Today I am guest posting over at Erin’s blog: Big Fat Baker. I am so happy and honoured to be her guest! I love her site, don’t you all? Make sure you visit it now if you haven’t yet as you will find so many delicious dessert ideas! I always make sure to visit it with my stomach full so I don’t get the urge to run into the kitchen and start trying out all her recipes at once… still it is HARD! Click on her site now to see what I mean!
When Erin asked me to write a guest post for her, I looked into my archive and saw that I had the perfect recipe for her! I had made these a little while ago for a tea party at my daughter’s pre-school and hadn’t had a chance to blog about them yet. When I write a post for someone else, I always try to offer something that represents me and my site… you know, like a “business card” kind of thing. So I usually write about an Italian dish and/or something I grew up with. This dish falls under both categories: it is an Italian sweet that I grew up eating it! I know what you are thinking: krapfen… Italian? With that name? So, I think I owe you a little explanation. Krapfen is a sweet doughnut originally from Austria and Germany (where is often referred to as “Berliner”), thus the name. It is common throughout central Europe, especially in the countries that were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and some parts of North-Eastern Italy are among these areas. South Tyrol/Alto Adige is a region of Italy that borders with Austria where the majority of people speak a language that is very close to Austrian German. This is the area from which krapfen have spread to the rest of Italy. I love these doughnuts and I used to often buy them from our local bakery as a child. They can be filled with a variety of sweet fillings (including a thick custard), but the most classic filling of all for Italian krapfen is apricot jam. I hope you enjoy them! And thanks once again Erin for giving me the opportunity to be a guest over at your beautiful site, Big Fat Baker!
Ingredients (makes about 20):
500+150 gms flour
1 pinch salt
7 gms dry yeast
100 gms melted butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 egg yolks + 1 full egg
5 tbsp (75 gms) sugar + 1 tbsp (15 gms)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp rum
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
1 glass of lukewarm milk (250 ml)
Put the 500 gms of flour and salt in a mixer with a dough hook. Make a well and add 1 tbsp of sugar and the yeast. Mix together and add ½ glass of lukewarm milk (125 ml) diluted with 2 tbsp of water. Mix and let the foam form.
Now add the 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, eggs, lemon zest, rum, vanilla extract (or vanillina), sugar, melted butter and lukewarm milk to the frothy mixture.
Put the mixer on and mix with the hook attachment until you get a smooth dough (you may require to add up to 150 gms extra flour while kneading, the final dough has to be soft, but not sticky). Let the dough rise for 2 hours in a warm place.
After the dough has risen, roll it into a ½ cm thick sheet.
Cut out circles of 8 cm in diameter (you can also make smaller ones of 6 cm each, if you want to make smaller krapfen). Put 1 tsp of apricot jam on half of the circles and cover them with the remaining halves.
Close by using a little water and pressing well with your fingers.
Let them rest for about one hour (this step is optional, I usually prepare all the krapfen and them start frying them from the first one I made working backwards. That is enough time for the dough to rest).
Deep fry the krapfen in warm vegetable oil (I use sunflower). Make sure the oil is not too hot or the krapfen will get burnt and remain raw on the inside. When golden brown, remove them with a slotted spoon and put them on a plate covered with kitchen paper to drain the excess oil.
When cooled down sprinkle with icing sugar and enjoy!
Thank you so much again Erin! Everyone, please pass by her blog Big Fat Baker and check out all her delicious recipes.
Also you can follow Erin on Twitter, Facebook and Foodbuzz!
In a completely different note, I will be back with the series of posts from my Foodbuzz 24×24 Christmas in July event from the next post and If you liked my menu, please head over to this month’s Foodbuzz 24×24 and send some buzz my way! 
Congrats on the guest post! The krapfen look scrumptious….Another great recipe Manu!
Oh i Krapfen! What a wonderful memory: that cloud of sugar and deliciousness!
Congrats on doing yet another great guest post! I love Erin’s blog too!!
The krapfen is something which I haven’t heard of. Looks absolutely mouth-watering with that filling!
I’ve never heard of these. They look delicious!
Oh, these look delicious, Manu!!! Off to visit Erin’s blog~
Fantastiche! We uaed to eat these apres-ski on the dolomites…. I love your in depth description of the process. Cant wait to make them.
you made Krapfen!? It’s my favorite Austrian pastry and I loved to get the fresh hot ones during fasching season. If you ever get to Vienna, try the ones from Demmel. It looks like yours are also some of the best Krapfens in the world. Thanks for sharing and refreshing my good memories.:-)
This looks sooo delicious manu .. i want take one and bite into it!
These look amazing, Manu… Heading over to Bit Fat Baker now to check out your guest post… I know I am going to make these krapfen soon! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Manuela, I always learn something from your blog. I have never heard of Krapfen but they sound so awesome! Thanks for making me more “worldly!”
Wow these look great Manu! We have something similar in Hawaii called malasadas, its a portuguese version of this I think. Great guest post!
One more incredible dessert, and must say I grow up on those as well:)) we picked up so much from Germans:)) Congrats on the guest post..I will check it out!
I’m usually not a fan of deep fried, but these are truly beautiful. My brother’s family love doughnuts, I’ll have to make these for them! Thanks.
So cute! with that little dollop of jam in the center! 😀
Krapfen is something new to me. But they look so yummy even in picture, so I can imagine how good they must have tasted. First time here. I am must say that I am loving your blog and is enjoying learning new things about Italian cooking.
lovely post these are delicious looking snacks
Anything jammy and doughy has my attention and these look absolutely gorgeous. Lovely recipe indeed, ive been wanting to do a bit of yeast work lately and this might be just the ticket… 🙂
wow, they look beautiful and delicious! I call them “bomboloni” and are great on a holiday morning with a cappuccino. Great post, as usual.
Being European I guess it’s a bit embarrassing to now know krapfen… and I see i’ve been missing a lot 🙂 Congrats on the guest post! 🙂
These are so cute!
Krapfen appena fatti…irresistibili!! Sarà il caldo, ma ho come l’impressione che questo adorabile “bombolone” in primo piano mi guardi con un sorrisetto ammiccante… è davvero pronto per essere addentato!
Ooooh, I just love Krapfen – preferably filled with prune butter or raspberry jam.
Lovely doughnuts Manu. They look like they have big happy smiles on their powder sugar faces!
Manu, never heard of Krapfen before and must try them. They look absolutely delicious. Great guest post. Heading over to Erin’s blog now.
I remember my grandmother& aunt would make them, but used figs @powered suger to finish them off. This is the closed receipt I have come across. Can’t wait to try them.
Wow..nice to see that the person that wrote this article has no idea what they are talking about. “Krapfen” is a Southern German term that means doughnut. It is also used in Austria. You do not make these with the jam in it and then fry..pipe in the jam after they are cooked.
Hi Saskia. The Krapfen I made are the Italian version of the doughnuts. They are similar to the German and Austrian Krapfen but are not exactly the same. One of the main differences is the filling, that we also put in before frying. They have been adjusted over the last decades to local taste and what was available in the territory… but the name stuck to them. If you are ever in Italy, buy one at a local bakery so you can compare them. Cheers.