Apple & Pear Spiced Sufganiyot

This new Recipe Series is brought to you by community news service COLlive.com and Kettle & Cord, the home essentials store in Crown Heights.

Today’s presenter is Itta Werdiger Roth, a boutique chef known for her simplistic yet innovative approach to Kosher cuisine.

In today’s presentation, Itta Werdiger Roth presents her homemade Apple, Pear & Cinnamon Jam (and uses it to create a delicious Chanukah donut!)

Here’s what Itta had to say about this recipe:

“Preserving fruits while they’re at their peak is an age-old tradition. The cold north-east has produced tons and tons of different varieties of apples and pears, let’s take advantage as winter hits!

“Whether you just want to try something new, taste real fruit with less added sweeteners or use only organic ingredients, there is something quaint to the experience of cooking and then preserving this sweet delicacy. Spread it on toast, save it for your hamentaschen or do what I like to do: Doctor up some fresh bakery doughnuts! Your home-made filling will be far superior to anything commercially made; trust me, I’ve tried my fair share of Kingston Avenue jelly doughnuts!”

You will need:

Jam:

3 lb. mixture of apples and pears (unpeeled & roughly chopped)

2 sticks cinnamon

pinch allspice

pinch ground cardamom

2 lemons (juiced)

2 cups sugar

12 fresh Sufganiyot (Israeli style doughnuts, plain, no filling or icing)

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp whole milk (substitute brandy or soy/nut milk)

½ tsp vanilla extract

1/8 of a nutmeg (freshly ground)

Directions:

• Combine everything but the sugar in a heavy bottomed pot. Cover and turn the flame on low to simmer for 15-20 mins. Remove the cinnamon stick and discard. Using either a blender or stick mixer, puree ingredients.

• Add sugar to the fruits & continue cooking for about 1½ hours stirring intermittently. (The fruits will spit a little, this is normal but watch out for burns!) Use a soft rubber spatula to regularly scrape the sides and bottom of the pot. Your jam will set as it cools.

• Slice sufganiyot in half like a bagel and shmear jam on the bottom half, then cover with the top.

• Whisk all icing ingredients together until smooth. Spoon icing over the center of doughnuts & watch as they drip. Let sit for 10 mins at room temp (or cooler) until icing hardens and you’re ready for a Chanukah party!