Krapfen sampling 2011

One of the most delicious traditions here in Germany for the pre-Lenten season is Krapfen.  Basically, a donut to the max, these beauties are filled with exotic things like berry and marscapone (our favorite, it is the pink one above with the marzipan heart), different liquors, chocolate, vanilla or just plain jam.  The flavorings range from the ridiculous to the sublime as you will see below.

Seriously, how is anyone supposed to be eating healthy with all of this going on in the bakery windows around town?  

The beauty shot of our favorite Krapfen:

And, I wanted to make sure that you all got to see the Aperol flavored version, found in our friends' K and I's local bakery.  Complete with a small syringe of Aperol liquor...filled with apricot jam.

Krapfen-they taste better than they sound!

Krapfen-basically a filled donut with jelly, custard, chocolate or the like...these started popping up in bakeries all over town a few weeks ago.  They are a pre-Lent treat that sadly, will go away after today-Fat Tuesday.  They are similar to the Packzi (pronounced Punch-kee) that are popular in Detroit, but didn't seem as heavy or as it is with most things in Germany, as sweet as their U.S. (Polish) cousins. 

The traditional Krapfen are dusted with powdered sugar as above left and have jelly (often apricot) inside.  The one with the heart stenciled powdered sugar had raspberry jelly, I think...the two with the candy hearts had cherry inside-one with cream the other straight up and the last one was a black forest variety.

On this plate, the crown jewel is the coco dusted tiramisu.  Supporting Krapfen included the glazed egg liquor cream and the white chocolate shaving with chocolate drizzle topped chocolate cream filled and the black forest.

We met some friends and had coffee and the sampling while we had the chance since the Krapfen dissappear at the onset of Lent, which is probably good for all of our wastelines!