Jewish · Authentic-ish Jewish
Sufganiyot
362 kcal a serving, against 517 for the traditional version. That is 155 kcal off, or 30%, with 10.9g of protein. Serves 6. 3 hours, including rises.
What the traditional version is
A soft, enriched yeast dough, made with flour, eggs, sugar and whole milk, is left to rise and then shaped into pucks. They're deep-fried in hot oil till puffed and golden, drained a little, then piped full of strawberry or raspberry jam and finished with a blizzard of icing sugar.
What changed, and what each change costs
Deep-frying for oven baking
Bake the shaped dough at high heat instead of dropping it in oil. This sidesteps the greatest hit to your arteries and saves a mountain of fat.
What it costs you. Here comes the heartbreak: the crust is gone and the texture is all wrong. A baked sufganiya is just a slightly sweet roll with a jammy middle. You can't fake the crisp-chewy shell or the telltale oily depth. Purists will take one bite and look at you like you've forgotten the words to Maoz Tzur.
Butter down from 60g to 20g
Swapping out most of the butter for just enough to keep the dough soft shaves off some fat, though not nearly as much as losing the oil.
What it costs you. You do lose that rich, delicious mouthfeel. The inside comes out softer but the flavour is not what a proper one should be.
Whole eggs to 1 egg plus 1 egg white
An extra egg white bumps up the protein a bit while cutting a touch of the fat.
What it costs you. The dough is marginally firmer, with a tiny hint of dryness, but it's nothing compared to what baking does to it.
Jam down from 120g to 80g, and use a sharp, lower-sugar jam
It saves sugar and calories, and the sharper jam helps wake up a bun that's otherwise at risk of napping on the job.
What it costs you. You get less ooze and more bun in every bite. Kids will complain, but if you're doing this, you're not making it for them. You're the one who has to wash their faces.
Plain flour up from 400g to 420g
A stiffer dough is easier to bake and gives you a halfway decent roll shape without the crust collapsing.
What it costs you. It's ever so slightly less springy. You notice it if you eat three in a row, which I did for you.
Fat-free Greek yoghurt instead of some of the milk
Throwing in yoghurt for some of the milk keeps the dough soft and adds a bit of protein, with barely any impact on taste.
What it costs you. The tang is subtle. No one will guess, unless they're the sort who interrogate desserts for sport.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 517 | 362 |
| Protein | 10.2g | 10.9g |
| Fat | 21.3g | 4.6g |
| Saturated fat | 7.4g | 2.2g |
| Carbohydrate | 70.9g | 68.4g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 2g | 3g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Jewish prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, eggs, milk.
The method is in the book
Even I can't pretend otherwise: baking is no substitute for deep-frying. Sufganiyot without a bath in hot oil are just jammy rolls in a hat. They're fine fresh, with plenty of jam, and you can eat one without planning a nap. But if you want the real Chanukah feeling, steam up the kitchen and fry them. This version is for the health-conscious, the desperate, or the person whose oven is already on and can't face scrubbing oil off the ceiling. Make it for yourself and your conscience, but maybe not for your mother-in-law.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Jewish, along with 52 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.