Welcome to my culinary adventure! Today, we’re diving into the delicious world of German fried dough balls, a delightful treat for any occasion. Join us as we uncover the secrets behind making these irresistible fried dough balls that will have everyone returning for more!
Table of Contents
German Fried Dough Balls Recipe - Traditional German Quarkbällchen
- 250 gram all-purpose flour
- 250 gram quark 20% or less
- 2 medium eggs
- 100 gram caster sugar
- 14 gram vanillin (vanilla sugar) or vanilla bean paste
- 8 gram baking powder
For Frying
- 500 milliliter vegetable oil sunflower or coconut
For Coating
- 3 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- In a large bowl, combine all dough ingredients: flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, eggs, quark and baking powder.
- Stop whisking when the ingredients combine. Set aside and prepare your frying and coating station.
- Take a flat container (you can use the bottom of an airtight container) and mix caster sugar with cinnamon. Place it next to your stove.
- Take a small pot and fill it with 500 grams of frying fat. Next to it, prepare a plate lined with a paper towel. After frying, you will place the fried balls there to eliminate excess fat.
- Preheat the fat to 160-170°C. Do not raise the temperature too high, as you don't want the balls to brown too quickly. They might end up dark and raw from the inside.
- Take two teaspoons and place one full teaspoon of dough into the hot fat. The dough is somewhat sticky, so the second teaspoon might help you with scraping.
- Use a small pot to place no more than four balls at once, as they will grow bigger while frying.
- If needed, turn the balls after one minute with a tablespoon. Sometimes, the balls will turn themselves without your help.
- Fry each batch for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the balls with a skimmer and place them on the plate with a paper towel for a minute.
- After this, coat the balls with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
- Store the fried dough balls in a paper bag. Don't put them in an airtight container, as they will get soggy.
- Eat them fresh, as this is when they taste the best!
Basic Ingredients
To make those delicious balls, you need a few essential ingredients: German Quark. You can make it yourself if you don’t have access to this ingredient. It’s easier than you think! Check out my foolproof recipe: How to make German Quark with Buttermilk.
Quark – Quark is one of the most essential ingredients. For this recipe I use quark with 20% fat, but you feel free to use Quark with lower fat content, for example Magerquark.
Flour – All-purpose flour.
Egg – 2 medium eggs.
Vanillin – So called “Vanillezucker”, Vanilla Sugar. If you don’t have it, use a little vanilla bean paste
Sugar – Granulated or caster sugar.
Baking Powder – Regular baking powder
Coating – In Germany, we traditionally use caster sugar for coating. Caster sugar gives those fluffy balls a little bit of crunch.
Optional Additions
Cinnamon — Adding half a teaspoon of cinnamon to the sugar for your coating will make it even more delicious.
Powdered Sugar — If you don’t like the extra crunch on your fried dough balls, go for powdered sugar.
How to Make German Fried Dough Balls
Making dough for German fried dough balls is very easy. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, and your dough will be ready to use. It takes 3 minutes!
For Frying, you just need a small pot, frying oil, and a bit of patience. The dough is sticky, so you can use two teaspoons to transfer it into the hot oil. Additionally, make sure you don’t fry too many balls at the same time because they will get bigger while being fried. And most of all, please be careful when using hot oil; I don’t want you to burn yourself.
When Germans Eat Fried Dough Balls
Traditionally, we eat our Quarkbällchen for Carnival Celebrations. In the past, we ate fatty and rich food before Lent began. German fried dough balls are also popular for New Year’s Eve Celebrations, especially in Northern Germany.
Despite all this, you can find this particular treat in German bakeries at any time of the year. So feel free to make it for your Sunday coffee and cake or any time you crave something sweet!
Tools that might come in handy
Storage & Reheating
Quarkbällchen tastes best when they are eaten freshly. However, if you want to store them, wrap them up in a paper bag, as in the airtight container, they get soggy.
You can freeze your dough balls for up to six months. However, the best way to enjoy them is when they are fresh!
Related Recipes
