German donuts are easier to make than you think! These delightful Fried Balls, with many different names or German donuts, are light, fluffy, and filled with various delicious fillings. Whether you are planning a weekend baking session or want to impress your friends with your culinary skills, these German donuts will surely be a hit. So, roll up your sleeves, and let’s dive into the wonderful world of doughnut-making!
Table of Contents
Old Fashioned German Donuts - Traditional Berliner Recipe
- 200 milliliters milk
- 7 gram dry active yeast
- 500 gram all-purpose flour
- 50 gram butter
- 100 gram caster sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 8 gram vanillin
- 2 eggs
- 2 liters fat sunflower or rapeseed oil, lard / if using a large pot for frying
- 1 liters fat if using a medium pot for frying
- 500 milliliters fat if using a small pot for frying
Filling Options
- 300 gram red fruit jam strawberry or raspberry
Coating Options
- 100 gram caster sugar
- 50 gram powdered sugar
- Warm up the milk in a small pot. Make sure that the liquid is lukewarm.
- Add the yeast and dissolve it.
- Mix the remaining ingredients, flour, butter, sugar, salt, eggs and vanillin, in a large bowl.
- Pour the milk-yeas-butter mixture and knead for 7 minutes.
- Cover the bowl with a cotton towel and let it rise for 1-2 hours in a warm place. The yeast dough should double its size; leave it for another hour if it doesn't.
- Sprinkle some flour on the countertop and roll the dough 2 cm thick.
- I used a 7-centimetre-diameter cookie cutter to cut out 16 rings from the dough. You can go for a larger one if you like. Each ring should weight between 60-80 gram.
- Place them on the lined baking sheet, cover them with a cotton towel and let them rest for 15 minutes. In the meantime, heat up the fat.
- I use a medium-size pot and 1 litre of oil for frying.
- Preheat the oil to 170°C (338°F). When frying, check the oil's temperature to ensure it doesn't rise and burn the dough. Keep it between 150°-180°C (300°-356°F).
- Line a large plate with a paper towel and put it beside the stove.
- Prepare a flat container with caster sugar if you are using caster sugar for coating.
- Fry the dough rings for 3-4 minutes from each side. The rings should have enough space to swim freely without touching each other. In a medium-sized pot, I was able to fit three balls at the same time. When you put the dough directly into hot oil, it will rise to the surface after 30 seconds, so don't worry when it's at the bottom. Set your timer and relax.
- Take the dough balls out with a skimmer and place them on the paper towel to eliminate excess fat.
- If you use caster sugar for coating, ensure that your doughnuts are still warm when coating. The caster sugar won't stick to a cold doughnut.
- If you use powdered sugar or icing, first fill the doughnuts and then coat them.
- Fill the piping bag with jam.
- Let the Berliner cool off completely.
- Fill the doughnuts with around 20g of filling. You can use a scale for help.
- Before serving, sprinkle the doughnuts with powdered sugar.
German Donuts - Traditional Treat
German Donuts are sweet yeast dough balls fried until golden brown. They can be filled with different fillings, but they don’t have to. German bakeries also sell doughnuts without a filling. After frying, the balls are coated with sugar, dusted with powdered sugar, or covered with icing.
They were first mentioned in the cookbook Küchenmeisterei, published in Nuremberg in 1485. The cookbook contains a recipe for “Gefüllte Krapfen,” which are stuffed, fried dough cakes.
Some might believe that a Prussian baker invented the Berliner in the 18th century. The baker wished to contribute by making “cannonball-shaped” pastries for soldiers since he was unfit for military service.
Berliner, Krapfen or Kreppel?
In most parts of Germany, these delicious donuts are called Berliner. However, different regions have their own names for them. In Berlin, they are referred to as Pfannkuchen, which typically means “pancake” in other areas of Germany. In Hessen, where I live, we call them Kreppel. I understand this can be a bit confusing for travelers!
German Donuts vs. Other Donuts
Deep-fried pastries are popular worldwide, featuring various shapes and fillings.
In France, you can find square-shaped doughnuts known as beignets. In the USA, there are ring-shaped doughnuts and bar-shaped doughnuts called Long Johns. In Canada, a rectangular doughnut is referred to as a dutchie.
A cruller is a deep-fried strip of dough that is folded over and twisted twice to create its unique shape and texture.
German Kreppel are always round and are often filled with fruit jams such as raspberry or apricot, or thick fruit sauces like plum sauce. Modern versions may use fillings like Nutella, vanilla cream, or even eggnog.
Polish Paczki may resemble German donuts, but they are fluffier and tend to collapse when eaten. Unlike German Krapfen, paczki are often decorated with orange zest.
