Berliner Pfannkucken belongs to autumn, winter, and Christmas at our house. We love the sweet deep-fried buns with filling. They taste fantastic, and it’s actually not difficult to make homemade Berliner Pfannkuchen with raspberry. Read on for our recipe.
German deep-fried cake with filling
Berliner Pfannkuchen, or Berliners as they are commonly called in Denmark, originate from Germany and Central Europe. They are round deep-fried buns made from yeast dough, often rolled in sugar or decorated with icing on top.
They are often eaten around Christmas, and in bakeries across the country, you can find Berliner Pfannkuchen with raspberry, prune, cream, or many other delights.
But it’s actually not difficult to make your own homemade Berliners, and you can choose the filling you like best. Additionally, it’s much cheaper to make them yourself, and you can serve them warm and fresh.
Many are intimidated by the fact that they need to be cooked in oil. It’s actually not difficult. If you’ve tried making Danish klejner or donuts, it’s a similar process.
You can conveniently make a batch of donuts at the same time, so you have double the treats, and you can cook them in the same pot of oil.
Ingredient notes
Butter – Use real butter and not a blend for the dough. This way, you’ll get the best dough.
Milk – I’ve used whole milk here, but other types of milk can also be used.
Yeast – I use fresh yeast here. You can also use dry yeast if that’s what you have at home. You can replace 50 grams of fresh yeast with 11 grams of dry yeast.
Eggs – The dough becomes a bit more delicious with a couple of eggs.
Cardamom – It’s one of those Christmassy flavors that you either love or hate. If you’re not fond of cardamom, you can skip it.
Wheat flour – Preferably use wheat flour with a high protein content. Here, I’ve used the wheat flour in the yellow bag from Amo, which is often what I bake with.
How to make Berliner Pfannkuchen?
The first thing you need to do is make the dough. You can see how it should look below.
1. It’s a regular yeast dough, and it’s definitely easiest to make with a mixer, as it needs to be kneaded well to be good. Dissolve the yeast in milk, then add eggs, sugar, cardamom, salt, and wheat flour. Once the dough is kneaded together, add soft butter, which is kneaded into the dough. After kneading for about 15 minutes, the dough will come together, become smooth, and release from the sides of the bowl.
2. Let the dough rise for about 45 minutes.
3. When the dough has doubled in size, it’s ready to roll out. Place it on a floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin until it’s between 1 and 2 cm thick. Use a round cutter or a glass with a diameter of 7-8 cm to cut out your Berliners.
4. Let them rise again under a cloth on the table for 30-45 minutes while you heat oil in a pot.
1. When the oil is hot, cook your Berliners for about 2 minutes.
2. Use a spoon to turn your Berliners and give them 2 minutes on the other side.
3. When they are done cooking, place them on a piece of kitchen paper to rest for 2 minutes.
4. Once cooled slightly and you can handle them, roll them in sugar, and then fill them with raspberry jam or prunes or whatever filling you prefer.
Find the full recipe further down this page.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can. However, I think they are best frozen when they are freshly baked and before they are rolled in sugar and filled. So if you know you have some leftovers, freeze them directly after they are cooked in the oil. When ready to serve, you can warm them in the oven, roll them in sugar, and fill them.
They are definitely best when freshly made, so I wouldn’t recommend making them too far in advance. They can stand for a couple of hours, but not much longer, I would say. We do eat them the next day if there are leftovers, but it’s not the same as when freshly cooked.
Other recipes you might like
Tips and tricks for the recipe
- Make both Berliner Pfannkuchen and donuts from the same dough. Make half a portion of the dough for Berliners and half for donuts, as it’s the same dough, just shape them into buns and donuts before the final rise.
- Use your favorite filling. You can, of course, fill your Berliners with whatever you like. It could be a delicious pastry cream or maybe a chocolate ganache with Christmas spices like this one. Prune puree is also a classic that tastes great.
Serving suggestions
- Serve the freshly cooked Berliners for Advent or when you want to treat the family a little extra during the Christmas season.
Do you love raspberry?
Then you should also try the recipe for Raspberry frangipane tart
Recipe for german donuts
Here is our recipe for delicious homemade Berliner Pfannkuchen. They simply taste fantastic and can be filled with jam, prune puree, applesauce, or whatever you like.
They are not difficult to make, and the family will certainly be delighted if you serve such a platter on the table over the weekend.
Berliner Pfannkuchen with raspberry jam
Ingredients
- 2 ½ dl whole milk
- 50 g fresh yeast
- 2 eggs
- 80 g sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 600 g all purpose flour
- 100 g butter soft
Frying
- 1 ½ l sunflower oil for frying
Decoration and filling
- 1 dl sugar
- 2 dl raspberry jam
Instructions
Dough
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Heat the milk until it is lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. Then add eggs, salt, sugar, and cardamom, and whisk everything together well.2 ½ dl whole milk, 50 g fresh yeast, 2 eggs, 80 g sugar, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp ground cardamom
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Add the flour a little at a time, and then knead the dough well. The dough should be kneaded until it is smooth and elastic and releases from the sides of the bowl; in my mixer, it takes about 15 minutes. Add the soft butter and knead it into the dough.600 g all purpose flour, 100 g butter
- Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.
Shaping
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface to a thickness of about 1.5 cm. Cut out round Berliners with a cutter or a glass. They should be about 7-8 cm in diameter.
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Let the Berliners rise again for about 45 minutes, and in the meantime, heat the oil to about 170 degrees Celcius.1 ½ l sunflower oil
Frying
- Test the oil with a small piece of dough or a wooden toothpick. It should sizzle around the dough or toothpick before it is ready to use.
- When the oil is hot, cook your Berliner pfannkuchen for about 2 minutes on each side. Be careful when placing them in the oil, as it is very hot! If it goes too quickly and they become too dark too fast, the oil is too hot, and you should turn it down to ensure they are cooked through inside. Turn them over after 2 minutes and cook them on the other side as well.
- After they have cooked for 2 minutes on each side, place them on kitchen paper for about 2 minutes, and then roll them in sugar.
Filling
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Afterward, fill them with jam if you wish. Fill a piping bag with a filling tip with raspberry jam (or prune puree) and fill each bun with about ½ tablespoon of filling. This is easiest done by inserting the tip into the side of the bun where it is a bit softer and gently squeezing out the jam.1 dl sugar, 2 dl raspberry jam
- Now they are ready to serve.
Nutrition
How do you like the recipe?
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