Carnival & frying days
Everything that goes into hot oil before Lent, from Kraków to Zagreb.
16 recipes
🇵🇱 PolandPączki
Rich Polish doughnuts, deep-fried and filled with rose petal or plum jam.
🇳🇱 NetherlandsOliebollen
Dutch New Year's Eve fritters — soft, fruit-studded dough balls fried until golden.
🇭🇷 CroatiaFritule
Dalmatia's Christmas fritters: a yeasted potato dough with raisins, citrus zest and a splash of rakija, fried by the teaspoon and dusted with sugar.
🇮🇹 ItalyZeppole di San Giuseppe
Fried choux rings piped with lemon custard, made for St. Joseph's Day in Naples.
🇩🇪 GermanyBerliner
A pillowy fried yeast doughnut, injected with jam and rolled in sugar, with no hole.
🇮🇹 ItalyBomboloni
Pillowy Italian fried doughnuts, rolled in sugar and filled with pastry cream.
🇮🇸 IcelandKleinur
Iceland's twisted doughnuts: a cardamom-scented dough cut into diamonds, slit and knotted, fried and dusted with cardamom sugar.
🇲🇹 MaltaImqaret
Malta's diamond-shaped date pastries, scented with aniseed, orange blossom and cloves and fried until crisp.
🇬🇷 GreeceLoukoumades
Ancient Greek honey puffs, fried until crisp and drenched in honey syrup and walnuts.
🇷🇴 RomaniaPapanași
Romania's fried cheese doughnuts: a ring and a little ball of cottage-cheese dough, fried golden and buried under sour cream and runny blueberry jam.
🇪🇸 SpainChurros
Ridged fried dough sticks, crisp outside and soft within, dunked in thick hot chocolate.
🇪🇸 SpainTorrijas
Stale bread soaked in cinnamon milk, fried, and served cold — Spain's Easter tradition.
🇷🇺 RussiaSyrniki
Russia's breakfast cheese pancakes: farmer's cheese, eggs and a little semolina, shaped into pucks and fried golden, served with sour cream and jam.
🇩🇰 DenmarkÆbleskiver
Denmark's Christmas pancake puffs: a cardamom buttermilk batter lightened with whipped whites, turned in a dimpled pan into golden spheres.
🇦🇹 AustriaKaiserschmarrn
A fluffy pancake torn into pieces, caramelized in butter, and dusted with sugar.
🇫🇷 FranceChouquette
Bite-sized choux puffs scattered with crunchy pearl sugar — a French bakery-window classic.