Berliner Pfannkuchen
Carnival Jelly Doughnuts- Yield
- About 14 doughnuts
- Active
- 1 hour
- Total
- 2 3/4 hours
- Difficulty
- Medium
The story
A Berliner is a ball of sweet yeast dough fried in fat, filled with jam and rolled in sugar, and in Germany it is the pastry of Carnival. Its name depends on where you stand. In the north and west it is a Berliner, in Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony a Pfannkuchen, in Bavaria and much of Austria a Krapfen or Faschingskrapfen, and in Hesse a Kreppel. On the Lower Rhine people say Berliner Ballen, and Rhineland bakers traditionally filled them with rose hip jam. In Berlin the classic filling is plum butter under powdered sugar, or raspberry, strawberry or cherry jam under granulated sugar. Germans have eaten them on New Year's Eve and in the last days of Carnival, through Rosenmontag and Shrove Tuesday. In 2027 Carnival peaks with Weiberfastnacht on February 4, Rosenmontag on February 8 and Shrove Tuesday on February 9. The first known recipe for a filled Krapfen appears in the Kuechenmeisterei, a cookbook printed in Nuremberg in 1485. A later legend credits a Berlin baker, found unfit for combat by the Prussian army, with frying them for soldiers in the field, who named them after his city. Make the dough in the morning and fry in the afternoon, so the doughnuts reach the table the same day.
Ingredients
- For the dough:
- 2/3 cup whole milk, lukewarm (about 100°F)
- 1 tablespoon instant or active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- For frying and filling:
- 2 to 3 quarts vegetable or canola oil, for frying
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
- 1 cup seedless raspberry or strawberry jam, or plum butter
Method
- Stir the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar into the lukewarm milk and let stand 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, the remaining sugar and the salt. Add the yeast mixture, egg, yolks and vanilla and knead with the dough hook on low speed for 3 minutes. Add the butter a tablespoon at a time, then knead on medium speed for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic, slightly tacky and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 to 60 minutes, until doubled.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 14 pieces of about 2 1/4 oz each. Shape each into a tight, smooth ball and set them seam side down on floured parchment-lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Cover with a towel and let rise about 30 minutes, until puffy and a fingertip dent springs back slowly.
- Meanwhile, pour the oil into a heavy 5- to 6-quart pot to a depth of 2 inches (2 to 3 quarts, depending on the pot), filling it no more than halfway. Heat to 340°F (170°C) on a deep-fry thermometer.
- Fry 3 or 4 doughnuts at a time, top side down first, for about 3 minutes per side, until deep golden brown with a pale ring around the middle. Keep the oil between 340°F and 350°F (170°C and 175°C). Break the first one open to check that the center is cooked through, and adjust the time if needed.
- Lift the doughnuts out with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels for a minute, and roll them in the sugar while still warm.
- When they are cool enough to handle, spoon the jam into a piping bag fitted with a long, narrow filling tip. Push the tip into the side of each doughnut to the center and squeeze in about 1 tablespoon of jam.
Note: Berliner are best the day they are fried. Use a deep-fry thermometer, keep children away from the pot, and let the oil cool completely before straining or discarding it.