Sufganiyah

A round, jelly-filled yeast doughnut fried in oil and eaten for Hanukkah.

Sufganiyah: A round golden sufganiyah dusted with powdered sugar, with a dollop of red strawberry jam showing at the filling hole, beside one cut in half.
  • Cakes, cookies, pastries and baked goods
  • Pale of Settlement

Also called: sufganiyot

Sufganiyot are made from an enriched yeast dough of flour, eggs, sugar and butter or oil. The dough is cut into rounds, proofed, and deep-fried until golden on both sides with a pale band around the middle. Once cooled a little, each one is filled through the side with jam, usually strawberry, and dusted with powdered sugar.

They are a Hanukkah favorite, especially in Israel, because foods fried in oil recall the holiday story of the oil in the Temple. Bakeries now fill them with custard, chocolate spread or dulce de leche as well as jam.

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Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.

  1. The foods of the Festival of Lights, Purdue University College of Agriculture