Carnival Parade of Doughnuts

And when you think of Carnival, beside the costumes, masks, parades and other related customs, the first thing on everyone's mind, especially if you ask kids, is the doughnut. In a nutshell, what's it all about? In Christianity, Carnival is the festive season preceding the period of Lent. It's the time to loosen up, indulge in life's little pleasures, eat and drink, put a mask on and party. Symbolically, costumes are there to scare winter and all the bad things from the previous year away, and summon spring. Usually there's a big bonfire at the end, on Fat Tuesday, burning down a chosen metaphorical effigy. Each part of Croatia has a special sweet traditionally eaten during the Carnival period. In Zagreb and surroundings everything revolves around the Carnival doughnut called pokladnica.

“One is never enough.” Image credit: Taste of Croatia

The local word for this type of dessert is krafna. Like so many other words and expressions from the culinary department used in Zagreb dialect, it comes from the German word Krapfen via our Austrian heritage. The standard name, pokladnica, comes from poklade, which is our word for Carnival period. Obviously, it implies that this sweet is made to be enjoyed during Carnival, although it doesn't mean it's not available at all other times. But in February, all the pastry shops and bakeries will fill their display cases and windows with doughnuts and lure you with their sweet smell. Just to spite this inflation and commercialization of doughnuts, Carnival is also the perfect opportunity to accept the challenge and try to prepare a homemade version of this basically simple treat.

“Finding that jam filling with the first bite is like winning the jackpot.” Image credit: Taste of Croatia

Technically speaking, doughnut seems like a very banal and straightforward dessert. You make the dough, using flour, yeast, egg yolks, sugar, oil or butter and milk, with just a little bit of brandy or rum, mould it, deep fry it and in the end fill it with jam (most often apricot or plum). Yet it is so easy for something to go wrong. Actually, the secret is in the right ingredients, the right temperature and the right timing. Doughnuts have to be perfectly plump, fluffy and tender, not too greasy, and without fail there has to be a light yellow ring around them – the reassuring sign that everything has been done properly. Still, if you don't feel like making your own, you can always join the seasonal quest for the best doughnuts in Zagreb.

“Doughnuts from Orijent pastry shop – my own personal favourite.” Image credit: slastičarnica Orijent

They will literally be everywhere, and at a superficial glance appear very much the same, but the range of price and quality will vary a great deal. Now I have to confess that I don't really like doughnuts at all, the last dessert I would choose even if my life depended on it. However, I don't live under the rock and in February I do reach out to the comfort of doughnut now and then. My personal favourite, which doesn't have to be yours, is the doughnut from the old and reliable Orijent pastry shop in Maksimirska Street. It's closely followed by the old-school Jakšić pastry shop in Zvonimirova. Or if I'm in Samobor, and everybody from Zagreb visits this little town's traditional Carnival festival, I'm a fan of Nikl family-owned bakery and their doughnuts. But hey, there's more than enough for everyone's taste, just go out and explore. You can have the best costume and parade all day and night long, but if you haven't gorged yourself on Carnival doughnuts, it just doesn't count.

“It’s like a little doughnut factory in Zemljič bakery.” Image credit: pekarnica Zemljič

Header image credit: pekarnica Nikl 

Author: Morana Zibar/Taste of Croatia