Everything You Need to Know About Sufganiyot in Jerusalem.

The choice of Sufganiyot (aka donuts) in Jerusalem can be overwhelming, so I hope this guide can help you decide which ones to try for Hanukah 2021. There is some element of personal taste but overall the quality of the donuts is based on the dough and how much filling is included, which is normally consistent regardless of the flavors or toppings. Last year’s trend of salted pretzel and salted caramel has continued and there does not seem to be a specific new trend emerging for this year.

I will continue to taste Sufganiyot around Jerusalem in the name of research, so follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more updates.

Debbest Sufganiyot Tasting Tips

• Stick to simple classic donuts (jam and dulce de leche) from places with a high turnover and good quality fillings (cheap places often use cheap fillings).
• Many gourmet donuts look better than they taste. They are often prepared in a different location and delivered to various outlets so are not as fresh as those prepared on site.
• It is best to stick to independent bakeries, rather than chains, as they tend to have the best baked goods,  in general, especially sufganiyot.
• For the most variety in one area go to Shuk Machane Yehuda.
• Sfinj lovers should be careful as some places make ring donuts that they try to pass off as Sfinj.
• My favorites from previous years include the Sfinj from Neeman Bakery,  the Chestnut donut from Gourmandises and the Rhubarb baked donut from Fika Bakery (Tzohar) who are based in Tel Aviv but have one delivery to Jerusalem (more info here).

Free-From Sufganiyot

• Vegan Sufganiyot – traditional Sfinj are vegan and incredibly delicious! I like the Sfinj at Neeman and apparently, Burekas Ima (Badatz) in Talpiot makes them fresh on the spot.
• Gluten-Free Sufganiyot – Ben Ami, Kazze (Cream patisiere,  hazelnut chocolate & jam), Amit Barkat Patisserie (chocolate, jam & dulce de leche), and Gluless.
• Baked Sufganiyot – Teller Bakery, David Laor, Boutique Central (Badatz Beit Yosef) sell baked donuts, which are similar to brioche.  Fika Bakery makes incredible baked donuts, see above.

Debbest Donuts in Jerusalem

Here is my pick of the best donuts in Jerusalem, based partly on experience from this year, and also on experience from previous years.

• Gourmandises (Mehadrin) – this year’s pop-up is in the FOZ Museum Cafe, 20 Rivlin Street in Nahalat Shiva. I like the European style of dough and each donut has a good dough-to-filling ratio. Chestnut was my favorite flavor in the past years, along with Crème Brûlée. Of this year’s new flavors, the  Lemon Meringue is my favorite. Here are all the flavors this year: Chestnut, Lemon Meringue, Pistachio and Rose, Lychee, Pretzel, Ferrero Rocher, Salted Caramel, White chocolate & Coconut, Crème Brûlée,  and Honey, Whipped Cream & Orange Blossom. Each donut is NIS 16.

• La Patissiere (Mehadrin) Ramot & Rehavia – Coffee, Wild Berries, Pistachio, St Honore, Lemon Meringue, Milk Chocolate with Sprinkles, Paris Brest (hazelnut cream), NIS 12 -14. A similar French-style dough to Gourmandises and the pistachio cream was rich and silky! They also have classic jam and dulce de leche for NIS 7.

• Neeman Bakery –  the classic Moroccan Sfinj is always my favorite, but the other donuts are also very good with simple quality flavors. Flavors this year include white Chocolate, Cookies & Cream, Pistachio, Salty Pretzel, Lotus Cream, Queen of Hearts (White Chocolate, Raspberry Syrup & Heart Sweets), and Crème Brûlée.

Jerusalem Sufganiyot Hit List

Here is my hit list of interesting sufganiyot I want to try this year:

• Boutique Central (Badatz Beit Yosef) – have made brioche-like baked donut for a number of years and this year they have introduced a Sufganiya Cake, similar to a pull-apart bun cake, with each bun with a different filling, including jam, Nutella, pistachio cream, vanilla, caramel, and lemon.

• Burekas Ima (Badatz) in Talpiot makes Sfinj (NIS 8) fresh on the spot. They also sell mini donuts and a selection of parev flavors (vanilla, chocolate, toffee, halva, nougat, fondant, and chocolate with sprinkles).
• Goldy’s (Badatz Ada Hareidit) has created a controversial donut in the name of Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, Chocolate, Spicy Chili with Caramelized Sweet Potato. They also have a selection of meat donuts filled with Asado, Arais, Smoked Meat, or Goose Liver. Goldy’s is one of the few places that sells latkes for Hanukkah with a choice of classic potato, potato & carrot, and potato & beef.

• Pat BaMelach in Efrat delivers to Jerusalem twice over Chanukah. Normally I opt for the dairy flavors but this year I am excited to try the cherry pistachio which is parev. Other parev flavors are homemade raspberry jam and double chocolate.  Dairy flavors include glazed, lemon meringue, cheesecake, coffee pecan, chocolate hazelnut, salted caramel, glazed sprinkles, and Boston cream.

Instead of updating the full list of other bakeries with donuts around Jerusalem, please refer to my post from last year which includes information about classic and gourmet ‘t sufganiyot. Not all the information is current but it should be a good place to start on your hunt for the perfect sufganiyah.

Jerusalem Sufganiyot Guide Hanukah 2020

For information about sufganiyot around Israel, please refer to this post from last year:

Israel Sufganiyot Guide Hanukah 2020

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