When I lived in Poland, Tłusty Czwartek (Fat Thursday) was widely celebrated. Pączki were sold at every shop, kiosk, and served in every home. One year, on a dare, I ate 9… in one day… And I don’t even like doughnuts that much! In honor of Fat Thursday this year, I made 4 different kinds of doughnuts (a twist on 2 traditional pączki recipes, as well as 2 American style).

Old Fashioned Sour Cream Vanilla 
I used this recipe

Dark Chocolate Baked Cake Doughnuts with Chocolate Ganache and Sprinkles
For the doughnuts I used a donut pan as this recipe (undercooked slightly). I created a delicious sticky chocolate ganache for the topping, using several different dark chocolates, milk, vanilla, and cream. This is a dark and only mildly sweet recipe.

Pączki with Raspberry-Rose Filling
Rose filling is very common in Poland. It’s my favorite filling for jelly doughnuts. Since rose hip can be a strong and fragrant flavor, I decided to make a combined raspberry-rose jam for the filling, which turned out perfectly. YUM. Definitely recreating this. I sprinkled these with powdered sugar for the most traditional doughnut of the evening. For both doughs I modified several recipes online for jam/jelly doughnuts and traditional Polish pączki. I’m still not convinced I’ve found the perfect one.

Pączki with Marbled Blackberry Jam and Custard Filling
On to my favorite… I got the idea for this type of pączek here. It’s not a donut I think you would ever find in Poland but it sounded too good to pass up. I used store-bought Blackberry jam, and one of my favorite custard recipes from Bruno Albouze’s chocolate eclairs. That custard alone is to die for, and stuffing it into a sugar-rolled doughnut aside blackberry jam…? The messiest and best decision of the year so far.