Fasnachts.

Lewisburg.

Doughnuts. For a variety of reasons, they've never really had much of a chance to catch on as regular - or even occasional - homemade treats. Or, more accurately, for one reason: I'm not keen on cleaning up the mess of deep-frying. Sure, they aren't the healthiest food option available, and they don't keep well for very long, but that hasn't stopped me from doing other sorts of cooking.

And, honestly, the cleanup isn't that bad. Not so bad that I can't make an old family tradition once a year. Okay, so my mom didn't make her own yeast-risen dough. But I still have fond memories of those deep-fried, pre-made biscuits, because there's nothing like goodies straight out of the oil. And rolled in sugar. Especially when you're eight.

This was a once-a-year thing, of course, and it was as celebratory as we got for whatever it is that you want to call Fat Tuesday.¹ My parents picked up on some of the Fasnacht traditions from when they lived in southern Germany, and I remember receiving a King Cake from my uncle in New Orleans at least one year, but doughnuts - or fasnachts, as my family calls them for this particular occasion - are the peak for me. At least they're easy.

Two weeks ago, or so, I spotted a sign at the local grocery store announcing that they'd have "Fastnacht Donuts" for February 5th. I can't say that the sugary dough puffs nestled in among the awful grocery-store cakes particularly appealed to me, but the idea certainly did. So I called my mom.

She, fortunately, had some time and went looking for the traditional recipe - in her well-worn German cookbook² - while I hung out on the phone. This is when she pointed out that she used the tubes of Pillsbury biscuits or something like that, but was really excited that I was going to give it a shot the traditional way. It took some time to get the recipe, since we couldn't remember what they were really called. Turns out they're called either Fasnacht kuchen or Bismarcks, or, in their jelly-filled incarnation, Berliners.

Berliners of JFK "I am a jelly doughnut" faux pas fame, of course.

I scrawled the recipe down on a too-small piece of paper, set it aside, and waited. And, for tradition's sake, I made up a small batch last night. They were even better than I remembered, all light and airy, not too sweet, and not at all greasy. So oil-free, actually, that I had to spin them over in the oil just before taking them out so there was enough to make the sugar stick. Suffice to say, we ate them all.

Fasnacht kuchen
Makes thirty to thirty-six
Adapted from that old German cookbook in my mom's kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
  
• ¼ cup sugar
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• 1/3 cup butter, plus more for greasing bowls
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
  
• 3 egg yolks
  
• Zest of 1 lemon
  
• Vanilla sugar, for dusting
  
• Oil, for deep-frying

Directions

1. Scald the milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. While warm, add the sugar, salt and butter, stirring to dissolve and melt. Allow to cool to room temperature, then whisk the egg yolks in thoroughly.
   
   
2. Mix the flour and yeast together in a large bowl, and add the milk mixture, stirring to make a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. Form into a ball, place into a buttered bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about two hours.
   
   
3. Turn the dough back out onto the floured board, punch down, and roll out to approximately ½-inch thick. Cut into 3-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter, kneading together and recutting scraps, and allow to rest, covered, for another hour.
   
   
4. Heat a large, deep pot with at least two inches of oil to 365° F. Drop the dough rounds into the hot oil, being sure not to crowd, and cook on each side for about three minutes, or until well-browned. Remove to a rack to drain briefly - until cool enough to touch - before rolling in vanilla sugar. Serve while still warm.

For Berliners, there are two options: a) After frying, poke a hole in the side of each doughnut and use a piping bag and tip to squirt the jelly in; or b) when rolling out, roll the dough to ¼-inch thick. Top rounds with a tablespoon of jelly, then use another to form the top, pinching the edge to make a seal. Personally, I lean to the former option, since any imperfectly sealed, jelly-filled bombs are going to make an awful, hot, splattery mess.

Plus, I like 'em plain. With a little jelly on the side. And a nice cup of coffee.

* * * * *

¹I'm interested solely in the food aspect, so "Fat Tuesday" seems to fit best. Though anyone who feels the urge to dress in eye-searingly gaudy colors and dance about in the streets like a lunatic gets a thumbs-up from me.

²I don't even know the actual title. It just gets called the "black German cookbook" because it's the only cookbook with a (faded) black binding and something about German cooking in gold lettering on the spine. Any dust cover disappeared long before my memory of it begins.