Oma's Jelly Donut Recipe: Berliner Pfannkuchen or Krapfen (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a donut and a krapfen? ›

A Berliner or Krapfen is a German jam doughnut with no central hole, made from sweet yeast dough fried in lard or cooking oil, with a jam filling, and usually covered in powdered sugar.

Both donuts are made from yeast-raised doughs, although Berliner donuts are shaped into balls (no holes) before deep-frying, whereas American donuts are cut out from a rolled-out dough. American donuts also have the middles cut out, which are then fried to make donut holes.

Germans love their doughnuts in many different ways and with many different names... The word Krapfen is used in central Germany (predominantly Bavaria). In central Germany (Hessen, Unterfranken or Rheinhessen) they are referred to as Kreppel, Krebbel(chen) or Kräppel.

Enjoying a krapfen, or doughnut, is mandatory during Carnival. But do you really want to wait until February to eat one? Legend says that krapfen originated in Graz, Austria, where they were traditionally prepared and sold in the streets during Carnival since the 1600s.

A Berliner, which is also known as a bismarck, is made from sweet yeast dough that's fried, then stuffed with a marmalade or jam filling and finally topped with icing, powdered sugar or conventional sugar. These Polish pastries are similar to a bismarck but are richer, with more butter and eggs.

Krapfen is the name for doughnuts in German and this is how they are known in Italy although some people call them also “Bomboloni” or big bombs!

The German Berliner (Doughnut)

In parts of north and west Germany, the savory treats are still called Berliners, while in central and south Germany they are generally referred to as Krapfen.

Meaning of Berliner in English

a doughnut (= a small, circular cake, fried in hot fat) with jam inside and usually a sugar covering: A Berliner is made from sweet yeasted dough fried in fat or oil.

Although they look like German berliners (bismarcks in North America) or jelly doughnuts, pączki are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar, yeast, and sometimes milk. They feature a variety of fruit and creme fillings and can be glazed, or covered with granulated or powdered sugar.

This doughnut became popular in northern European countries from Denmark to Russia during the 16th century. In 19th-century Germany it began to be called a Berliner or a Bismarck, after German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

What do Brits call doughnuts? ›

Donuts are called doughnuts in England, although some people also call them donuts. To be fair, the word “doughnut” was actually coined in New York, and the variant spelling also originated in the US, so both versions are also considered American.

Sufganiyot (Jelly Doughnuts) Are the Sweetest Way to Celebrate Hanukkah.

A pelona, alike Berliner, is a pastry similar to local doughnut with no central hole made from sweet yeast dough (Danish dough) deep fried usually in oil, filled with vanilla dulce de leche (in this case local manjar) and few raisins, conventional sugar as topping.

Paczki are Polish deep-fried donuts that are filled with some sweet filling such as jam, custard, lemon curd or chocolate. They are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing, glaze or dried orange zest. They are simply and utterly delicious.

There are several words for "donut" in German: Doughnut (pronounced: DOH-nut), which is an Anglicism. Berliner (pronounced: behr-LEE-nah) Pfannkuchen (pronounced: fahn-KOO-hehn), which literally means "pancake" and it's the term mainly used in Berlin.

The name of the doughnut is different in various areas of Germany. Most areas in German speaking regions call it a Berliner. Residents of Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony often know them as Pfannkuchen, which in the rest of Germany generally means pancakes - pancakes are known there as Eierkuchen (lit. egg cakes).

In 19th-century Germany it began to be called a Berliner or a Bismarck, after German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Among Polish Jews, the jelly doughnut was fried in oil or schmaltz rather than lard, due to kashrut laws.

Cake donuts are made from a kind of cake batter which is chemically leavened with baking powder or baking soda. Yeast donuts are made from dough leavened with yeast.

A solid torus is often simply called a torus. A solid torus is made by rotating a disk (a filled-in circle) around a line. Common objects that have the shape of a solid torus are a doughnut, a bagel and an O-ring.