Berliner Pfannkuchen
Jam filled German doughnuts of a yeast dough risen for 90 minutes and fried until golden with a pale band, rolled in sugar.
Photograph credit: Berliner - Krapfen - Hefegebäck by Tetzemann · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Don't Make These Mistakes
Hold the oil near 170°C / 340°F.
Fry the first side covered so a pale ring forms.
Fill them after rolling in sugar.
Cooking Berliner Pfannkuchen
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Mix the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, milk, eggs, butter and rum and knead for 10 minutes until smooth. Leave to rise for 1 hour.
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Roll out 2 cm thick and cut 12 rounds of 8 cm. Set on a floured cloth and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
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Heat the oil to 170°C / 340°F. Fry 3 at a time, lid side down, covered, for 2 minutes. Turn and fry uncovered for 2 minutes.
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Drain on kitchen paper and roll in the sugar while warm.
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Make a hole in each with a skewer and pipe in the jam.
Why the Method Works
Why does the doughnut have a pale ring around the middle? Because it floated in the oil, and the ring is the sign of a good Berliner. Berliner Pfannkuchen are German jam doughnuts, light and yeasty, eaten at carnival and New Year, and the ring tells you the oil was at the right heat.
The dough is an enriched yeast dough with eggs, butter and a splash of rum. Knead it until it leaves the sides of the bowl, let it rise for 1 hour, then roll it out and cut rounds. Place them on a floured cloth and leave them for another 30 minutes. Fry them lid side down first, in oil at 170°C / 340°F, covered for 2 minutes, then turn and fry uncovered for 2 minutes more.
The pale band should show once you turn them. Drain, roll them in caster sugar while warm and pipe in a spoonful of plum or apricot jam through a hole made with a skewer. They are best the day they are made, and keep soft in a closed tin for a day.
Storage and Reheating
Best the day they are made.
Good With
- Coffee
- Sparkling wine
- Hot chocolate
Common Questions About Berliner Pfannkuchen
How long does Berliner Pfannkuchen take to make?
40 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour 30 minutes of Rising, so allow 2 hours 30 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 12.
Nutrition per Serving
No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (how much frying oil the food takes up cannot be known from the recipe). Why some recipes have none.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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