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a Berliner German donut from the inside
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5 from 24 votes

Berliner: The Classic German Donut

Berliner, Krapfen, Kreppel, Pfannkuchen... there are way too many words to describe the perfection that a German donut is. Fluffy, deep-fried, powdered sugar drenched and usually filled with jam!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Resting Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 5 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Coffee, Dessert, Kaffee
Cuisine: German
Keyword: Authentic German donut recipe, Easy filled German donut recipe, Easy German donut recipe, Fastnacht recipe, German Berliner recipe, German carnival recipe, German donut recipe, German Krapfen recipe, Jam filled German donut recipe, Krapfen recipe, Kreppel recipe, Pumpkin Berliner Recipe
Servings: 12
Calories: 322kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Combine the luke warm milk and yeast and set aside for 5 minutes. It should be bubbly. If not, start over (your milk may have been too hot or too cold). In the bowl of a standmixer, combine all ingredients for the dough and knead for 10 minutes on the medium-low setting. Cover the bowl and allow to rest in a warm spot until doubled in size, about one hour.
  • Divide the dough up into equal pieces (best to use a kitchen scale), and using flour-dusted hands, shape each portion into a ball. Allow to rest for another 30 minutes (covered up by a clean linen towel).
  • Preheat frying oil (I used safflower oil) to 160°C/320°F and bake in batches (you will want the donuts to be able to swim on the surface) for about 5 minutes or until golden on the outside (flipping once).
  • Fill each Berliner with your favorite jam using a decorating bag and filling tip and dust with powdered sugar. I also LOVE filling them with plum butter! So lecker!

Notes

Variations:

To make Chocolate Berliner, add 60 grams (2 ounces) melted chocolate (I used Ritter Sport Choco Mousse) into the dough when kneading together all ingredients. To make it extra chocolatey, also add 8 grams cocoa powder (1 Tablespoon) and 1 Tablespoons milk. After baking, fill with chocolate pudding (I used a German chocolate pudding by Dr Oetker). Dust in powdered sugar.
To make Cinnamon Plum Berliner, roll your donuts in cinnamon sugar after frying and fill your Berliner with plum butter or strained plum jam. I used Landliebe plum jam.
Make White Chocolate Cherry Berliner by kneading one piece of white chocolate into each Berliner. After baking, fill with strained cherry jam and dust with powdered sugar. I used Hero black cherry jam and Milka white chocolate.
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Nutrition

Calories: 322kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 78mg | Potassium: 94mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 245IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 2mg