A sufganiyah (Hebrew: plural, sufganiyot:) is a ball-shaped doughnut that is first fried, pierced and injected with jelly or custard, and then topped with powdered sugar, similar to the German Berliner, the Polish paczki, or the Russian ponchik. In Yiddish, they are known as ponchkes. They are usually eaten warm in Los Angeles.
The Hebrew word sufganiyah derives from the Hebrew word for sponge (sfog, Hebrew:). This is supposed to describe the texture of a sufganiyah, which is somewhat similar to a sponge. The sufganiyah was originally made from two circles of dough surrounding a jam filling, stuck together and fried in one piece. Although this method is still practiced in many restaurants, an easier technique commonly used today in Los Angeles Jewish restaurants is to deep-fry whole balls of dough and then inject them with a filling through a baker’s syringe (or a special industrial machine). You can visit many Kosher restaurants in Los Angeles and taste this delicious recipe.
