Even More Krapfen

For a couple weeks, we'd seen the tasty and unique krapfen in the window of the Woerner's on Marienplatz. Woerner's is one of my favorite places in Munich for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake, though I usually go to the smaller one by Sendlinger Tor.

The Bailey's Krapfen in particular called to us...  

 

Bailey's KrapfenI picked up a Bailey's and a couple of the donut hole looking ones to take to dinner at Herr J's. Strangely, we both had the same thought that day and he had gotten one of each! We had a great little krapfen tasting

The Bailey's, as expected, were amazing! And instead of powdered sugar or glaze, they had chocolate flakes topping the krapfen.

Overally, Woerner's has the best krapfen - their dough is perfectly airy and not greasy, and the fillings unusually good.  All of theirs are whole krapfen, filled with some filling. The Rischart were unique in that they were sliced in half with the filling sandwiched in between the layers.

Both the Bailey's and the Eierlikör ("egg liquor") had tasty liquid fillings. The Prosecco krapfen had a small but strongly flavored core that was like the center of a champagne truffle. Excellent, and just the right amount. The Kirchwasser (a cherry schnaps drink) Krapfen was filled with a sweet and dense filling, somewhere between a custard and a truffle filling. Good, but not as perfect as the Bailey's.

Nutella-filled WörniesBut the huge surprise of the night were the Wörnies, the little round things in the left of the top photo that appear as donut holes dipped in chocolate. Oh, they were soooooo much better. These are a unique creation of Woerner's. Basically they are like a little circle of (probably fried) cake, filled with Nutella. The Nutella seeps into the little caverns inside the dough. They really don't need to be dipped in chocolate, but otherwise they are little mini bites of heaven.

More Krapfen

With 3 more weeks until Fasching (Germany's version of Carnival or Mardi Gras), Krapfen Season is still in full swing.

Krapfen are more than just jelly donuts. Most are not fried and greasy - instead they are soft fluffy pillows of lightly sweetened dough, with subtly flavored fillings.  Usually the custard filled ones are filled with a custard that is more of a super light mousse. Those filled with something stronger (jam, chocolate, nutella, etc) have a small amount of filling. Just the perfect amount to give you the taste but not overpower the delicacy of the dough. A good krapfen is really special!

We were lucky to find a krapfen version of Herr J's favorite German dessert, bienenstich, at a Rischart bakery! It's their new flavor for 2011 and we wholeheartedly approve!

So tasty...a creamy light custard in the middle, topped with a light glaze and toasted almond slivers...

This

quickly became this!

Herr J also brought home some more festive krapfen from San Francisco Coffee Company (seriously, these little guys are everywhere from New Years to Lent!).  Really great dough part, with a small bit of nougat inside. Gorgeous and tasty, but really sweet...these would be best to share.

Krapfen Season

Germany has many "seasons"....asparagus season, mushroom season, truffel season, starkbier season, fruit season, etc.

After New Year's comes Krapfen Season...and this year brings new varieties!

What are krapfen? In their original form, they're basically jelly donuts. Known in other areas of Germany as "Berliners," which is what JFK amusingly called himself in his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech.
It's yet another example of German linguistic diversity - In most of Germany they are "Berliners," but in Bavaria they are "Krapfen" and in Berlin and the surrounding states of Brandenburg and Saxony, they are Pfannkuchen (which are what the rest of Germany calls pancakes).  And they have other names in other very small regions. Yes, confusing...especially to us non-native speakers. I've only lived in Bavaria, so I sometimes discover that what I think is German is really Bavarian.

But, back to the tasty pastries... Traditional Krapfen are light, sweet donuts filled with jam (usually apricot, plum, or berry) and topped with powdered sugar, glaze or chocolate. They also are often filled with custard or chocolate.

Since krapfen are traditionally eaten on New Years Eve and during Fasching (Carnival, Mardi Gras, etc), the krapfen season runs from New Years to Lent. We are in full swing now!

Normally, we don't see too much beyond chocolate, but this year, they've invented some new varieties. Some are traditional filled donuts, but others are more like deconstructed jelly donuts....with the filling sandwiched between two halves of the donut and with a topping.

Here we have traditional krapfen (apricot filled with powdered sugar), then Heart Krapfen (straberry jam-filled with a heart-shaped sugar dusting), and the Tiramisu Krapfen. More on those later....

From left to right, Raspberry Krapfen (raspberry mousse filling with raspberry glaze), Black Forest Krapfen (cream-filled, with chocolate topping, chocolate flakes, and cherry), Tiramisu Krapfen, and Vanilla Krapfen (vanilla mousse with sugar glaze).

 And of course, Chocolate. Not sure if these are filled with chocolate cream or custard, but they look delicious!

Herr J and I tried the Tiramisu and Vanilla. (We'll try the others soon....Black Forest and Chocolate are high on the list!)
Both were great choices, but we both liked the Vanilla slightly better. The Tiramisu did indeed taste like tiramisu, with a fluffy espresso/kahlua flavored cream in the middle and cocoa powder on top. But the Vanilla would be my choice for eating a whole one. It was the same fluffy filling, but with a very delicate vanilla flavor, balanced by the sugary glaze. And the donut part of both were light, chewy, and perfectly flavored.

Just be careful eating them...they're impossible to eat without spilling sugar (or cocoa) on you or dripping some cream out of the other side. Happy eating!