Jelly Donut Recipe: Berliner Pfannkuchen or Krapfen

➤ by Oma Gerhild Fulson

Here's my German jelly donut recipe* to make Berliner Pfannkuchen ~ that traditional treat for New Year's and throughout the year! This one's a rather easy version to make, especially if you have a deep fryer, although just having a deep pot and thermometer will work well.  

Plan to make these the same day you want to eat them. They taste best fresh, actually still warm. Wunderbar!

You'll find that the recipe I'm giving below is actually quite easy. Since I literally just put all the ingredients into my stand mixer which does the kneading for me, it's only a matter of rolling and cutting that takes time.

Using a bread machine on the dough setting to make the dough through the first rising is also an option.

What is a jelly donut called in Germany?

• These jelly doughnuts go by various names throughout Germany.
• In Berlin, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Brandenburg, they are just called Pfannkuchen, which translates as pancakes. (Pancakes in these areas are called Eierkuchen, literally egg cakes.)
• In northern and western Germany, they are called Berliner Ballen or just Berliner.
• In southern and western Germany, including Bavaria, these are called Krapfen, Fastnachtskrapfen or Faschingskrapfen.
• In Hesse, they are Kräppel or Kreppel.
  
• In Palatinate, they are Kreppel or Fastnachtsküchelchen

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*The recipe below is an adaptation from an old Dr. Oetker cookbook, Baking is Fun, Volume 1. However, this time I used my stand mixer with a dough hook to make quick work of kneading the dough.

Once this easy yeast dough is made and has had its first rise, the fun starts! Roll, cut out, fill, stack, and let rise again. Easy breezy.

Above, I've filled these with apricot jam, hubby's favorite. Actually, any jam will work great.

Following the original recipe cooked the donuts too quickly for me, so that they didn't cook all the way through. I lowered the temperature to allow for longer cooking.

When you make these for the first time, cook only one donut first and check that it is properly cooked. That way, you can make adjustments for the rest of the dough.

Cover the Krapfen with powdered sugar by putting the sugar into a sieve and hold over the donuts. Tap the sieve with a spoon. The powdered sugar will fall like snow!

Have you ever had these filled with mustard instead of jam? LOL

A strange German practical joke is to secretly fill some Berliner Pfannkuchen with mustard instead of jam and serve them together with regular doughnuts without telling anyone.

This is usually done during the Karneval season.

This was also shown as one of the traditional 'Equator treats' on the popular TV show, Verrückt nach Meer, as the ocean cruise liner crossed the Equator. 

Ready to make these Krapfen?

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