Angel wings

Variants

In Bulgaria, a fried pastry called kukurini is known as angel wings, and it is exclusively made in the town of Bansko in the southwestern part of the country, where it is usually dusted with powdered sugar. Croatia has a traditional deep-fried dough pastry called kroštule, which comes from the Dalmatia and Istria regions and is also popular in coastal Slovenia under the name hroštule. In France, a similar fried pastry is found in the central-eastern areas, particularly in Lyon and Saint-Étienne, and it is closely related to beignets.

Historically, cold meat shops in Lyon sold these pastries, called bugnes, just before Lent because of their high fat content; families also made them at home to use up leftover cooking fat that would otherwise go to waste during Lent. Today, bakeries produce bugnes, often keeping to the Lenten tradition. There are two main types: crunchy bugnes, also known as bugnes lyonnaises, which are cooked in very hot oil with the dough spread thin and knotted once or twice, and soft bugnes, sometimes called pillows, made with a thicker dough that is rarely knotted.

In Hungary, csöröge are made from egg yolk, flour, a leavening agent, sugar, salt, and cognac or brandy, then deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar, and they are traditionally served at weddings. Italy has chiacchiere, eaten during Carnival, with many regional names: frappe in Lazio, sfrappole in Emilia-Romagna, bugie in Genoa and Piedmont, cenci in Tuscany, and galani or crostoli in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige, and Veneto, along with fritte and other names.

Regional recipes vary, sometimes adding citrus zest from oranges or lemons, or using anisette wine as the alcohol. Italian families often make them at home, and they are frequently paired with castagnole. In Lithuania, žagarėliai, meaning small sticks, are delicate deep-fried pastry dough cookies. Another Lithuanian dessert, skruzdėlynas, translates to anthill and consists of layers of fried dough strips covered in honey and topped with poppy seeds, a typical treat for family celebrations.

In Poland, the pastries are called faworki or chrusty, which are the plural forms of faworek and chrust. The word faworki originally referred to colorful ribbons worn on clothing, especially those given to medieval knights by their ladies, and it came to Poland from the French word faveur, meaning grace or favor.