Recipe: Faschingskrapfen

It’ll soon be Shrove Tuesday again, which means we’re reaching the peak of the Faschingskrapfen - a filled carnival doughnut - season. And when it comes to carnival doughnuts, there’s only one filling for me: apricot jam! Forget vanilla, plum jam and strawberry jam – a proper doughnut is filled with apricot jam and dusted with icing sugar. And as with everything, it tastes best when freshly baked! This is the perfect opportunity to share this delicious recipe with you!

I’ll admit it, on Shrove Tuesday I won’t stop at just one carnival doughnut – more like three or four. But they don’t taste as good the rest of the year as they do on this one day. You’ve got to make the most of it. The fluffy yeast dough, the sweet jam and the powdery icing sugar combine in your mouth to create a real explosion of flavour – and you can easily recreate it at home with this recipe!

 

Which type of Faschingskrapfen lover are you?

When eating a Faschingskrapfen, not only the taste plays an essential role, but also how you eat them. There are different ways of eating a Faschingskrapfen and we have discovered 5 of them: 

  • ‘The Stormy One’: He bites off as big a chunk as possible. The result is that he experiences the full flavour as quickly as possible, but ends up with a white streak of sugar and sometimes even jam stains on his trousers.

  • ‘The Stormy Leaner’: This type tackles the jam issue a little more thoughtfully. He also takes large bites, but leans forwards (usually whilst standing) to avoid getting the filling all over himself.

  • ‘The Sensual One’: He delightedly pokes a large hole in the jam-filled opening with his tongue and scoops out as much filling as possible until it’s virtually impossible to get messy when he bites into it.

  • ‘The Sharp One’: Here comes a method that seems unspectacular at first glance, but is certainly no less clever. He cuts the doughnut in half with a knife and savours it piece by piece. This keeps his clothes clean, though his fingers and mouth still end up with traces of icing sugar.

  • “The Strong Divider”: Quite simply, he tears the doughnut in two. This way, he knows where the filling is and can act accordingly when he takes a bite.

     

Which type are you?

 

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 kg plain flour
  • 1 dice of yeast 
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 packet of vanilla sugar
  • 80 g refined sugar
  • 80 g butter
  • 1/4 l milk
  • 1 tablespoon of rum
  • 5 yolks
  • 200 g apricot jam for the filling
  • Oil for frying
  • Icing sugar for sprinkling

 

Preparation: 

  1. Mix the flour, salt, vanilla sugar and yeast together well.

  2. Warm the milk, melt the butter in it and add the granulated sugar. Stir vigorously until the liquid is lukewarm.

  3. Add the rum, the warm milk mixture and the egg yolks to the flour mixture.

  4. Stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until it starts to form bubbles.

  1. Cover the dough and leave it to rise in a warm place for about an hour – the dough should double in size. Tip: Yeast dough doesn’t like draughts.

  2. Use a spoon to scoop out dumplings weighing about 60–65 g from the dough. Knead them well and place them on a floured board. Cover and leave to rise for a further two hours until the dough balls have doubled in size.

  3. Heat a sufficient amount of oil to approx. 170 degrees Celsius (not too hot!) and fry the doughnuts until they float to the surface and are golden brown: three minutes per side, turning them with a slotted spoon. Place the lid on the pan whilst frying, as this helps the doughnuts to rise better. Once fried, lift the doughnuts out with the slotted spoon and leave to drain on kitchen roll.

  4. Stir the jam until smooth with a dash of rum, transfer to a piping bag and fill the doughnuts.

  5. Dust the doughnuts generously with icing sugar using a sieve.

The first Faschingskrapfen usually doesn’t turn out right, just like with pancakes. Don’t let that put you off – enjoy your creations!

Eure Kristina

Pictures: Klaus Bauer