Restaurants

Here’s where to get pączki around the Valley for Fat Tuesday

By Alyssa Weston for Mahoning Matters
Shown here are pączki — a decadent Polish doughnut made with rich dough and filled with custard or jam — made by Elisha Veon, owner of Babcia’s Lunchbox. Veon said the dough’s richness comes form lots of butter, egg yolks and brandy.
Shown here are pączki — a decadent Polish doughnut made with rich dough and filled with custard or jam — made by Elisha Veon, owner of Babcia’s Lunchbox. Veon said the dough’s richness comes form lots of butter, egg yolks and brandy. (William D. Lewis | Mahoning Matters)

As Lent approaches, we’ve compiled a list of places to treat yourself to two of Fat Tuesday’s most notable desserts: pączki, a Polish, deep-fried doughnut filled with jelly or other sweets; and king cake, a coffee and cinnamon cake topped with cream cheese icing and decorated in purple, gold and green colored sugar.

National Pączki Day is Tuesday. We suggest calling ahead or stopping in early to purchase your pączki and king cake before they sell out!

Here’s where to buy pączki and king cake

Kravitz Delicatessen, Liberty

  • 3135 Belmont Ave, Youngstown
  • Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
  • 330-759-7889

PolishYoungstown is bringing in Carnival season with “Pączki, Polkas & Piwo” (doughnuts, dancing and draught) from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 1 at Kravtiz Delicatessen, 3135 Belmont Ave., Liberty.

This last chance to live it up before Lent offers some cold Polish beer to wash down some Polish-inspired specialty foods, including PolishYoungstown’s signature pączki, made with Babcia’s recipe in flavors including apricot, homemade custard, plain sugared and Rose Hip Jam.

Get one for $2.75 or a half-dozen of one flavor for $16. A portion of the proceeds from each dozen pączki sold benefits PolishYoungstown’s education and travel grant programs.

Back for this year’s fest are: The pączki slider, a plain, sugared doughnut grilled on the flat side with grilled kielbasa, red onions, brown mustard and a pickle slice; and the PYTown Pączek, which combines rosehip jam and Bavarian cream.

Here’s our interview with Elisha Veon, owner of Babcia’s Lunchbox, from 2020:

Hogan’s Baking Co.

  • 113 S Main St., Columbiana
  • Open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
  • 330-482-9955

Krakus Polish Deli & Bakery

  • 7050 Market St. Ste. 108, Boardman
  • Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
  • 330-758-8333

Mr. D’s Delicious Fresh Foods

  • 7156 Warren-Sharon Road, Brookfield
  • Open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
  • 330-448-1045

Macali’s Giant Eagle, Niles

  • 48 Vienna Ave., Niles
  • Open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • 330-652-2519
  • Also offers king cake

Nemenz IGA

  • 655 Creed St., Struthers
  • Open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • 330-750-1341

Giant Eagle, Austintown

  • 5220 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown
  • Open daily 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
  • 330-793-2994
  • Also offers king cake

Giant Eagle, Poland

  • 3130 Center Rd, Poland
  • Open daily 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • 330-757-3735
  • Also offers king cake

Marc’s, Boardman

  • 7121 Tiffany Blvd., Youngstown
  • Open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • 330-965-6352

Marc’s, Niles

  • 6024 Youngstown Warren Road, Niles
  • Open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • 330-505-2832

Meijer, Boardman

  • 1400 Boardman-Canfield Road, Boardman
  • Open daily from 6 a.m to 12 a.m.
  • 234-287-3040

Here’s a bonus treat: The king cake ice cream at Cockeye’s Creamery is made with almond yellow cake and infused with a purple frosting swirl throughout.

Cockeye’s Creamery

  • Located in Cockeye’s BBQ
  • 1805 1/2, Parkman Road NW, Warren
  • Wednesday - Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • 330-392-7326

Or, make your own — here’s our family doughnut recipe

This recipe comes from the recipe book of Editor Justin’s Slovakian great-grandmother, Helen — or simply “bubba.”

“I’m told she often made jelly-filled pączki before Lent, but that she did it by memory and didn’t need to write down the recipe,” Justin said. “Luckily, she kept recipes for doughnuts and glaze. Close enough!”

BUBBA’S GLAZED DOUGHNUTS

INGREDIENTS

For the doughnuts:

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 1 egg, well-beaten
  • ⅔ cup milk
  • 3 cups flour, sifted
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • Lard for frying

For the glaze:

  • 2 fresh eggs (whites)
  • 1 ½ cups sugar, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar

PROCESS

For the doughnuts:

  1. Mix ingredients together, “using more flour if necessary to make dough stiff enough to roll out.”
  2. On a lightly floured board, roll the dough about ¼-inch thick.
  3. Cut the dough into circles using a lightly floured doughnut cutter.
  4. Fry in deep fat heated to 375 degrees “or hot enough to brown a piece of bread in 60 seconds.”
  5. Once browned, place doughnuts on parchment paper to drain off grease.

Now onto the glaze:

  1. Beat egg whites until frothy (bubba apparently used a “dover” — a vintage egg beater).
  2. Add half of the sugar — one spoonful at a time, beating each time — until well-blended.
  3. Add lemon juice, then continue blending in the rest of the sugar. With the last spoonful, add the cream of tartar.
  4. “Beat until the icing shows a cleft when a knife is passed through. It is the beating which makes the perfect glace (sic), and if this becomes difficult toward the last, use a heavy spoon.”
  5. Apply to the doughnuts with a spatula — but “lightly, or it will lose its gloss!”

What’s that one dish your family makes better than anyone else? Send your best recipes to justin@mahoningmatters.com. We may feature them in your Morning Matters newsletter!

This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 5:00 AM.