Berliner {Jam filled doughnuts}

It's carnival! You know, this crazy festival, when everyone dresses up and a lot of loud music and party is included, to celebrate one last time before the pre-easter fasting period begins.This calls for a lot of celebrations in form of parades, full in costumes and everything. And of course, since being located in a true carnival region: a lot of feasting on the obligatory deep fried sweet baking goods like "Krapfen", "Auszogne" or "Mutzenmandeln" (a visit of a well known search engine might help to get a basic picture of how much you can really make with as little as flour, sugar and fat ;-)).

The ultimate classic alias "king of carnival" in the category of baked goods around here is a jam filled doughnut or "Berliner" (no, no cannibalism included, I swear!). Nothing beats the super soft yeasted dough, rolled in sugar and filled with a generous amount of jam - pure bliss! Nowadays you can get it year round, so make sure to try one once you visit Germany, it's a must have!



But as they're "in season" now, it's nearly impossible to try all the different varieties that are currently served in the bakeries: all kinds of chocolate, all kinds of jam and different creams like vanilla or egg liqueur just to name a few. Berliners for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner is what it calls for.

As we have this tradition of celebrating carnival with a brunch on "Tulip Sunday" I chose to prepare some homemade "Berliners" as a special treat. And oh, boy they were gooood!! The ones out of the bakeries are great, don't get me wrong, but a fresh, still warm one - nothing better! And to even top it, you can make them year round at home, this leaves us with the chance to try out all the different fillings one by one, need I say more? Get your yeast and flour going and enjoy some within hours! Happy carnival everyone!





Berliner {Jam filled doughnuts} (American measurements will be up tomorrow!)
-makes 15 regular sized or 25 small ones
- 125 ml milk
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 500g flour
- 30g sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 100g butter
- 300g jam or filling of your liking (e.g. chocolate spread)
- 750 ml oil for frying
- 100g sugar or powdered sugar for dusting

1. Slightly heat your milk, then add in your yeast and let sit for approximately 10 minutes until foamy. In a huge bowl mix together the flour, sugar and salt, add in the yeast-milk-mixture, mix and let sit for a couple of minutes, then add in the eggs and butter.
2. Knead for 5-10 minutes until a soft, pliable dough has formed. Let sit at room temperature until doubled in size (~2 hours) or leave it to rest in the refrigerator overnight.
3. Knead the dough once more, divide into equal parts and roll them out into like-sized rectangles on a lightly floured surface. Mark circles on one of the rectangles with a cookie cutter or knife, then add a tsp of jam into the middle of each circle.
4. Layer the other dough rectangle on top and cut out the jam filled circles with your cookie cutter or knife. Continue to do so until all dough is used up. Place on a lightly floured surface, cover with a tea towel and let sit for further 15 minutes.
5. Heat the oil in a heavy pot until bubbles form immediately when a wooden spoon is placed inside, this means the fat is hot enough. Carefully add in two-three berliners into the fat, put on the lid and fry for 2-3 minutes, then remove the lid and turn them over on the other side and continue frying until lightly browned. Take out, pat off the fat and dust with (icing) sugar when still warm. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts. Serve and enjoy!