Getting the lard out before Lent.

February 19, 2009 3:48 PM

Next Tuesday is Faschnacht. Help us celebrate with your best doughnut recipe or tip.

We're not new to frying or to bread, but other than the occasional funnel cake, fried bread is rather new. Looking for recipes and wisdom on fried yeast doughnuts particularly. Tips and hints on glazes and sprinkles would also be greatly appreciated.

posted by Toekneesan to food & drink (8 comments total)

Ginger Doughnuts God I love these!
posted by katers890 at 3:55 PM on February 19

From the:Mennonite Community Cookbook:

"Raised doughnuts (fastnachts; yes, that's the spelling here) are delicious if dipped in a syrup made by boiling together for 5 minutes the following:
1 c sugar
3/4 c water
1 tablespoon white syrup"

If you want the fastnacht recipe, let me know.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:08 PM on February 19

my very first recipe search always involves alton brown. the man never disappoints.

I haven't made them myself, but here are his yeast doughnuts:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/yeast-doughnuts-recipe/index.html

as far as glazes, i've used his chocolate glaze on eclairs with great results.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-doughnut-glaze-recipe/index.html
posted by andshewas at 10:39 PM on February 19

The German original recipe, from which all the U.S. "fasnacht" recipes seem to be derived, would be "Krapfen". Here's a good recipe with lots of pictures.
For googling purposes: German Krapfen are also known as Berliner, Kreppel, or Pfannkuchen (the latter can also mean "pancake", though). Basically every region in Germany has it's own name for the sweet delight, but as far as I can tell, the basic recipe is the same. In Southern Germany, Rosehip jam filling in a Krapfen sprinkled with powdered sugar is regarded as the most authentic (and best) variety.
There are countless more modern varieties. My confectioner offers: chocolate filling, nougat filling, vanilla filling, redcurrant jam, apricot jam, strawberry jam with vodka, cream of champagne, plum butter, nutella, tiramisu...and that's just from the top of my head.

(In Bavaria, there's the age-old tradition of filling one of the Krapfen with mustard. The look on the face of the unsuspecting victim, changing from ecstatic delight to disappointment bordering on disgust, is one of the great joys of Fasnacht time...)
posted by The Toad at 3:42 AM on February 20

You want to look into Swedish Semla recipes. A soft sweet bun, cardamom, some (no: a lot) almond paste, whipped cream... Looks different, tastes different - insanely good. Funny, we just were discussing how to introduce them in other countries.
posted by Namlit at 7:06 AM on February 20 [1 favorite]

Semlas are indeed insanely delicious, but are nowhere near a donut, or anything being described in this Faschnacht article...closer to a very-lightly-sweetened, baked bread product than the outright decadence of a donut, IMO.
posted by nonmerci at 10:15 AM on February 20

Semlas are indeed insanely delicious, but are nowhere near a donut, or anything being described in this Faschnacht article...

They have nothing to do with donuts, no, but everything with Fastnacht, Lent, fasting and all those things. I was trying to suggest an alternative is all.

Quoting the Wikipedia article: "In the southernmost part of Sweden, Skåne and by the Swedish-speaking population in Finland, the pastries are known as fastlagsbulle"
Fastlags-Fastnachts.
posted by Namlit at 1:01 PM on February 20

I decided to try the recipe I found in the King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook. If you have some time to kill, here's me and my daughters making and eating doughnuts.
posted by Toekneesan at 7:58 PM on February 24