After living in Austria, and Germany, I am familiar with the fluffy jelly-filled doughnuts of Austria called Krapfen. An infamous former president brought the sweet yeast doughnut, Berliner, to our attention. This yeasted dough is essentially the same recipe with the same origin. A common theme throughout Europe is regional variation and claims. I was interested in understanding the difference between the Krapfen, Berliner, and the Bomboloni.
From what I can understand, the Krapfen and the Berliner have the same origin, originally an Austrian treat with the Krapfen changing names by region. A doughnut is a doughnut. They are simple, light, and either have their centers removed or stuffed with more sugar. The recipe can only have room to vary by a small degree between regions. In Germany it has many names: Berliner Ballen (in the region I lived while in Germany), Kreppel, Puffel, and quite literally Pfannkucken (pancakes). Europe has a very liberal idea on pancakes compared to the U.S. However, they are cooked in a pan, so it’s hard to knock them there.
The Italian version of these petit, round cakes is very similar and even has a common purpose. Both the Knapfen (Faschings-Krapfen) and the Bomboloni are popular around the time of Carnival (aka Mardi Gras in the U.S.) for pancake Tuesday. Additionally, both recipes use egg yolks as well as whole eggs when increasing the batch size, flavor with a citrus zest – usually orange, and favor a second rise. The major differences between the recipes lies in the substitution for water; the Knapfen are made with rum and milk.
A filled, sweet risen dough coated in granulated sugar, by any name. Oh boy, I cannot wait!
Take-Home Tips: Most recipes will suggest a lower frying temperature (about 350) but doughnuts fried in colder fat brown too slowly and absorb excessive frying shortening. Additionally because we are filling these, they need crisp shells. Soft shells will only collapse when trying to fill. Be sure to dust the flour off the rounds before frying them or the coloring will be off and the oil will darken more quickly. You may have to hold on to the doughnuts if they flip or spin in the boil, each side needs to be in the oil or it will be raw inside. When adding the filling, use a piping bag with any larger tip to fill. If you have trouble making the hole to insert the piping tip, use a toothpick to make several stabs, then another piping tip (just the tip) to expand the hole. Stab the hole in the top, visibly, rather than hidden on the side for bomboloni. Hold the bombo when you fill and you will be able to feel the sides expand and know how much cream is added. It was suggested to me to incorporate strawberries into the cream. If you decided to try adding fruit to the cream: use a large open piping tip and puree or finely dice the fruit then toss in a small amount of cornstarch and flour to make drier, to avoid excess liquid.
Try a tester first! 
Scoring: 9 of 10. These bombolone came to work with me and everyone was challenged to find what they would like to have improved and everyone insisted they were perfect the way they were. I personally thought they were the best doughnuts I have ever had. The orange (some guessed lemon based on taste) was the strongest flavor, the cream was sweet enough without being sickening but otherwise was not overly flavorful. The small crunch was desirable over the melt-too-quickly characteristic of Krispy Kreme. However, they will not survive more than 2 days and need to be refrigerated due to the cream.
I have also tried the ingredients below with similar preparation instructions, and was disappointed in the results. Consequently, I am recommending the recipe attached in the recipe card. However, you are free to try if you want.
Ingredient set not recommended:
- 7g active dry yeast
- 110g (1/2 cup) lukewarm water
- 250g (2 cups) bread flour
- 250g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 75g (¼-⅓ cup) granulated white sugar
- 100g (7 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 7g (1½ tsp) salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150g (3) whole large eggs
- 40g (2) egg yolks
- zest of 1 orange
- granulated sugar, for coating
Food of the Month 
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