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Learn how make these German doughnuts aka. Berliner from my German mum in law, Beate. The German doughnuts are made with a sweet yeast dough that’s flavored with rum. After baking they are filled with jam/ jelly, coated with cinnamon sugar at the bottom and dusted with icing sugar. So good!
German jelly filled doughnuts aka. Kreppel, Berliner, Pfannkuchen, Krapfen, Faschingskrapfen or whatever you call them, are ”MUST haves” for carnival. Carnival or fasching is a German tradition, celebrated once a year in February or March (6 weeks before Easter).
This year carnival started on the 28th of Feb and will end on the 06th of March 2019. Around this time, people wear masks and costumes, drink lots of alcohol and eat rich and hearty food, before the fasting season of Lent begins. The school kids, at least in Bavaria even get a week off, to celebrate carnival.
Each family has their own recipe when it comes to making jelly doughnuts. Therefore today I would like to share with you how my mum in law makes her doughnuts, that she bakes each and every year, shortly before or during carnival. This year I joined her make them, since we double the recipe.
The kind of jelly or jam used to fill the doughnuts differs, based on where you are in Germany. Typical Franconian jelly doughnuts aka. Krapfen or Faschingskrapfen are filled with Hiffenmark (rosehip) jam, while in other regions they use strawberry, apricot jam (flavored with rum) and so on.
But which ever jam you will use, I guarantee you that they will still taste incredible. In this recipe, the doughnuts are coated with cinnamon sugar at the bottom and dusted lightly with icing sugar on top.
Just like the best cheesecake ever recipe, I’ve tasted different doughnuts, but I must say that none could beat this recipe from my mum in law. My very picky husband hardly eats jelly filled doughnuts made by someone other than his mum or wife.
This recipe is easy and tastes insanely delicious, (not too sweet). You can have the doughnuts as a snack, for breakfast, brunch or coffee time. You can also use this recipe as a base and fill your doughnuts with any filing of your choice from chocolate mousse to vanilla pudding.
Making German jelly filled donuts is very time consuming, but it’s worth it. You must definitely have a helping hand, to speed up everything a bit.
What you’ll need for German donut recipe
For the sweet yeast dough
- 1 kg (about 2.2 lbs/ 8 cups ) plain flour (all purpose flour), plus extra for dusting
- 4 medium eggs, room temperature
- 100 g (3.5 oz/ ½ cup) sugar
- 150 g (about 5.3 oz/ ⅔ cup) butter
- 450 ml (15.2 fl.oz/ about 1 ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons) milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 42 g (1.5 oz) fresh yeast/ 5 teaspoons (14 g/ ½ oz) dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons rum
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil plus extra to grease the bowl and the dough
For the donut filling
- 680 g (1.5 lbs) jam (hiffenmark (rosehip)/ strawberry /aprikot jam or any
For the topping
- 100 g (3.5 oz/ ½ cup) sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- icing sugar to dust the doughnuts
You’ll also need:
- 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) clarified butter/ 1.5 liters (about 6 ¼ cups) sunflower oil or any oil of your choice
- 2 bowls
- cooling rack
- spoon/ fork
- pot + cover
- syringe / pipping bag
- cutting boards
- kitchen machine or a hand mixer
- cookie cutter/ water glass with thin edge (with 7 ½ cm diameter or approx 3 inches)
How to make German donuts
How to make sweet yeast dough
Warm the milk and melt the butter in a microwave or pot separately and let cool. Then crack the eggs in a bowl and mix well using a fork.
My mum in law always warms milk and butter separately, because she just takes milk and use based on her instincts. This time we measured everything precisely.
Next combine fresh yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a bowl. Using a spoon break the yeast into small pieces and mix well. Leave the mixture for 10 minutes or until you have a watery mixture.
- If you’re using dry yeast, add 2 tablespoons flour (from the 1 kg (8 cups) flour), 1 tablespoon sugar (from the 100 g sugar (¼ cup+ 2 tbs)) and yeast to the jar with half of lukewarm milk. Stir well and let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes.
Put the flour, the remaining sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well. Make a hole in the middle, then pour in the yeast – sugar mixture in the middle.
Cover the yeast with flour, so that the yeast will not come in contact with the following ingredients. Add the eggs, followed by melted and lukewarm butter.
Start mixing, while adding the lukewarm milk slowly. Add rum while the dough is busy kneading, then sunflower oil and knead.
Knead the yeast dough
Knead the dough very well. I normally knead my dough like this:
1) If I’m kneading it with the hand mixer, I knead the dough for about 8 minutes at low speed and then for 5 minutes on medium high speed.
