It’s the time of year when Pittsburgh is filling up on Paczki — a round, Polish pastry filled with cream, custard, or jelly. But they’re beyond a jelly doughnut; these traditional treats are much more rich and thick (like brioche), and they’re fried longer. Paczki are beloved here in Pittsburgh and across the Midwest, where a lot of Polish people settled in the late 19th and 20th centuries, but their roots go back to the Middle Ages when pagan and Christian customs merged. Christians served them on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras), the day before Lenten fasting starts on Ash Wednesday. Fasting was really strict in Medieval times, and Paczki was a way families used up their butter, sugar, lard, and eggs.
Party Cake Shop in Brookline is a popular Paczki spot; they’ve been dishing out the same recipe for about 60 years. Choose from flavors like vanilla custard, lemon, apricot, vanilla buttercream, chocolate buttercream, peanut butter buttercream, strawberry buttercream, or raspberry jelly.
It's Paczki time at Giant Eagle on Camp Horne Road. (Megan Harris / City Cast Pittsburgh)
It's Paczki time at Giant Eagle on Camp Horne Road. (Megan Harris / City Cast Pittsburgh)
You can also find traditional flavors at Potomac Bakery in Dormont or Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Bakery in Bethel Park, Prantl’s Bakery at various locations, Kretchmar’s Bakery in Beaver, and of course, S&D Polish Deliin the Strip District.
Looking for some unique flavors? Bethel Bakery has buckeye and cookies and cream and S&D Polish Deli has rosehip and plum butter.
