic Raspberry Sufganiyot Recipe (Jelly Donuts For Hanukkah)

The classic raspberry sufganiyot might just be all you'll want to eat this Hanukkah season. For a taste of nostalgia with a touch of homemade gourmet, these fried yeasted donuts hit all the marks.

According to Ksenia Prints of At the Immigrant's Table, who first learned to make these jam-filled puffed balls of dough from her own Russian grandmother in Israel, sufganiyot are traditional Jewish jelly-filled donuts that are served during Hanukkah, and they're easier to make at home than you might think. Making sufganiyot from scratch lets you control the filling and sweetness levels, while simultaneously producing a fresher, fluffier donut than any store-bought version.

Our recipe starts by making our very own raspberry jam, just to give it a bespoke touch that will remind you of grandma's kitchen. We then use a light yeast dough that fries up golden and pillowy, and we fill it with the fresh jam until it's nearly bursting. What you end up with are warm, sugar-dusted donuts with bright raspberry centers that will quickly become the focus of your Hanukkah celebration.

To make the easy raspberry jam we will use as filling for these sufganiyot, you'll need fresh raspberries, sugar,  lemon juice, and cornstarch for thickening. For the donuts themselves, you'll need warm milk, active dry yeast, sugar, all-purpose flour,  eggs, salt, vegetable oil, and powdered sugar for dusting.

Combine the raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan.

Cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until thickened. Crush any remaining berries.

Mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water.

Stir the cornstarch slurry into the jam and cook 1 minute more. Set aside to cool completely.

Mix ¾ cup of warm milk, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl. Let stand 10 minutes until foamy.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, eggs, salt, remaining milk, oil, and yeast mixture, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Roll the dough on a floured surface and cut it into 8 uniform portions.

Shape each piece of dough into 3 balls and let them rise for 10 minutes.

Heat the oil to 350 F in a deep pot.

Fry the donuts until golden on both sides, for about 2 minutes per side.

Drain the donuts on paper towels.

Cool the donuts slightly, then fill them with the jam using a pastry bag.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

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Sufganiyot is the Hebrew name for jelly-filled Hanukkah donuts, a name that stems from the root "sponge" and refers to their appearance, their fluffy texture, and their ability to soak up oil and a sweet filling. They are only one of the many international forms of donuts, and are closely related to Polish paczki.

In fact, sufganiyot have their roots in Eastern European Jewish communities, where fried pastries were common treats during winter celebrations. The tradition of eating all sorts of fried foods during Hanukkah stems from the holiday's central miracle: when the Maccabees barricaded themselves in the Second Temple in Jerusalem, they found only enough sacred oil to light the menorah for one day, yet it miraculously burned for eight days. To commemorate this miracle, Jews eat foods prepared in oil during the eight-day festival.

While latkes (potato pancakes, called "draniki" in Russian and "rosti" in Swiss) became the dominant fried food in Eastern European Jewish communities, sufganiyot gained popularity in Israel starting in the 1920s. Today, sufganiyot have become essential to Hanukkah celebrations in Israel, and are spreading to other Jewish communities around the world.

As sufganiyot grew in popularity throughout Israel, a myriad of filling options have arisen, each more unique than the last. Today, nearly every Israeli bakery offers at least two versions of sufganiyot during the eight days of Hanukkah, and some specialty bakeries like Roladin, which even has branches in London, make an Olympic sport out of coming up with gourmet fillings and toppings.

While raspberry jam is the traditional filling, sufganiyot can be filled with virtually any thick filling that holds its shape when piped. Other classic options include strawberry jam and chocolate, which is probably the second most popular filling. Today, dulce de leche is becoming nearly as popular as its cacao-based cousin.

If you like to keep it creamy and more North American, you can try piping your donut with a custard-based filling like vanilla pastry cream, lemon curd, or caramel cream, a la the Boston cream puff. For a modern twist, take inspiration from Roladin and try halva cream, rose-flavored cream, or pistachio cream. The important thing when making homemade fillings is to make sure the filling is thick enough to pipe without leaking out of the donut.

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