After the year Israelis have had, any reason to celebrate is a blessing. Hanukkah, the festival of lights, couldn’t come at a better time. In a year of darkness, Israelis deserve something sweet (or savory) to get excited about. Which is why I’ve put together 2024’s definitive list of the must-try, over-the-top, extreme sufganiyot.
1. Cafe Kadosh
Ask any Yerushalmi (Jerusalemite) for their favorite sufganiyot in the city, and they’ll point to the mom and pop bakery with a line out the door and wafting smell of baked goods. Cafe Kadosh has been serving up specialty donuts for years now, garnering a rabid fanbase in the process.
“If we could, we’d be serving sufganiyot all day every day,” shared founders Keren and Itzik Kadosh. This year, their standout sufganiya is filled with lychee cream and topped with a tart raspberry marmalade. Their chestnut sufganiya topped with toffee and a currant donut proves why they are in such high demand every winter.
Queen Shlomtzion 6, Jerusalem
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2. Galoo Bakery
Galoo Bakery, a small bakery located in the deep Israeli south is one of the most creative in the business. Specializing in unique flavors spanning countless continents and countries, their creations include a Sahlev sufganiya, based on a traditional Middle Eastern drink, filled with rose-petal-infused cream and topped with white chocolate ganache, shredded coconut and cinnamon. Digging back into their Moroccan roots, their Masfan sufganiya, based on the classic marzipan cookie, is filled with almond ganache and topped white chocolate glaze and a masfan cookie. With cashew cream and Baileys Irish Cream sufganiyot, too, you’ll never leave Galoo hungry.
Ma’agal HaRimon 122, Yeruham
3. Maison Kayser
At Maison Kayser, a Parisian patisserie with three bakeries in Tel Aviv, their Caramel Popcorn sufganiya gives you a movie experience without having to go to the theaters. Filled with caramel and topped with kettle corn, this fluffy sufganiya is salty, sweet and utterly detectable.
Rothschild 7; Hangar 22; Menachem Begin 144, Tel Aviv
4. Hummus Yosef
Hummus Yosef, an authentic Israeli hummusaria (hummus-only eatery) is determined to push sufganiyot to their logical limit. The savory flavors of sabich — fried eggplant, yokey egg and tahini — are wedged between two fluffy, airy donut halves into a delicious abomination of epic proportions, which, in many ways, encapsulates the true essence of eating fried foods on Hanukkah.
Locations nationwide
5. Boulangerie 96
At Boulangerie 96, they’ve found a way to commemorate the brave soldiers that have risked their lives to protect our country, with each sufganiya topped with a different unit’s symbol. Shiryon, Israel’s tank division is piped with a delicious black Oreo ganache; the Golani donut is filled with rich chocolate cream; and the Israeli Artillery brigade is packed with cotton candy flavored cream.
Yigal Alon 96, Tel Aviv
6. Brigaderia
Brigaderia was once Israel’s first and only Brazilian coffee shop. Since the war they’ve moved to a delivery-only format, shipping out boxes of brigadeiros, Brazilian chocolate truffles made from condensed milk and cocoa butter. For Hanukkah, their sufganiyot are cut in half and filled with different flavors of brigadeiros, from dulce de leche to burnt coconut and white chocolate, churros to Belgian waffle and pistachio.
Delivery only
7. Goldy’s
At Goldy’s, a kosher deli in Jerusalem, sufganiyot aren’t just a sweet treat, they’re the main course. From their Smoked Roast Beef Donut, with mounds of aged roast beef that’s been smoked in Goldy’s signature blend of pecan and cherry wood chips served with mustard, to their Chopped Liver Donut, loaded with crispy fried onions and sweet onion jam, each sufganiya is layered with stacks of meat so massive, your 2025 New Year’s resolutions write themselves. Their Shawarma sufganiya, drizzled with tahini and packed with local Jerusalem spices, lives rent-free in my mind.
Goldy’s doesn’t disappoint with their sweet sufganiyot, either. From a rose-flavored Malabi Coconut Donut to a Lemon Mint sufganiya that’s tart, refreshing and delicious, topped with smoky burnt meringue. Goldy’s has also taken the viral Dubai chocolate to task, flipping it into a rich sufganiya covered in chocolate ganache, pistachio cream and crunchy kadaif pastry.
