Berliner Donuts

I'd say they are the perfect donuts - ideally fluffly, soft and tender. A tourist travelling through Germany will surely see these Berliner donuts everywhere so there must be a reason why they are so popular. I've never eaten tastier donuts, and the recipe is relatively easy - just follow the steps and the result will certainly be a great success.

NB: The recipe is for 20 donuts, but I think they were a bit too big. Next time, I'd like to make 30 smaller donuts - so it's up to you if you want 20 big donuts or 30 smaller ones.

Ingredients
Milk
270 ml
Sugar
60 g
Bakers yeast
25 g
Egg yolks
2 pieces
Brandy or cognac
1 tbsp
optional
Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp
Salt
0.25 tsp
Butter
45 g
softened at room temperature
White flour
500 g
Sunflower oil
1 l
for frying
Powdered sugar
2 tbsp
and jam - if you want filling too
Step by step
Step 1

Combine the warm milk with sugar and yeast.

Berliner Donuts - Step 1
Step 2

Then stir in the egg yolks, cognac/brandy, vanilla and salt, whisk well.

Berliner Donuts - Step 2
Step 3

Add in the butter, whisk to combine.

Berliner Donuts - Step 3
Step 4

Flour is the last one - stir well with a whisk or a spoon.

Berliner Donuts - Step 4
Step 5

Turn dough onto the floured table and knead for a bit until smooth.

Berliner Donuts - Step 5
Step 6

Place dough into a bowl.

Berliner Donuts - Step 6
Step 7

Cover with a lid or a cloth and allow for 1 hour to rise.

Berliner Donuts - Step 7
Step 8

Meanwhile, cut some parchment paper into 20-30 squares of about 10x10cm - you'll see what we need them for.

Berliner Donuts - Step 8
Step 9

After 1 hour, dough looks like this.

Berliner Donuts - Step 9
Step 10

Cut into 20-30 small pieces.

Berliner Donuts - Step 10
Step 11

Shape them into balls and place each of them on a parchment paper square.

Cover with a cloth and let rise for 1 hour.

Berliner Donuts - Step 11
Step 12

After this time, pour oil in a pot or a deep frying pan, heat well.

Carefully take a paper square and smoothly place the dough ball in the oil.

Berliner Donuts - Step 12
Step 13

Place the first donut and wait for the moment to add the next ones to the pan - here it's not the right moment yet.

Berliner Donuts - Step 13
Step 14

When it turns to golden brown and it is surrounded by foam, you can start adding in more dough balls, until the pan is filled.

Berliner Donuts - Step 14
Step 15

Set the heat to medium and fry the donuts well on both sides.

Watch out, they cook very fast.

Berliner Donuts - Step 15
Step 16

When done, remove from the oil and place on paper towel to drain excess oil.

Berliner Donuts - Step 16
Step 17

You can fill the donuts with jam or favourite cream - you'll need a special confectionary syringe and a bag for this.

Berliner Donuts - Step 17
Step 18

This is what they look like inside - I filled them with milk cream.

Berliner Donuts - Step 18
Step 19

But you can also serve them simple, dusted with powdered sugar.

They are something special which is worth trying. And even though you see more steps in the recipe, it's not complicated, I was just trying to make it more clear...

Enjoy!

Berliner Donuts - Step 19
Quantity: 1 kg (20 pieces)
Prep time:
90 min
Difficulty: intermediate
Ready in: 60 min