Fillings
Traditional Fillings
Red fruit jam – I love using smooth strawberry or raspberry jam.
Appricot jam
Plum Sauce – smooth store-bought plum sauce.
Modern Fillings
Vanilla Creme – thick cream made of milk, sugar, vanilla pudding, cream and vanilla sugar.
Nutella
Eggnog – thick creme made with advocaat, milk, vanillin, sugar and starch
Coatings
Powdered Sugar – dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Caster Sugar – for a bit of crunch
Icing – here, you can get creative! My favourite icing for German Berliners is either classic one, made with powdered sugar and water or eggnog icing, made with advocaat and powdered sugar.
Step-by-Step Guide to Making German Donuts
Preparing the Dough — Prepare the dough by dissolving yeast in lukewarm milk and mixing it with dry ingredients.
Letting the Dough Rise — Set the Bowl with the dough aside for 1-2 hours in a warm place.
Shaping the Donuts — Use a cookie cutter with an 8-centimetre diameter (around 3 inches) for perfectly shaped doughnuts.
Second Rise — Let the dough rise for the second time to make it extra fluffy.
Frying the Donuts: Fry the doughnuts in hot fat (between 150°-180°C/300°-356°F) until they are golden brown and cooked inside.
Coating—When the doughnuts are still warm, coat them with caster sugar. For other coatings, it is okay to use cold.
Filling the Donuts — Fill the doughnut with your favourite filling!
Serving — Serve the dough the same day or freeze it. They taste best when they are fresh!
Avoiding Common Mistakes
Making homemade doughnuts can be fun, but only if you follow specific rules. Below you will find common mistakes and tips for making and frying German Dunuts!
Do not kill the yeast
Yeast needs lukewarm liquid to activate. Keep the temperature below 40°C/110°F.
Do not overwork the dough
If you want your dough to be light and airy knead it for about 5–7 minutes in a kitchen machine, and not any minute longer.
Let the dough rise twice
After kneading, let the dough double in size. After shaping, do the second rise to ensure the doughnuts turn out extra fluffy.
Same size
Use a cookie cutter to shape the perfect rings.
Right Oil Temperature
Keep the oil steady at 170–180°C (338-354°F) to cook them properly and give them a golden brown colour.
Do not crowd the pot
The doughnuts will rise in fat; therefore, they need more space to swim.
Fill the doughnuts after they’ve cooled down.
Let Berliners cool down before filling them. If they are too warm, the filling might melt or leak.
Know when to coat them
If you coat your Berliners with caster sugar, do so while they are still warm; otherwise, the sugar will not stick to the pastry.
If using any other filling, feel free to coat them after filling.
Freeze correctly
If possible, freeze the Berliner without a filling or coating. You can fill and coat them after defrosting.
When to Eat?
I would say… always. 🙂 But I guess none of the stomachs would cope with this much sugar and fat.
On certain occasions, people in Germany call for a good donut. Donuts are popular during colder seasons. In Northern Germany, they are eaten for New Year’s, symbolising luck and sweetness for the coming year. Berliners are also popular during the Carnival season (Fasching) and are consumed as a last treat before lent.
Equipment Required
Storage & Reheating
Berliners can be stored in a paper bag at room temperature for up to 24 hours. Airtight containers and plastic wrap can make them soggy.
If you plan to freeze them, cool them completely and freeze them before adding filling or coating them. Freeze them individually (for example, on the baking sheet) to avoid changing their shape.
Thaw at room temperature. If you have frozen plain doughnuts, please fill them before eating. Also, a coating would be nice. 🙂 For this, prepare your favourite icing or dust them with powdered sugar.
German Berliner Variations
In the video above, I mention different types of German doughnuts that you can find in German bakeries. I hope this will be great information for travellers out there who will visit a German bakery in the colder months.
Some of the favourite German Doughnuts are:
- Berliner ohne Füllung – Empty doughnut 😉
- 2. Berliner mit Rote Konfitüre – Doughnut with red fruit & berry jam
- 3. Berliner mit Marillenmarmelade – Doughnut with apricot jam
- 4. Berliner mit Pflaumenmus – Doughnut with plum sauce
- 5. Berliner mit Vanillecreme – Doughnut with vanilla cream
- 6. Berliner mit Noughat – Doughnut with nougat
- Berliner mit Schokoladen- und Vanillecreme – Doughnut with chocolate and vanilla cream
- 8. Berliner mit Vanillecreme und Erdbeermarmelade – Doughnut with Vanilla cream and strawberry jam
Other Carnival Recipes You Should Try
