Polish Pączki

The Paczek (singular) is a doughnut like creation that has been enjoyed in Poland since the middle ages. Poles have a strong sweet tooth and are very traditional with their consumption. Yes, there are spectacular pastry places that have opened its doors in Warsaw, but the paczek will always be a staple in a Polish home. They are taken as seriously as the baguette in France, and judged just as fiercely. Each Pole is going to have a strong opinion as to the best paczki in their city and are often not very willing to budge from that decision. I am one of them.

Paczki, (pawnchki) (plural) are deep fried pieces of dough that are shaped into spheres and filled with sweet fillings. The traditional fillings are rose petal jam and plum jam but there are plenty of bakers who have added a broader variety of fillings such as chocolate, custard, cream, caramel and more.

A word of caution, as a tourist, never attempt to get paczki on Fat Thursday (the last Thursday before lent), as the lines are mind blowing!

This is the very traditional way of packing the paczki to go.

Mr. Blikle started this family business in 1869 and his family has been making paczki and other treats ever since. Blikle is considered to be one of the best paczki maker in Warsaw. Their paczki are more sophisticated, filled with rose petal jam, covered in icing and with bits of candied orange peel sprinkled on top. They are a bit smaller than the standard paczki but very light and full of flavor. They do stay fairly good for the next day, my dad always brings two big boxes when he comes to visit us in New York.

The A. Blikle Cafe has the feeling of stepping into old time Vienna, with a very classic and tasteful decor.

Their custard or cream filled babeczki are also delicious.

They do make other really tasty pastry and cakes, but the paczki are their specialty.

Blikle is great and the golden standard but my all time favorite is a place just a short walk away. Here, you will not feel as if you stepped back in time. This is what in New York we call a "hole in the wall" place. It is just a storefront with two windows for ordering. You can see the entire inventory in the middle and the filling flavors are written in Polish.

Let your nose guide you, as you will smell the most delicious scent of sweet dough, well before you can see the line of people at the window.

Cukiernia Pawlowicz has been here for years and I have been their loyal customer for as long as I can remember. They are small, but due to a very high demand, the chances of getting a hot paczek at any time of the day, are very good.