Spritzkuchen (German Crullers)

Spritzkuchen are German Crullers popular during the Karneval season and other festivals. They are said to have originated in Eberswalde (Eberswalder Spritzkuchen), a town northeast of Berlin near the Polish border, in 1832. The base is made from a choux dough, then piped into circles and fried until golden. They are topped with a sugar glaze. I used lemon as the liquid for the glaze, but you can also use rum or water.

Cut out as many squares of parchment to prepare as you want. I only cut out 4 since I wasn’t frying more than 2-3 doughnuts at a time.

These Spritzkuchen were almost a failure for me, but I am so glad they turned out and I get to share the recipe with you. I prepared the dough and as I went to attach a star tip to a pastry bag, I remembered that my large pastry bag had recently gone missing. I used a large ziploc bag in its place, but had a few issues with the tip staying attached (I also used the wrong tip to begin with). It created quite the mess. So make sure you have all the tools you need before making this (or any) recipe. It will save you a lot of headache. I also didn’t oil the parchment enough in the beginning so the first couple of Spritzkuchen stuck to the paper and tore a little.

I tried a couple of different tips for piping and from what I had, the Wilton 195 worked the best. A bigger tip would definitely work better.

Spritzkuchen (German Crullers)
Adapted from Backen mit Spass, from „Backvergnügen wie noch nie”
~15 doughnuts

 

Doughnuts:
Oil for coating parchment and frying the doughnuts
250 milliliters (1 cup) water
60 grams (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 pinch salt
150 grams (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon) all purpose flour
3 eggs
Glaze:
150 grams (~1 cup) powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice, rum, or water

 

Cut parchment paper into 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch squares and coat the top of each with oil.

In a large saucepan, combine water, butter, and salt over high heat. Once the butter has melted and the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat. Use a wooden spoon to immediately mix in the flour.

Place the pan back on the stove over medium heat. Continue to stir until dough forms and becomes a ball, about 1 minute. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl and allow to cool.

Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the eggs, one at a time, into the cooled dough at high speed.

Fill a deep saucepan with 2-3 inches of oil and place over medium heat.

Attach a large star tip to large piping bag. Fill the bag with dough. Pipe rings of dough onto prepared parchment paper.

Once the oil is 350 degrees F, place the doughnuts, being careful not to overcrowd, into the pan paper side up. Gently remove the paper and fry the doughnuts on each side until golden. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a towel lined plate. Repeat with remaining batter.

Place a wire rack over a sheet of parchment. In a large bowl , whisk lemon juice, rum, or water into powdered sugar until glaze comes together. If too thick, add more liquid. If too thin, whisk in more sugar. Dip each doughnut into the glaze and place on wire rack to set.