Filled Berlin Doughnuts
Submitted by Cathy05
Berliner doughnuts (Berlin pfannkuchen) are jam-filled fried yeast doughnuts dusted in sugar. A German bakery classic with pillowy enriched dough and a hidden jelly center.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
2 hrsCOOK
10 minREADY
2 hrsThese are Berliner Pfannkuchen, the German jam-filled fried doughnuts that show up at every New Year’s celebration in Germany and Austria. They’re also known as Bismarks in much of the American Midwest. The dough is enriched with butter, eggs, and milk for a tender, pillowy crumb, and the filling goes in after frying through a small slit in the side.
Frying without piercing the doughnut is the key to getting that signature pale ring around the middle, the white line that proves the doughnut floated and only the top and bottom touched the hot fat. Turning with tongs (not stabbing with a fork) preserves the integrity that keeps the jam from leaking later.
Fat temperature is everything. The recipe calls for 375°F (190°C) and you need a thermometer to maintain it. Too cool and the doughnuts absorb fat and turn greasy; too hot and the outside burns before the dough cooks through.
Fill after cooling, never while hot. Hot doughnuts melt jelly into runny syrup that leaks back out the slit; cool ones hold the filling in place where it belongs.
The rum extract and orange juice are the flavor secrets of authentic German Berliner. They add subtle warmth and brightness that distinguish these from plain American doughnuts.
Pro Tips
- Use a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Visual cues for hot fat are unreliable, and the wrong temperature wrecks the whole batch.
- Lard fries cleaner than vegetable oil. The classic German fat is lard, and it produces crispier doughnuts with less greasy texture.
- A pastry bag with a long thin tip makes filling foolproof. Without one, use a long-handled jam knife and force the jelly carefully.
- Eat within hours of frying. Yeast doughnuts go stale fast; they don’t keep overnight like cake doughnuts do.
Variations
- Use raspberry jam for the classic German filling, or apricot for a Viennese twist.
- Roll in cinnamon sugar instead of plain for a more autumnal version.
- Top with a thin lemon glaze (powdered sugar plus lemon juice) instead of sugar coating for a sweeter, glossier finish.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat the fat to 375℉ (190℃). for frying the doughnuts.
Soften the yeast in the warm water and let stand for 5 minutes or until it “blooms” or proofs.
Put a half cup of sugar, the salt, butter, orange juice and rum extract in a large bowl.
Pour the scalded milk over the ingredients in the bowl.
Stir until the butter is melted.
Cool to lukewarm.
When cool, blend in 1 cup of the unbleached flour and beat until smooth.
Stir in the yeast and add about half of the remaining flour, beating until smooth.
Beat in the eggs.
Then beat in enough of the remaining flour to make a SOFT (should be slightly sticky and light in weight).
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 to 10 minutes).
Form into a ball and put into a greased bowl, turning to grease the top of the ball of dough.
Cover and let rise in a warm draft free place until doubled in bulk.
Punch the dough down, kneading lightly to remove all of the air pockets, and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll to ½-inch thickness. Cut the dough into rounds using a 3-inch biscuit or cookie cutter. Cover with waxed paper and let rise on the rolling surface away from drafts and direct heat, until double in bulk, (30 to 45 minutes). About 20 minutes before frying, heat the fat. Fry the doughnuts in the heated fat. Put only as many doughnuts at one time as will float uncrowded in a single layer deep in the fat. Fry 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned; turn the doughnuts with a fork or tongs, being careful not to pierce the doughnut, when they rise to the surface. Do this several times during the cooking. Lift from the fat, draining for a few seconds over the fat before removing to absorbent paper toweling. Cool. Cut a slit through the center in the side of each doughnut. Force about ½ teaspoons of jam or jelly into the center and press lightly to close the slit. (A pastry bag and tube may be used to force the jelly or jam into the slit. ) Shake 2 or 3 bismarks at one time in a bag containing granulated or powdered sugar. (Your choice.) Shake lightly to remove the excess sugar.
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