A Berliner Pfannkuchen (also called Berliner Ballen or Krapfen in Germany, fánk in Hungary, Bola de Berlim in Portugal, berliininmunkki in Finland, sufganiyah in Israel, kobliha in the Czech Republic, šiška in Slovakia, bola de fraile in Argentina, bombolone in Italy, and Bismarck in Canada and parts of the United States) is a predominantly German and Central European doughnut made from sweet yeast dough fried in fat or oil, with a marmalade or jam filling and usually icing, powdered sugar or conventional sugar on top. They are sometimes made with chocolate, champagne, custard, mocha, or advocaat filling, or with no filling at all. The filling is injected with a large syringe after the pastry is fried.
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The terminology used to refer to this delicacy differs in various areas of Germany. While most areas call it Berliner (Ballen), the Berliners themselves and residents of Brandenburg, Western Pomerania and Saxony know them as Pfannkuchen, which in the rest of Germany generally means pancakes; pancakes are known there as Eierkuchen ("egg cakes"). In parts of southern and central Germany (Bavaria), as well as in much of Austria, they are a variety of Krapfen (derived from Old High German kraffo and furthermore related to Gothic language krappa). In Hessen they are referred to as Kräppel or Kreppel. Residents of the Palatinate call them Fastnachtsküchelchen ("little carnival cakes"); further south, the Swabians use the equivalent term in their distinctive dialect: Fasnetskiachla. In South Tyrol and Triveneto part of northern Italy, the food is called krafen or krapfen. In Slovenia, it is krof; in Croatia krafne; in Bosnia, and Serbia krofne. In Poland they are known as pączki, in the Czech Republic as kobliha. In Hungary, it is called fánk.[1] All of these are essentially identical preparations.
In English-speaking countries, Berliners are usually called doughnuts and are usually filled with jam, jelly, custard or whipped cream. However, in South Australia, the Kitchener bun is a Berliner cut on the side for the filling of jam and cream. In Anglophone North America, the most common term for the jam- or jelly-filled pastry is "jelly doughnut". The name is somewhat misleading, since the jam or jelly used is specially made with less pectin, so that it does not "set" like jams and jellies manufactured for table use but has a consistency comparable to Bavarian cream.
The cream or 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.[2]
In Ontario and the prairie western provinces of Canada, as well as parts of the Midwest in the US, such a round jelly- or custard-filled doughnut is commonly called a "Bismarck," while a filled bar doughnut is called a "Long John", and usually contains pastry creme, custard or whipped cream but can contain a jelly filling. Other Canadian terms include "jambuster" in Manitoba, and "Burlington bun" in Nova Scotia.
Berliners are traditionally eaten to celebrate on New Year's Eve (Silvester) as well as the carnival holidays (Mardi Gras). A common German practical joke is to secretly fill some Berliners with mustard instead of jam and serve them together with regular Berliners without telling anyone.[3]
In Portugal, berliners are slightly bigger than their German counterparts. They are known as bolas de Berlim (Berlin ball) and the filling is always an egg-yolk based yellow cream called creme pasteleiro (lit. confectioner's cream). The filling is inserted after a half length cut and is always visible. Regular sugar is used to sprinkle it. They can be found in almost every pastry shop in the country.
Such versions are also found in Latin America, in Chile, Uruguay and Argentina, where it's not only filled with custard (called "Crema pastelera"), but with jam (especially red ones) or manjar blanco. In Brazil, berliners are called sonhos (dreams) and traditionally filled with yellow cream (called simply creme). Some modern variants filled with milk jam or a mix of chocolate and milk jam can be found in Rio de Janeiro's bakeries.
In Israel, a version of the pastry called sufganiyah is traditionally consumed during the holiday of Hanukkah. While sufganiyot are usually filled with jam, many modern variants exist.
John F. Kennedy's words "Ich bin ein Berliner" are standard German for I am a Berliner. An urban legend has it that due to his use of the indefinite article ein, Berliner is translated as jam doughnut, and that the population of Berlin was amused by the supposed mistake. The normal convention when stating a nationality or, for instance, saying one is from Berlin, would be to leave out the indefinite article ein. However, Kennedy used the indefinite article here correctly to emphasize his relation to Berlin.[4][5] Additionally, the word Berliner is not used in Berlin to refer to the Berliner Pfannkuchen. These are simply called Pfannkuchen there[6] and therefore no one from Berlin would mistake Berliner for a pastry.