Most Ful-filling
by Michal Palti
Does anybody still eat plain old jelly donuts? This year's donut fillings include butterscotch, rum and creme patissier, and among the toppings offered are melted chocolate and dark and white chocolate chips. Modern donuts look like little cakes and soft donuts filled with inferior quality strawberry jam are almost a thing of the past. Tal Bagels makes donuts with chocolate or butterscotch filling sprinkled with confectioner's sugar, and also has large donuts filled with caramel, bittersweet chocolate, pieces of flaked white and milk chocolate and decorated with white chocolate and candies.
The large donuts were a little gluey and did not stay fresh despite being only a few hours old. A quick warming in the microwave soon fixed that (the donut, never a refined dessert, works well with that appliance). The toppings were tasty, and will satisfy anyone in need of a chocolate fix in the middle or at the end of the workday. Large donuts with toppings are NIS 5-6 and donuts with strawberry filling are NIS 3.50 for a medium donut and NIS 4.50 for a large one.
The Gidron Bakery, owned by Supersol, makes donuts with jelly filling, topped with confectioner's sugar, which are somewhat crisp. The donuts come in two sizes: minis for NIS 1.70 and mediums for NIS 3.
Roladin make good chocolate-flavored donuts. It offers Jamaica donuts filled with bittersweet chocolate and rum, spiced with passion fruit and walnut crunch; Aruba donuts with creme patissier, coconut milk and pina colada and a Havana donut, with milk chocolate, coconut and coffee liquor. All three are tasty and crispy.
Roladin still sells donuts with a strawberry jam filling for NIS 4.50 and chocolate- or butterscotch-filled donuts that sell for NIS 5.50. The gourmet donuts are NIS 6.50; all come in a mini size for NIS 3.50.
Bonjour donut fillings this year include strawberry jam, whipped cream, chocolate, butterscotch and chocolate-vanilla (chocolate coating and vanilla filling). The vanilla, chocolate and butterscotch donuts were not tasty and were too sweet, but the classic donut was up to expectations. A box of four donuts costs NIS 10; an economy size box of six donuts sells for the same price; a single donut is NIS 2.50.
Fried apple and marzipan
The Gaya Bakery in Petah Tikva, owned by Hans and Galit Bertala, is offering donuts in mini and medium sizes with a variety of fillings this year, such as creme cafe, nougat, chocolate orange and pear, and vanilla. For alcohol aficionados there are gourmet donuts filled with grapefruit and vodka, as well as creme broule-filled donuts. The donut dough is of a good quality and crisp. The bakery is also offering fried apple and marzipan pastries, and whoever feels the calories are still lacking can try these treats with confectioner's sugar sprinkled on top. The donuts sell for NIS 4.50-9 and the Hanukkah treats are NIS 12.
At the Tusha cafe and bakery this year they are offering donuts filled with creme patissier, homemade strawberry jam, creme espresso with cardamom and bittersweet chocolate. The donut dough is soft and tasty. Donuts sell for NIS 4.50-5.50.
The Idelson 10 Bakery in Tel Aviv (which has another branch at 252 Dizengoff St.) has outdone itself and unlike other bakers has managed to improve significantly on the classic donut: the mini donuts are loaded with confectioner's sugar and fine quality jam and their taste is a far cry from that of the familiar, inferior donut. The donuts also come in a jelly-less version (NIS 5.50).
Cafe Tati in Givatayim, known for its fine pastries, has surprised everyone this year with donuts with halva or butterscotch filling, in addition to a fine quality jam filling. The donut and halva makes for a winning combination and, as usual, will attract the non-calorie-counters. These donuts sell for NIS 6-8.
Hemda Cakes, a new bakery at 13 Carlebach St. in Tel Aviv, is offering donuts with chocolate and jam fillings. The donuts are slightly heavy and the topping is crisp, which some may see as maintaining an authentic homemade element.
Ben Ami bakery is offering a "user-friendly" small or medium donut filled with jam and chocolate. The bakery also has sugar-free donuts (with no sugar sprinkled on top). Sampling the donuts filled with butterscotch, chocolate, vanilla cream and jam, tasters reported that despite the "user-friendly" size and this bakery's usually fine products, the donuts were a little too oily. The bakery's workers said a quick warming in the microwave and being left to cool would resolve the problem - and indeed there was some improvement in the taste. A box of 21 mini donuts goes for NIS 29. A medium donut sells for NIS 4.50. The donuts are available at the bakery in Kfar Vitkin and branches in Herzliya Pituah and Jerusalem.