2) With the kitchen machine I knead the dough for 7 minutes at low speed (speed 1, on Bosch kitchen machine) and for 3 more minutes at medium high speed (speed 3).
3) With the hands, I knead the dough for about 10 to 12 minutes. If the dough is sticky when kneading with the hands, just oil them with few drops of vegetable oil.
If you’re using a heavy duty kitchen machine, please knead your dough for maximum 7 minutes in total. Otherwise you will be overworking the dough.
Let the dough rise
Put the dough in the greased bowl. Pour few drops of oil on the dough, so that the dough will not dry out. Using your hands, apply the oil evenly and cover with a kitchen cloth. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour in a warm place.
Make sure that the dough is in a large bowl, since it will double it’s size after rising.
Prepare the German doughnut filling
In the meantime, mix cinnamon and sugar. Then take the jam, stir it very well and fill the syringe or a pipping bag with it. Afterwards lightly flour the cutting boards.
Shape yeast doughnuts and let rise
After 1 hour, kip the dough on a lightly floured surface. Gently shape it into a round form and cut off a bit of the dough
Roll out the dough (2 cm (0,79 inch) thick). Using a lightly floured water glass or a round cookie cutter, cut the rolled out dough into flat balls. Put the doughnuts on a floured board.
Pour few drops of oil on the doughnuts and rub them nicely. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for another 15 minutes. Repeat the process until you have used up the dough.
The remaining dough between the cut doughnuts, you can either re-roll it or you cut it into small pieces and let it rise as well. (when deep fried, it will look like mini doughnut sticks.)
How to fry German doughnuts
In the meantime heat the oil in the pot at medium-low heat. Insert the wooden spoon handle in oil to see if the oil is ready.
If bubbles start forming around the spoon, then the oil is ready. If you have a kitchen thermometer, then start frying when the oil has 150 °C (302 °F ).
Using your hands pick up one doughnut at a time and put it in a pot. Once you have 4 doughnuts in the pot, cover it and wait for exactly 3 minutes.
- The pot must be nicely filled with the doughnuts, depending on the size. So that the doughnuts won’t have a chance to turn while in the pot.
Turn the doughnuts and bake for another 3 minutes, without a cover.
- When the doughnuts are having a beautiful white ring around them shows that the dough rose nicely.
How to fill German doughnuts with jam
Remove the doughnut from the fat, let cool a bit on the cooling rack, until you’ll be able to touch it with your hands. Then coat the bottom of the doughnuts with cinnamon sugar that you’ve previously prepared.
Using a syringe fill the doughnuts with jam. If you’re using a pipping bag, poke a hole in the doughnut with a toothpick and fill with jam.
Mini doughnut sticks topped with cinnamon sugar or jam.
Before serving dust with icing sugar and enjoy!
More authentic German doughnuts recipes
German Doughnuts (Berliner)
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs/ 8 cups) plain flour (all purpose flour) plus extra for dusting
- 4 medium eggs
- 100 g (3.5 oz/ ½ cup) sugar
- 150 (about 5.3 oz/ ⅔ cup) butter room temperature
- 450 ml (15.2 fl.oz/ about 1 ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons) milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 43 g (1 ½ oz) fresh yeast or 5 teaspoons dry yeast (14 g/ ½ oz)
- 3 tablespoons rum
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil plus extra 2 tablespoons to grease the bowl and the dough
- 1 ½ kg (3.3 lbs clarified butter (1.5 liter (about 6 ¼ cups) sunflower oil or any oil of your choice)
For the filling and topping
- 680 g (1 ½ lbs) jam (hiffenmark (rosehip)/ strawberry /aprikot jam or any
- 100 g (½ cup) suagr
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- icing sugar to dust the doughnuts
Instructions
- Warm the milk and melt the butter in a microwave or pot separately and let cool. Then crack the eggs in a bowl and mix well using a fork. Combine fresh yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a bowl. Using a spoon break the yeast into small pieces and mix well. Leave the mixture for 10 minutes or until you have a watery mixture. * If you're using dry yeast, add 2 tablespoons flour (from the 1 kg (8 cups) flour), 1 tablespoon sugar (from the 100 g (¼ cup+ 2 tbs) sugar) and yeast to the jar with with half of lukewarm milk. Stir well and let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes.
- Put the flour, the remaining sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well. Make a hole in the middle, then pour in the yeast – sugar mixture in the middle. Cover the yeast with flour, so that the yeast will not come in contact with the following ingredients. Add the eggs, followed by melted and lukewarm butter.
