Berliners

by Andrea Gámez

We bring you here today the berliners recipe because we are celebrating the international donut day today, which is every year the first friday of june. Berliners are a type of donut, evern though they don´t have a hole in the middle and they are so worth trying.

Berliners are really fluffy and are usually filled with pastry cream or different flavors of jam. Originally they are fried but you could also bake them in the oven.

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As you may notice rom the pictures (there in the back) we made small bits of donuts, so we would not waste any dough. This happens because when rolling out the dough and cutting out the circles to make the donuts you get these remaining pieces that you then have to roll our again. We usually only roll out the dough twice since it is not a good a idea to roll it out more than that. So, when we roll it out the second time, we then use these remaining pieces to make small bits of donuts or mini donuts.

This recipe calls for a pastry cream filling and it is really important to make it have a good consistency so it stays firm in the berlinres. The cream must be thick yeat soft.

This time we fried the berliners so it is important to note that the oil should not be too hot, otherwise the berliners would overcook on the outside but would not be cooked on the inside. We actually don´t have a kitchen thermometer but I will say it has to be over low heat for the berliners to cook slowly and thoroughly, which would be the worst case scenario.

As I have mentioned before, this is a celebration day, a donut day, and it is also friday so it is just great having the time to be home and enjoy these with a glass of milk.

So here you have our recipe to make these great donuts that are to die for, and a treat that will make you want to lick your fingers.

If you like donuts you should see our classic donuts recipe!

Berliners

Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Resting / refrigerating 3 hours 10 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 20

Ingredients
  

For the dough:

  • 1 1/4 tsp (0.14 oz) (3.8 gr) dry instant yeast
  • 3/4 C (6 lq oz) (180 ml) water warm
  • 1/4 C (1.76 oz) (50 gr) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 C (4 lq oz) (120 ml) evaporated milk warm
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp (0.17 lq oz) (5 ml) vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp (0,25 oz) (7 gr) salt
  • 2 tbsp (1 oz) (30 gr) unsalted butter
  • 3 1/3 C (15,30 oz) (433 gr) all purpouse flour
  • 1 tbsp (0,50 oz) (15 gr) powdered milk

For the pastry cream:

  • 1 1/4 C (10,15 fl oz) (300 ml) whole milk
  • The seeds of one vanilla bean
  • 1/2 C (3,52 oz) (100 gr) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp (0,06 oz) (1,7 gr) salt
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/4 C (1,30 oz) (37 gr) corn starch
  • 2 tbsp (1,06 oz) (30 gr) unsalted butter

To finish:

  • Vegetable oil for frying
  • Confectioners sugar

Instructions
 

For the dough:

  • In a big bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer) place the water along with the evaporated milk, half of the sugar and yeast and let it rest for 10 minutes.
  • Once this time has passed, add in the rest of the sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and mix well with a fork until integrated.
  • Add in the sifted flour, salt and powdered milk and mix using the same fork for 1 minute until you get a sticky dough.
  • Place the dough on a clean surface and knead for 7 minutes by folding it onto itself. Integrate the butter little by little until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. At first it will seem hard but it will intergrate.
  • Knead for 3 minutes until you get a soft elastic dough. This whole porcess can also be done using a mixer with the dough hook on.
  • Place the dough in a greased (with some oil) bowl and cover it with plastic kitchen wrap or a kitchen towel and let it rest for an hour and a half in a warm spot.

For the pastry cream:

  • In a small pot over low heat, pour the milk along with half the sugar, the vanilla bean seeds and cook for 1 minute, mixing occasionally with a hand whisk.
  • In a small bowl, mix the rest of the sugar with the salt, egg yolks and corn starch. Add a little of the milk mixture and beat to make this egg mixture warm.
  • Pour the egg yolk mixture into the milk pot and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes aprox, beating non stop, until a thick mixture forms.
  • Take off the heat and beat and stir in the butter. Pour the pastry cream into a different bowl, cover it with plastic kitchen wrap (the plastic must touch the cream surface so that it doesn´t set on the top) and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the berliners:

  • Once the dough has doubled in size, place it on a clean floured surface and roll it out until it is 1/3 inch (7 mm) thick. Cut out circles of about 2.8 inches (7 cm) and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper so that they don´t stick to it. Repeat this just once more rolling out the remaining dough and make tiny circles with the leftover dough at the end.
  • Cover the berliners with a kitchen towel and let then rest for 30 minutes. Pour enough quantity of vegetable oil in a medium size pot over low heat. It is important for the oil not to be too hot so that the berliners can cook thoroughly.
  • Once the oil is hot, fry the berliners three at a time, or two, depending on the size of the pot. They have to cook for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Place them on a plate lined with some kitchen paper so it absorbs the excess oil and let them cool before filling.
  • Once cool, cut a little the berliners on the sides (as if cutting them in half but not completely). Put the pastry cream in a pipping bag with a star shaped nozzle and fill the berliners with enough cream, trying to make them look cute on the edge.
  • Sprinkle some confectioners sugar on top and they´re ready!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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2 comments

Classic donuts - HORNO MX 18 December, 2020 - 4:58 pm

[…] like me, you’re a fan of donuts, don’t forget to check out our other donut recipes, our berliners or our boston cream […]

Reply
Nutella bomboloni - HORNO MX 4 January, 2022 - 11:11 pm

[…] you like this recipe, you have to go see our berliners recipe, these are german doughnuts that are really […]

Reply

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