Yeasted, deep-fried Polish jelly doughnuts eaten on Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins; rich, eggy and slightly boozy. Cleveland's Slavic parishes line up at dawn for the once-a-year batch.

Polish parishes brought paczki to Slavic Village and Parma from the 1880s, eating them on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday to use up rich pre-Lenten ingredients (eggs, butter, sugar). Presti's, Corbo's and Rudy's Strudel still queue around the block on Fat Tuesday every February. Rudy's in Parma is the most-photographed line in Cuyahoga County; Colossal Cupcakes and a handful of newer bakers run year-round versions for the homesick.

Where to eat Paczki in Cleveland

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Make it at home

Serves 163 hrIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g strong white flour
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 10g instant yeast
  • 5g sea salt
  • 240ml whole milk, warmed
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 60g butter, softened
  • 1 tbsp vodka or rum
  • Neutral oil for deep-frying, about 1.5 litres
  • Rose-hip, plum or strawberry jelly to fill, about 300g
  • Caster sugar for rolling

Method

  1. Mix flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a stand mixer. Add warm milk, yolks, vodka, then butter. Knead 8 minutes to a soft, elastic dough.
  2. Cover and prove for 1 hour 30 minutes until doubled.
  3. Punch down and divide into 16 even balls. Cover and prove 30 minutes more.
  4. Heat the oil to 170C. Fry the paczki in small batches, 60 seconds per side until deep gold. Drain on paper.
  5. Cool 5 minutes, then using a piping bag fitted with a long thin tip, fill each paczek with about 1 tablespoon of jelly.
  6. Roll in caster sugar to finish.

Editor tip. Don't crowd the fryer; the oil temperature drops and the paczki absorb fat.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg.