Italian Doughnuts (Bomboloni) Bombolone—still hot from the fryer, snowy with powdered sugar, and plump with vanilla cream—is joy itself. It was a hot night in Rome the first time I had a bombolone. I was in my early twenties and had been out late with friends, and one of them “in the know” wanted to let me in on a late-night secret. He led me down a dark alley. I hardly knew what to expect—an ambush? But the only activity we found was an entrepreneurial baker selling midni...

Italian Doughnuts (Bomboloni) Bombolone—still hot from the fryer, snowy with powdered sugar, and plump with vanilla cream—is joy itself. It was a hot night in Rome the first time I had a bombolone. I was in my early twenties and had been out late with friends, and one of them “in the know” wanted to let me in on a late-night secret. He led me down a dark alley. I hardly knew what to expect—an ambush? But the only activity we found was an entrepreneurial baker selling midni...