- Start mixing, while adding the lukewarm milk slowly. Add rum while the dough is busy kneading, then sunflower oil and knead the dough very well. I normally knead my dough like this:1) If I’m kneading it with the hand mixer, I knead the dough for about 8 minutes at low speed and then for 5 minutes on medium high speed.2) With the kitchen machine I knead the dough for 7 minutes at low speed (speed 1, on Bosch kitchen machine) and for 3 more minutes at medium high speed (speed 3).3) With the hands, I knead the dough for about 10 to 12 minutes. If the dough is sticky when kneading with the hands, just oil them with few drops of vegetable oil. If you’re using a heavy duty kitchen machine, please knead your dough for maximum 7 minutes in total. Otherwise you will be overworking the dough.
- Put the dough in the greased bowl. Pour few drops of oil on the dough, so that the dough will not dry out. Using your hands, apply the oil evenly and cover with a kitchen cloth. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour in a warm place.
- In the meantime, mix cinnamon and sugar. Then take the jam, stir it very well and fill the syringe or pipping bag with it. Afterwards lightly flour the cutting boards.
- After 1 hour, kip the dough on a lightly floured surface and gently shape it into a round form. Cut off a bit of the dough, roll it out (2 cm (0,79 inch) thick). Using a water glass with thin edge or a round cookie cutter, cut the rolled out dough into doughnuts. Put the doughnuts on a floured board. Pour few drops of oil on the doughnuts and rub them nicely. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for another 15 minutes.
- In the meantime heat the oil in the pot at medium-low heat. Insert the wooden spoon handle in oil to see if the oil is ready. If bubbles start forming around the spoon, then the oil is ready. If you have a kitchen thermometer, then start frying when the oil has 150 °C (302 °F ).
- Using your hands pick up one doughnut at a time and put it in a pot. Once you have 4 doughnuts in the pot, cover it and wait for exactly 3 minutes. Turn the doughnuts and bake for another 3 minutes, without a cover.
- Remove the doughnut from the fat, let cool a bit on the cooling rack, until you'll be able to touch it with your hands and then coat the bottom of the doughnuts with cinnamon sugar that you've previously prepared. Using a syringe fill the doughnuts with jam. If you're using a pastry bag, poke a hole in the doughnut with a toothpick and fill with jam. Dust with icing sugar before serving. Coat mini doughnut sticks with cinnamon sugar or with jam.
Video
Notes
- If you’re using dry yeast, add 2 tablespoons flour (from the 1 kg flour), 1 tablespoon sugar (from the 100 g sugar) and yeast to the jar with with half of lukewarm milk. Stir well and let the mixture stand for at least 5 minutes.
- The remaining dough between the cut out doughnuts, you can either re-roll it or you cut it into small pieces and let it rise as well. (when deep fried, it will look like mini doughnut sticks.)
- When frying, the pot must be nicely filled with the doughnuts, depending on the size. So that the doughnuts won’t have a chance to turn while in the pot.
- If you’re using a pipping bag, poke a hole in the doughnut with a toothpick and fill with jam.
Did you make this German doughnut recipe? I’d love to hear from you! Simply write a review and add rating to it.
Yasmine Parker
Friday 22nd of May 2020
I'm in the process of making these (leaving the dough to rise for an hour.) although, my dough was not very sticky. also, if using dry yeast, you haven't mentioned how much milk to let it sit with? because the instructions follow with, pour milk gradually. So a little confused, but hoping it turns out okay! Have you got a recipe for the jelly? Sydney (Australia) girl missing the Berliner's I had in Germany 10 years ago!!!! :)
Ester
Saturday 30th of May 2020
Hello Yasmine, thank you for stopping by. I hope your Berliner turned out well and brought back a lot of memories regardless of the confusion. I don't have the jelly recipe, but I will ask my mum in law. She is the jelly maker.
Crystal Garman
Thursday 27th of February 2020
Yum! These look delicious! Great recipe, can't wait to try!
MK Ong
Thursday 7th of March 2019
Although i do not intend to do because need patient and time as well as more people to enjoy but reading yr step-by-step clear colourful photos recipe is a kind of enjoyment too. At least now I know how this kind of delicious doughnut was made. Have tried it twice with banana fillings snd also apple filling when staying with my girls in Netherland. Very delicious. Thx for taking time to share with us 😊
Ester
Friday 22nd of March 2019
Wow, thank you so much for your lovely comment MK! Banana filled donuts sound amazing as well. I've never tried them though.
In case you happen change your mind in the future, you know where to find the jelly doughnuts recipe ;-)
Cheroldine
Wednesday 6th of March 2019
Jam doughnuts are my absolute favorite and these ones look super delicious
Ester
Friday 22nd of March 2019
Thank you Cheroldine! I'm sure you'll love these jam doughnuts as well, as much as we do ;-)