The round-shaped fried pastry called krapfen with its different fillings sweetens the Carnival period
A classic which shouldn't be missing in any Carnival celebrations is the sweet krapfen or Faschingskrapfen (Carnival Krapfen). But what is it exactly? The krapfen, called "Berliner" in Germany, is a round-shaped pastry similar to a doughnut but with no central hole, made from wheat flour, yeast, milk, sugar, butter, yolk and salt. After the process of the so-called "Schleifen" which gives the krapfen its round shape, it is fried: The pastry spends some minutes in hot lard or oil at a temperature of 150 degrees C.
Afterwards, the filling is added by a pastry bag. The most traditional one is apricot jam, but also krapfen with vanilla cream or chocolate are sought-after. Other special creations, however, are filled with vanilla cream and banana, eggnog or a delicious own mousse. Finally the topping of icing sugar or icing is added - and then it's time to enjoy this sweet treat.
In the past, it was used to make a joke to friends or relatives by filling the krapfen with mustard or sawdust. Yuck! In other countries of the world there are some variations such as the Belgian "boules de Berlin" filled with plum puree or vanilla cream, which rather look like a small pancake, the Australian "Kitchener buns" or the Brazilian "sonhos", both filled with whipped cream.
