Berliner (pastry)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Berliner with plum jam filling

A Berliner Pfannkuchen is a predominantly German doughnut made from sweet yeast dough fried in fat or oil, which has a marmalade or jam filling and usually icing, powdered sugar or conventional sugar on top. They are also sometimes available with a chocolate, champagne, mocha or advocaat filling or with no filling at all. The filling is injected using a large syringe after cooking.

The terminology used to refer to this delicacy differs in various areas of Germany. While most areas call it Berliner, residents of Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony know them as Pfannkuchen, which in the rest of Germany generally refers to pancakes. In parts of southern and central Germany as well as in much of Austria, they are called Krapfen; in Hesse they are referred to as Kreppel, or, in Palatinate, Fastnachtsküchelchen (literally: carnival cakes). The name Bismarck, after the German Chancellor of the second half of the nineteenth century, Otto von Bismarck, has been used alternately for it. In other areas of Austria, they are known as crullers; in Italy, the name is (maybe erroneously) Krafen. In Slovenia, it's krof.

In English-speaking countries Berliner are usually known as doughnuts and are usually filled with jam. However, in South Australia Berliner is the more usual term. In the United States, whether filled with jam or custard, they are more commonly known as Bismarcks than Berliners; when made in a rectangular shape, they are sometimes known as Long Johns. In the U.S., the jam-filled ones are often called jelly doughnuts; while the custard-filled variety usually also feature chocolate icing and are sometimes called Bavarian cream or Boston cream doughnuts (the latter name from its resemblance to Boston cream pie). The Boston cream doughnut has been designated the official state doughnut of Massachusetts.[1]

Berliners are traditionally eaten to celebrate on New Year's Eve (Silvester) as well as the carnival holidays (Shrove Tuesday). A common practical joke is to secretly fill some Berliners with mustard instead of jam and serve them together with "regular" Berliners without telling anyone.