Berliner (jelly-filled donuts)

This is a typical treat for Karneval (Mardi Gras) and Silvester (New Years Eve). But beware, if you buy a dozen Berliner one of them might be filled with mustard instead of jelly!

Ingredients:

For the yeast dough:

125 ml milk

100 g (3/4 stick) butter or margarine 

500 g all-purpose wheat flour 

1 package dry yeast

30 g sugar

1 package vanilla sugar or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 teaspoon rum or 1/4 teaspoon rum extract 

1 leveled teaspoon salt 

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

3 quarts of vegetable oil for frying 

A pot for frying 

For the filling:

300 g jam

For the glaze:

100 g powdered sugar

2 tablespoons eggnogg 

Preparation:

1. Heat milk in a small pot, dissolve butter or margarine in milk.

2. Mix flour and dry yeast in a large bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients for the dough including the milk-butter mixture. Using the knead hooks of an electric hand mixer whisk until a smooth dough has formed. Cover the bowl with the dough and let the yeast rise until the dough has visibly increased in size.

3. Dust dough with some flour, then briefly knead dough with hands. Roll dough out until about 2 cm (3/4 inch) thick. Using a round cookie cutter or a glass with a diameter of 7 cm (2.5 inches) for normal sized or 5 cm (2 inches) for bite-sized Berliner cut out round dough pieces.

4. Let dough pieces rise again: dust a towel with some flour, put the dough piece on floure surface, dust with flour, cover with a second towel. When dough has visibly increased in size, Berliner are ready to be fried.

5. Heat frying oil in a pot. To test whether the oil is hot enough put the end of a wooden cooking spoon into the oil. If the oil is hot bubbles will form around the end of the spoon. You can also use a thermometer to check that the temperature is 175 Celsius (350 F).

6. Fry dough from both sides until golden. It takes less than 2 minutes for each side. Remove Berliner from oil, put on paper towels to drain excess oil. Let cool down

7. Squeeze jam through a fine mesh to remove any chunks or pits. Using a piping bag with a long and narrow extension punch a hole into the side of the Berliner (if done correctly they have a lighter colored rim around the middle through which it is filled) squeeze a little jam into the middle of each Berliner.

8. Mix powdered sugar and eggnogg. Glaze each Berliner on top. Let glaze dry before serving.

Comments:

1. I like to prepare my yeast doughs the night before and let them slowly rise overnight. When you get up in the morning the dough is ready for the next step.

2. There are many variations on the glaze: You can dip the Berliner into regular sugar when they are still hot, you can prepare an alcohol-free glaze using water or lemon juice, and you can add food coloring to the glaze. Instead of using eggnogg with alcohol you can prepare the glaze with whiskey or bourbon. Decorate the Berliner with colored sprinkles or chocolate shavings. Be creative and have fun!

3. I used raspberry jam for the filling, but you can use any kind of jam. Strawberry and mixed fruits work well, but even plum jam or apple sauce can be used. Every variation will turn the rather boring basic dough into a new experience for your tastebuds!