Pączki is pronounced Poonch–key. The Pączki sign was in the bakery window as my friend Donna and I were headed to her home after eating breakfast in Dormont. I had never heard of them.We parked and I went into the bakery and Lynn was wonderful to tell me all about the Pączki. I bought six, three for Donna and three for Steve and me. Lynn put each order in white bakery bags. When we got back to Donna’s we cut one in half and shared it along with a cup of tea.
If you live in Pittsburgh they are available through Fat Tuesday at the Party Cake Shop on Brookline Boulevard.
Here is what the Party Cake Shop says “Pączki is a pre-Lenten Mardi Gras tradition deriving from the Polish word meaning little package.
These little packages are large pastries enriched with egg yolks and deep fried like a doughnut. Each Paczki is available plain or filled with various fillings that include: vanilla custard, lemon, apricot, buttercream, chocolate buttercream, raspberry jelly, or prune and finished off with a toss in granulated sugar. “
The taste reminded me of a fresh doughnut from childhood. Much tastier than any doughnut I have eaten in years. I see there are recipes online to make your own but a trip to Party Cake Shop would be well worth the effort. Last summer visiting friends took the ‘Burgh Bits and Bites Food Tourin Pittsburgh’s neighborhood of Brookline.
Today some friends brought over this fancy box of Pączki from the Oakmont Bakery, decorated with a Mardi Gras mask. What a nice surprise to find on the porch. Steve and I cut one in half and shared it.
Later we cut another one in half and shared it. So a total of one apiece but two different fillings on Monday.
Looking forward to Tuesday’s sampling. The idea is to eat the last of rich fatty treats prior to Ash Wednesday that marks the beginning of Lent.
Two years ago I posted how my friend Donna introduced me to Pączki in the Brookline neighborhood Party Cake Shop bakery. (pronounced Poonch-Key or Punch-Key) Pączki means “little package” in Polish. It is a traditional filled baked good fried in deep fat and filled with different fruit or cream fillings. They can be glazed or sugared on the outside.
on Bakery Case in the Party Cake Shop in BrooklineHere is a fruit filled one. Some have custard or cream. Pączki is from 2019 post at Party Cake Shop BakeryA sign in the Party Cake Shop window
I was a passenger in my friend Bev’s car and she noticed the sign.
And other icicles around town
Lawrenceville Post Office Sacred Heart Church St.Jude Parish
Below 2010 blog post Icicle on Josephine Street
Sixteen years ago I wrote When I left Tess’s house after Book Club, the snow and streetlights created a dramatic winter scene. She pointed out the giant icicles on the neighboring house. Walked to the corner and took a shot but just not enough light to make them interesting. A car came down the hill. I was able to catch some of the light from their low beams as they backlit the giant icicles that almost touched the ground.( Well, the deep snow covering the ground). The term chiaroscuro surfaces as I look at the shading now, the darkness, the light. An article about the use of it in photography Lighting is All About Chiaroscuro explains what I was trying to achieve with the use of available light. The car’s lights timing saved the shot.
