Fasnet is what they call the pre-Lent season (known as Carnival in the U.S.)  in this part of Germany. Fasnet, a traditionally Catholic celebration, is actually not marked in a big way here in historically Protestant Tübingen, although there is a token parade each year (we skipped it this year, but went last year.) But all the bakeries in Tübingen do have many traditional Fasnet sweets, which will mostly disappear from view — and for sale — starting tomorrow. I’m talking, of course, about  various forms of fried dough dipped in sugar, including the granddaddy of them all, the Berliner doughnut.

Indeed, Berliners are the  standard form of a special pastry for Fasnet. The “classic” style Berliner is very much like a standard jelly doughnut you would find in  the U.S., except in its original form, it only comes with apricot jam. Other styles include a red jam variety – I think it’s supposed to be raspberry, but I’m not sure —plus a cherry jam variety covered with a glaze and a gummi-bear-style-cherry on top.  This year I tried a new-to-me variety, filled with an energy drink-flavored jelly filling. That type was labelled “FULL PULL” – I don’t know if that’s the name of a energy drink brand, but I’m guessing it’s at least a known abbreviation for it, as when I asked the clerk to explain what kind of doughnut that was, she said something like “well, it’s the flavor of the energy drink, ” as though everyone would know that. I did try it: the light-yellow jelly-like filling was beyond cloyingly supersweet, and otherwise unremarkable. I only lasted 2 bites before abandoning it.

There was another type this year that I don’t recall seeing before called Stracciatella, which looks and sounds like the Italian word stracciatella. In Italian it’s the word used for chocolate-chip ice-cream. Sure enough, the stracciatella Berliner had a creamy filling that sort of resembled chocolate chip gelato, at least in looks.

Here’s a photo that shows off the filling:

Chocolate-chip filling in a Berliner

Disappointingly it had no real flavor of chocolate,  chocolate chips, or chocolate-chip ice-cream, though.  I made it through half a doughnut on that one, but abandoned the rest as not being worth finishing.

This year I bypassed all of the odd ones I tried last year, which you can read about in these old blog posts that mention my exploration of the local doughnut scene last year:

• http://22tue.clfotonline.com/2012/01/16/ich-esse-einen-berliner/
• http://22tue.clfotonline.com/2012/01/31/the-one-with-the-cherries-on-top/
• http://22tue.clfotonline.com/2012/02/03/finally-a-few-follow-ups/
• http://22tue.clfotonline.com/2012/02/17/friday-follies/
• http://22tue.clfotonline.com/2012/03/08/when-is-a-pretzel-not-a-pretzel/

It’s hard to try all the types each year, so I focused only on the ones that seemed odd, unseen and/or untested from last year.  Besides, I didn’t have as much time this year – Lent starts tomorrow, several weeks earlier than last year. Ah well – I did manage to try a few new ones. I do what I can.

Anyway, there’s also something with the grand-sounding name of Fasnetküchle, “little carnival cake”.  It turns out, though, that it’s really just a rather flat piece of fried dough covered in granulated sugar. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, you understand. Fresh, they were delicious, but they didn’t have much of a shelf-life. Chris and I got lucky one day and must have hit upon them just after they were set out for sale. But a subsequent sample wasn’t nearly as good, and I’m not sure I can recommend them without reservations – the slightly stale ones were terrible.

But the best part of the doughnut  – er, Fasnet — season for me this year was the return of the Quarkie, the delectable bigger-than-a-golf-ball-sized doughnut-hole-like confection, which is round, unfilled, and rolled in granulated sugar. They are made with dough that is itself made with quark. Quark  is a  “German soft cheese ideal for a low carb lifestyle and healthy living.”  Well, maybe if you don’t put it into a pastry dough, but that form is really the one I’ve tried the most here. You might recall Chris and I really enjoyed finding those Little Men made of Quarkteig (“quark-dough”) back in December.

Anyway, I got that description of quark from a listing for the company Quark Maker. That company’s website has a recipe for making your very own Quarkie, albeit topped with powdered sugar, instead of the granuated sugar with which they are always made here. Maybe that’s an American variation – Quark Maker is an American company.

Now, when we first moved to Tübingen in September 2011, Quarkie were in many of the bakeries, and I thought it was a standard item that would be available all-year round, as ubiquitous as a pretzel. They were one of my favorite treats from the bakery that first year, and I used to indulge regularly. 🙂  But then over the summer they disappeared. They only reappeared when their big brothers (the Berliners) showed up again for Fastnacht.

So, I’m not sure if the Quarkies will be around later this year or not. Just to be on the safe side, I bought a couple for Chris and me to have today, from the place that has the best Quarkies in town. You can see what one from that place looks like in this photo:

A Quarkie

They also seem to be the biggest ones in town, too, with a size that’s between a golf-ball and a baseball.

A rival bakery — the one where we got those Little Men, actually — decided this year to offer their smaller-size Quarkies on a skewer.

Quarkie on a stick

I must stay, I don’t really understand the need to put Quarkies on a stick – it’s not like it makes them easier to eat. It’s a marketing gimmick, I suppose.

Anyway, you’ll most likely have to wait until next year to try any of these yourself, as most of these special Fasnet sweet treats are bound to be banished from the bakeries come tomorrow.