Ezrat Tora 18, Jerusalem; Masada 9, Bnei Brak
8. Fika
Tel Aviv’s very own Swedish bakery, Fika, brings the flavors of Scandinavia to this irresistible Hanukkah treat. Rather than deep-fry their sufganiyot, Fika bake theirs, in the style of the traditional Swedish donut, munkar.
Their Swedish Princess Cake sufganiya, is flavored exactly like every Swedish girl’s favorite birthday cake, piped with raspberry jam, vanilla pastry cream and topped with green marzipan. The Semla sufganiya, an ode to the final sweet Swedes traditionally enjoy before Lent, will keep your taste buds on their toes, with flavors of cardamom, almond and whipped cream. This Hanukkah, Fika is going back to Sweden with a pop- up shop in Stockholm, to introduce their Swedish-Jewish fusion to the originators of the desserts.
Toshya 6; Shlomo 43; Yermiyahu 27; Gordon 36; Lev Reut Shopping Center, Tel Aviv
9. Teller Bakery
Teller Bakery has been a landmark of Israeli baking excellence for over a decade, so it’s no surprise they have a line-up of unique sufganiyot. Their Chocolate Whiskey and Lemon Tart sufganiyot (topped with blow-torched meringue) are excellent, but their Pecan Granita sufganiya truly strikes gold. Piped with coffee cream and topped with a shiny layer of white chocolate, coffee mascarpone, pecan praline and candied pecans, it hits all the right notes and will leave you craving more.
Agripas 74, Jerusalem; Shilat Junction; Reut
10. Studio Seniora
Studio Seniora is the brainchild of one of Israel’s culinary power couples, Ariel Zaviv and Shahar Seniora. This bakery opens on Fridays only, on a first come, first serve basis. This year they’re dishing out a wide variety of standout sufganiyot, including an autumnal Carrot Cake sufganiya garnished with candied carrot chips and a Strawberry Za’atar sufganiya filled with strawberry preserves and za’atar cream, coated with white chocolate and fresh strawberries and dusted with za’atar and spicy chilli pepper that is well worth the long line.
Abulafia 5, Tel Aviv
11. The Little Bakers
The Little Bakers echo the flavors of childhood with their “Kids These Days” sufganiyot collection. Their Twix sufganiya brings an end to the debate over whether right or left Twix is the superior chocolate bar because, in reality, it was always meant to be in a sufganiya, stuffed with dark and white chocolate ganache. From Strawberry Bamba to Karyot, Nutella-filled chocolate pillows that are every Israeli kids favorite breakfast cereal, these sufganiyot will take you on a trip down memory lane.
Their second collection is an ode to the flavors of old Israel, and includes a mohn cake sufganiya filled with poppy seed cream and topped with poppy streusel and chocolate ganache. Black Forest, Cremeschnitte and Lemon Meringue Pie donuts round out their collection.
Emek Bracha 25, Tel Aviv
12. Bread Club
The recently opened Bread Club bakery has taken inspiration from an iconic Argentine dessert with their signature Alfajores sufganiya, with a succulent coconut and dulce de leche filling, caramelized coconut butter topping and miniature alfajor on top. Caramel-covered pecans and Ferrero Rocher garnish the bakery’s other sufganiyot, making for a Hanukkah lineup to remember.
Lehi 2, Rishon LeTsiyon
13. Roladin
A list like this wouldn’t be complete without Roladin, Israel’s most well-known bakery chain. Making some of the most unique and extravagant sufganiyot, they are known throughout the country as the top dog. This year, they’ve even released a sufganiyot-based card game along with their extensive selection of flavors. Their Pistachio Praline, filled with pistachio cream and topped with pistachio crust and pistachio varigato, garnished with an Amarena cherry on top, is a crowd pleaser, while their sweet-and-sour Tropical sufganiya will transport you to the beaches of Hawaii — or Israelis’ preferred destination Koh Pha Ngan — with mango-pineapple coulis, vanilla cream and freeze-dried coconut and mango shavings on top.
Locations nationwide
Despite the challenges, the creativity and dedication of Israeli bakeries ensure that this beloved tradition continues to thrive, bringing light and happiness to families and communities across the country. From boutique bakeries to large chains, the creativity and dedication to this Hanukkah treat are a testament to the Israeli spirit.
