What are krofi?
Krofi, also called Carnival doughnuts, are a traditional dish eaten all over Slovenia around Carnival time that fits right in with the spirit of Carnival—they’re a true indulgence before fasting comes starts.
Krofi originate from the Habsburg Empire. Like many other dishes, they were first made in Vienna and then spread throughout the empire. Recipes for doughnuts dare back as far as the 14th century. Krofi are pastries made leavened dough that is deep-fried until the outside gains a nice golden colour. They resemble a typical American-style doughnut, but krofi have no hole or glazing. Instead, they are filled with a generous amount of marmalade, typically apricot, and covered with caster sugar. Every proper krof also comes with a golden line that runs around its middle.
The most famous Slovenian krofi are sold at Trojane, but you can find them everywhere else as well.
Where to find the proper krof in Maribor?
If you can spare the time, sit down and properly enjoy your doughnut in Illich or Hiša kruha. If you’d rather grab one to go, stop by at Pekara Kavčič or Žito. And if you’re feeling adventurous, why not try to make krofi at home?
This is just one of the recipes you can try out.
What you need:
600 g white flour
1 teaspoon of salt
5 egg yolks
80 g sugar
80 g butter
30 g yeast
200–300 ml milk
1 tablespoon of rum
grated lemon zest
apricot marmalade
caster sugar
Mix the yeast with 1 tbsp of sugar, 2 tbsp of milk, and 2 tbsp of flour. Put the remaining flour into a bowl, form a hole in the middle, and pour the mixture with yeast into it. Cover the bowl with a cloth and set it aside for a few minutes to let the yeast rise.
In a separate bowl, mix lukewarm milk, melted butter, egg yolks, sugar, salt, lemon zest and rum, and pour this mixture into the flour. Knead into a soft and supple dough and leave it to rise for at least an hour in a warm place.
On a surface covered with flour, roll out the dough until about 1.5 cm thick and cut out circles measuring 5 to 8 cm in diameter. Cover the circles or doughnuts with a cloth and leave them to rise again for at least half an hour.
Heat up the oil for frying in a pan and put the risen doughnuts into the oil with the upper side facing down. After a few minutes, turn the doughnuts over and fry them on the other side until they are golden brown. Take the doughnuts from the oil with a skimmer and lay them on a paper towel to drain the access oil.
Use a syringe to fill doughnuts with apricot marmalade. Put the doughnuts on a plate and dust them with caster sugar.
There you go, you’ve just made your own batch of krofi. Now you just have to seriously enjoy them.