In German and Nordic kitchens, the days before Lent smell like hot oil and sugar. While southern Europe leans on fritters and sweet breads, northern Europe goes all‑in on doughnuts and cream buns—Berliners in Germany and fastelavnsboller in Denmark and Norway.
Both are part of Shrovetide/Fasching/Fastelavn, the last chance to revel in wheat flour, eggs, butter, and sugar before the discipline of Lent begins.
These pastries are relatively “young” compared with medieval fasting rules, but still centuries old. Recipes for filled German Krapfen/Berliner appear in early printed cookbooks by the late 15th century, and the jelly‑filled “Berliner” as we know it was widespread by the early 19th century—so about 200–300 years in roughly modern form.
Fastelavnsboller, Nordic Shrovetide buns, can be traced in Danish church art as far back as around 1250; early versions were simple wheat buns softened in milk, evolving into the cream‑filled showstoppers you see today.
Let’s look at what these “doughnuts before discipline” mean—and how to make them at home.Cultural Significance: Doughnuts on the Edge of Lent
Germany – Fasching and Berliners
Fasching or Karneval in German‑speaking regions is the “fool’s season” before Ash Wednesday, echoing the Latin carne vale (“farewell to meat”) that also underlies Carnival elsewhere.
Sweet, fried pastries like Krapfen/Berliner are a standard part of these celebrations, originally fried in lard and filled with preserves once sugar became more affordable around the 16th century.
By the 1800s, the jelly‑filled doughnut known as a Berliner had become an iconic treat in Berlin and beyond, eaten especially at Carnival and New Year’s.
These doughnuts symbolized a last indulgence in white wheat flour, eggs, sugar, and fat before Lenten austerity. They even became part of local jokes: at Fasching, one Berliner in a batch might be secretly filled with mustard instead of jam, echoing the “hidden surprise” of a king cake baby.
Nordics – Fastelavnsboller and Shrovetide
Fastelavn (Shrovetide) in Denmark and Norway is a pre‑Lent festival tied closely to the Christian calendar, marked seven weeks before Easter.
In earlier centuries, wheat flour had to be imported and was expensive, so wheat buns were special‑occasion food reserved for religious holidays.
Early fastelavnsboller were simple wheat rolls, sometimes eaten soaked in warm milk; as ingredients became more accessible, they evolved into soft buns filled with cream, custard, jam, or fruit and often topped with icing.
Fastelavnsboller are part of a whole kid‑centered tradition: children dress up, sing for buns, and carry decorated birch switches, while adults know that after these sweet buns, Lent begins with simpler, meatless meals.
Like Berliners, they are about enjoying rich ingredients one last time before “discipline” takes over.
Recipe 1: Berliner (German Jam‑Filled Doughnuts)
Jam‑filled Krapfen/Beliner‑style doughnuts appear in German sources from at least the 16th–18th centuries; the name “Berliner” is documented by the early 1800s, so the modern form is roughly 200+ years old.
This is a home‑kitchen version: yeasted dough, no hole, fried and filled with jam.
Ingredients (about 10–12 Berliners)
2 ¼ teaspoons (1 packet, 7 g) active dry yeast
½ cup (120 ml) warm milk
⅓ cup (70 g) sugar
2 large eggs (room temp)
3 tablespoons (40 g) melted butter (cooled)
2 ½ cups (300 g) all‑purpose flour (plus a bit for dusting)
½ teaspoon salt
Neutral oil for frying (or traditional lard)
About ¾–1 cup smooth jam (raspberry, plum, or apricot)
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Directions
Activate yeast
In a bowl, mix warm milk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar.
Let sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy.
Make the dough
Whisk in remaining sugar, eggs, and melted butter.
In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour in the wet mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.
Knead on a lightly floured surface 5–8 minutes until smooth and elastic (or use a mixer with dough hook).
First rise
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled (about 1–1.5 hours).
Shape
Punch down dough and roll to about ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick.
Cut into rounds with a 2½–3 inch (6–7.5 cm) cutter.
Place on parchment‑lined trays, cover lightly, and let rise again 30–45 minutes until puffy.
Fry
Heat oil to 340–350°F (170–175°C) in a deep pot.
Fry a few doughnuts at a time, turning once, until golden on both sides and cooked through (2–3 minutes per side).
Drain on paper towels.
Fill and finish
Fit a piping bag with a small round or jam filling tip; fill with jam.
Pierce the side of each cooled Berliner and squeeze in jam until you feel the doughnut plump.
Dust generously with powdered sugar before serving.
Recipe 2: Fastelavnsboller (Nordic Shrovetide Cream Buns)
Estimated age: Early depictions of Shrovetide wheat buns in Denmark date to around 1250 in church art; modern cream‑filled fastelavnsboller evolved later, influenced by richer baking traditions from at least the 16th century onward.
We’ll make a soft sweet bun, then fill it with whipped cream in the modern Scandinavian style.
Ingredients (about 10–12 buns)
For the buns
½ cup (120 ml) warm milk
2 ¼ teaspoons (1 packet, 7 g) active dry yeast
¼ cup (50 g) sugar
3 tablespoons (40 g) softened butter
1 large egg (room temp)
2 ½ cups (300 g) all‑purpose or bread flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cardamom (optional but very Nordic)
For filling and topping
1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
2–3 tablespoons of powdered sugar (to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Jam (raspberry, strawberry, or plum), optional
Extra powdered sugar for dusting, or simple icing (powdered sugar + a little milk)
Directions
Make the dough
Mix warm milk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar; let sit 5–10 minutes until foamy.
In a large bowl, beat remaining sugar with softened butter until combined. Add egg and mix well.
In another bowl, combine flour, salt, and cardamom.
Add the yeast mixture and butter‑egg mixture to the dry ingredients; stir into a soft dough.
Knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic (add a spoonful of flour if very sticky).
First rise
Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled (about 1–1.5 hours).
Shape buns
Punch down dough and divide into 10–12 equal pieces.
Shape each into a smooth ball and place on a parchment‑lined baking sheet, spaced apart.
Cover lightly and let rise again until puffy (about 30–45 minutes).
Bake
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
Brush buns lightly with milk or a bit of beaten egg for shine (skip egg wash if you’re keeping them stricter Lenten‑style).
Bake for 12–15 minutes until golden. Cool completely on a rack.
Prepare filling
Whip cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
Assemble
Slice the top off each bun (either straight across or at an angle to make a “lid”).
If using jam, spread a spoonful inside the bottom of each bun.
Pipe or spoon whipped cream generously over the jam.
Replace the “lid” at a jaunty angle.
Dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with a simple icing.
These buns are meant to be enjoyed fresh, ideally on Fastelavn Sunday or the days just before Lent begins, when children sing for “buns or trouble” and adults quietly note that, after this, the food will get plainer for a while.
Doughnuts Before Discipline
Both Berliners and fastelavnsboller are about more than sugar highs. They sit deliberately at the threshold between feast and fast—between Fasching/Fastelavn and Lent.
Centuries of bakers filling dough with jam or cream at the same point in the calendar—anchors them in a long tradition of using food to mark sacred time.
What does it do to us when we consciously enjoy something rich, knowing that a season of discipline is coming?
Just as Italian Carnevale sweets give way to Lenten soups, and Ramadan’s daily fasts end in Eid sweets, these northern European doughnuts remind us that restraint and celebration are meant to hold hands—not cancel each other out.
It's Nicky Lynn 